Disucussion for September 12 session - click "Edit" to add your notes/questions, then "Save":

Tom's questions

• Ferraro, Pfeffer, and Sutton give a number of compelling examples in which academic theories have had big impacts on business and economics. But in many other domains (such as education or environmental management) there is a sharp disconnect between the theoretical work of academics and public policy. Why is the situation so different in different domains?

• Ferraro, Pfeffer, and Sutton cite studies showing that the language used to describe a situation can have dramatic effects on how people behave. The idea that our language shapes how we think is an old one. It is often called the 'Whorf Hypothesis', after its most passionate advocate the American linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf. Most linguists are very skeptical about the Whorf Hypothesis; for example, Steven Pinker's 1995 bestselling popularization of linguistics, The Language Instinct, simply ridicules it. Why would specialists on language and economists differ so markedly in their view of the relationship between language and thinking?

• Many professors complain about universities becoming more 'corporate' in recent years. How does this relate to Ferraro, Pfeffer, and Sutton's description (p 14) of the rise of 'practices that create market-like relationships with employees' in industry?

• Suppose you were the dean of Stanford's Graduate School of Business. How would you defend your school's curriculum against Ghoshal's charge that it bears some responsibility for Enron and similar cases of corporate misbehavior?

• Chomsky writes: '"hysterical critics" are to be identified, apparently, by their irrational refusal to accept one fundamental political axiom, namely that the United States has the right to extend its power and control without limit, insofar as is feasible. Responsible criticism does not challenge this assumption, but argues, rather, that we probably can't "get away with it" at this particular time and place.' Do you think this is an accurate characterization of the present situation (over 40 years later)?

• In an interview, Chomsky said, 'It's extremely easy to be sucked into the dominant culture. It's very appealing. And the people don't look like bad people. You don't want to sit there and insult them. You try to be friends, and you are. You begin to conform, to adapt, to smooth off the harsher edges. Education at a place like Harvard is in fact largely geared to that, to a remarkable extent.' Does this description fit your experience at Stanford? If not, do you think it's because Stanford and Harvard are different, or because it's 13 years later, or because Chomsky's description of Harvard was unfair?

Todd's questions

Ferraro, Pfeffer, and Sutton, "Economics Language and Assumptions"

• "..Murray Davis's argument that great theories in social science attain their status not because they are true, but because they are interesing.." - If true, what are the implications for social scientists influencing public policies? Is Davis's phenomenon limited to academia?

• "`The first principle of Economics is that every agent is actuated only by self-interest.'" - How did this get to be the first principle?

• "Much economic theory presumes that, under certain conditions such as competitive markets, the pursuit of self-interest produces socially optimal results." Can you think of a counterexample to this assumption?

• What evidence is there that academic economics makes people more selfish?

• Given this article, what do you think might explain the fact that, according to the Scott and Leonhardt article last week, fewer CEOs than 15 years ago come from Ivy League institutions?

Ghoshal, "Business Schools Share the Blame for Enron"

• "Much of the problem has arisen from the excesses of business school academics in pretending that business is a science." - What does this mean? How did this happen?

Chomsky, "The Responsibility of Intellectuals"

• "The responsibilities of intellectuals, then, are much deeper than what MacDonald calls the "responsibility of people," given the uniqe privilege that intellectuals enjoy." - What is meant by this?

• Chomsky criticizes Arthur Schlessinger for lying in the service of U.S. military ends, and then being given a prominent position in a university. Stanford likes to have powerful people on its faculty, such as Condoleezza Rice. Do you think she should be welcomed back to the campus if she wants to return to teaching here after working in the Bush Administration?

• "..Bell's essay...does not point out the extent to which this consensus of the intellectuals is self-serving." Which consensus? Why is it self-serving? What psychological principles are at play?

• "scholar-experts who are replacing the free-floating intellectuals of the past.." - What does this mean? What role have universities played?

Chomsky and Albert, "The Chomsky Tapes"

• What is "collegiality" and how is it a barrier to faculty becoming politically involved? Which types of political involvement does it most affect?

Ashley

RE: Paul Farmer Talk

In response to the Bickford and Reynolds reading from September 7, Tom posed the following question: “Can faculty promote activism without pushing a political agenda? Is it improper for them to push a political agenda?”

Today, Dr. Paul Farmer suggested something that seemed to answer this question in part. To paraphrase a short portion of the speech, Farmer said that the promotion of social justice is not a political matter; promoting social justice is the responsibility we have to ensure that ALL citizens across the globe have basic economic and social rights. Agreeing with Farmer, it seems clear to me that the need to alleviate poverty, eradicate diseases, provide low-income housing and basic education to the impoverished, etc. is a non-partisan issue. Therefore, I believe that faculty can (and SHOULD) promote activism geared towards creating social justice. Thoughts?

RE: Economics Article

If we extend the economic theory regarding self-interest to the idea of public service, do you think that selfish actions play a role in an individual's decision to devote time to the public good? Are altruistic actions ever purely altruistic? Also, with respect to the idea of social norms, is it possible that volunteerism has become a social norm, or something that people have grown to perceive as an obligation? (Wei Wei)

RE: Chomsky, "The Responsibility of Intellectuals"

Chomsky suggests that freedom of expression in the Western world is one reason why Western intellectuals should openly comment on public institutions. Additionally, in Academic Freedom, Kennedy writes that the protections of tenure "were meant to protect the institution and its faculty from political assault--to make the university a safe haven for ideas, even heterodox ones" (131). As less and less faculty are offered tenure, how might faculty free speech continue to be protected - is it the role of the university to ensure these protections? How should faculty members present their opinions when wearing their faculty "hats?" (Related to Todd's question:) Is there any value in "collegiality?" (Sonja)