"Positive Economics" and "Positive Obsession"——A Critique of Methodological Perspective

尽管主流经济学家们长期致力于将经济学打造成一门"纯洁的"经验科学——实证经济学,却未能为此提供一个坚实可靠的方法论基础。罗宾斯对经济学研究的性质和研究范围的狭窄界定,新古典经济学的高度简略化的"理性经济人"基本行为假设,弗里德曼的"假设不相关性"观点,乃至专业经济学家们似是而非的"实证",以及在"实证"旗号下沉湎于数理"自助游戏"中所实际奉行的方法论形式主义,所有这些都未能令人信服地证明:实证经济学具备一个坚实可靠的方法论基础。绝大多数专业经济学者对方法论问题缺乏基本的自觉意识,却以主流自居,以傲慢的心态垄断着经济学的"话语权"。这种状况不仅在方法论上不具有"合法性",也有害于经济学的发展。Although it is a long-standing march for the mainstream economists to devote themselves to change economics into a "pure" empirical science,i.e.,positive economics,they have never correspondently provided a solid methodological foundation.Such as L.Robbins who attempted to narrowly define the nature and the scope of economics,the neoclassical economics that sets up rational economic man as the fundamental assumption of behavior,Milton Friedman who maintained the notorious argument of irrelevancy of assumption,the professional economists who are obsessed in the self-help mathematical game in the name of the seemingly right positive studies,all of these efforts have so far never plausibly proved that the positive economics is built upon a solid foundation of methodology.Most of professional economists lack of self-consciousness on the methodology they are actually employing in their practice of research,but this fact seems not a problem for them to be arrogant on behalf of so-called the mainstream.Such a situation does not mean a legacy for them,and it is also harmful to the healthy development of economics