Harvard University
Students for a Humane And Responsible Economics
Mission Statement
Students for a Humane and Responsible Economics (SHARE) aims to improve
economics education at Harvard by advocating for a broader diversity in the
economics curriculum and by providing a forum on campus for discussion and
debate on current economic issues, focusing on the social consequences of
global and domestic economic policy. We
believe that the field of economics plays a critical role in shaping the basic
organizational structure of society and informing policies (both domestic and
international) that strongly affect individual welfare. Because of the practical impact of economics,
we believe economics education has important human consequences. Economic models are lenses through which
students are taught to view how society should function. We believe that Harvard, by only providing
one model of economics, fails to provide critical perspectives or alternative
models for analyzing the economy and its social consequences. Without providing a true marketplace for
economic ideas, Harvard fails to prepare students to be critical thinkers and
engaged citizens. We believe that the
values and political convictions inherent within the standard economic models
taught at Harvard inevitably influence the values and political convictions of
Harvard students and even the career choices that they make. Finally, by falsely presenting economics as a
positive science devoid of ethical values, we believe Harvard strips students
of their intellectual agency and prevents them from being able to make up their
own minds.
Despite the limited view of economics embodied at Harvard, we believe that
economics poses fundamental questions about society whose comprehensive answers
require an interdisciplinary approach.
In order to bring to light the broader impact of economics and the
intellectual possibilities of the field in a spirit of critical discourse,
SHARE has three goals:
1)
To diversify the
curriculum of economics at Harvard. In
particular, we are interested in diversifying the introductory economics
course, Social Analysis 10, Principles of Economics (known as Ec 10), by amending the course and/or by providing an
alternative introductory course that includes critical perspectives. We believe that diversity in an introductory
economics course is crucial, and that Ec 10 must be
reformed for five reasons:
a) Ec 10 is the only introductory course
currently offered at Harvard, and it is a prerequisite for all other economics
courses and a requirement for many concentrations. Thus, students who may be dissatisfied with
the course have no choice but to take it.
b) It is advertised as an introductory
course, which implies a survey of various economic models. Because Ec 10
presents only the neoclassical model, however, students get the false
impression that there are no other models in the field of economics. The fact that Ec 10
is often the only economics course many students will take at Harvard only
makes this false impression more dangerous.
c) Most students take Ec 10 as freshmen, when they have not yet fully learned to
question what professors teach. They are
therefore less likely to question what they learn in Ec
10, and more likely to accept it as fact rather than as one specific framework
of analysis and interpretation.
d) A large percentage of the articles
in the sourcebook are written by Prof. Martin Feldstein himself or by
economists promoting similar ideological and political views.
e) The course offers no forum for
discussion. Prof. Martin Feldstein does
not hold office hours for his students to ask him critical questions on his
lectures or the course material.
Sections are also taught uniformly and allow no official time for a
deeper discussion of issues brought up in the lectures or the readings. Students are expected simply to regurgitate
the information they are presented without questioning it.
2)
To diversify the
economics faculty at Harvard. The
homogeneity of the economics curriculum is mirrored in the faculty’s
near-unanimous acceptance of the mainstream economic model. The lack of intellectual diversity in the
faculty prevents students from finding mentors who can facilitate their pursuit
of critical perspectives on economics.
Harvard needs to provide students with a faculty whose interests are
representative of the diversity of interests within the student body and the
field of economics.
3)
To educate students
about economics and alternatives to the dominant model, as well as raising
awareness of the social and political implications of economics. To accomplish this, we hope to provide an
ongoing public forum for critical discussions around economics by inviting
speakers, conducting regular discussion groups, and creating links between
Harvard students and alternative economic policy research institutes. Finally, we hope to become a center that
promotes further study and research in alternative economics, and where
students and faculty can engage in critical dialogue about economics.