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On Economics and Social Science
On social science
'...the social sciences...all those studies which seek to explain the behaviour and relationships of human beings and the nature of their customs and institutions through the method of inference from accurate observation which is common to all scientific investigations.' [1953, 'Some Problems of Communication', Aslib Proceedings, 5, pp.261-70]
'What I now like to call myself is a "social scientist" by which I mean one who is concerned with the application of scientific method to the problems of human society.' [1967, In a World I Never Made, p.210]
'...the differences between the material of the social and the natural sciences are differences of degree, rather than of kind; and even these are easily exaggerated'. [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.3]
'Social scientists...are prone to uncover social evils which governments prefer to brush under the carpet, or to elicit facts which reveal either the failure of well-intentioned governmental policies or the sinister quality of the ill-intended.' [1969, 'Universities and Their Problems']
'Hypothesis must be tested by the nearest approximation to controlled experiment that is available.' [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.28]
'Exact mathematical solutions of significant human problems are indeed seldom possible. Yet we recognise that it is possible, by taking thought, to arrive at recognisably better answers than those reached by the wholly thoughtless.' [1945, Freedom Under Planning, p.24]
'Inevitably, the first result of a demand for evidence which will stand up to rigorous scientific examination is the destruction of myths, and such destructive activity is likely for sometime to come to be the main preoccupation of the social sciences.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.328]
'...the differences between the material of the social and the natural sciences are differences of degree, rather than of kind; and even these are easily exaggerated'. [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.3]
'Social scientists...are prone to uncover social evils which governments prefer to brush under the carpet, or to elicit facts which reveal either the failure of well-intentioned governmental policies or the sinister quality of the ill-intended.' [1969, 'Universities and Their Problems']
'Hypothesis must be tested by the nearest approximation to controlled experiment that is available.' [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.28]
'Exact mathematical solutions of significant human problems are indeed seldom possible. Yet we recognise that it is possible, by taking thought, to arrive at recognisably better answers than those reached by the wholly thoughtless.' [1945, Freedom Under Planning, p.24]
'Inevitably, the first result of a demand for evidence which will stand up to rigorous scientific examination is the destruction of myths, and such destructive activity is likely for sometime to come to be the main preoccupation of the social sciences.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.328]
'...in the matter of any adequate appreciation of the scope and methods of the social sciences, most of us are still living in the dark ages.' [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.179]
'...the only things that matter are the answers to such questions as: How do people live? Are they free to speak their minds? Do they have enough to eat? What sort of houses do they live in? Do they have fun and gaiety in childhood, adventure and opportunity in youth, ease of mind and body in old age?' [1942, 'A Plague on All Your Isms', The Political Quarterly, 13, pp.44-56]
On the problems of social science
'Perhaps most widespread of all is the practice of ignoring the elementary principles of sampling, in terms of which alone valid generalisations can be made from selected members of a large population.' [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.49]
'...instead of building up a cumulative body of knowledge, we tend to amass a miscellany of isolated, non-comparable bits of information. This is indeed one of our greatest contemporary weaknesses.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.314]
'...inaccurate observations remain inaccurate, no matter how sophisticated the statistical processing to which they are subjected: the only effect of such processing is to create a regrettably spurious appearance of accuracy.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.313]
'Perhaps most widespread of all is the practice of ignoring the elementary principles of sampling, in terms of which alone valid generalisations can be made from selected members of a large population.' [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.49]
'...instead of building up a cumulative body of knowledge, we tend to amass a miscellany of isolated, non-comparable bits of information. This is indeed one of our greatest contemporary weaknesses.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.314]
'...inaccurate observations remain inaccurate, no matter how sophisticated the statistical processing to which they are subjected: the only effect of such processing is to create a regrettably spurious appearance of accuracy.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.313]
On social workers and the social services
'This, then, summarizes my philosophy of the social services, the fundamental purpose of which should be to ensure a minimum civilised living for every citizen. These services need to be adequate in scale, calculated on an individual basis, as simple and as near universal as is economically practicable. Common standards of courtesy must be established throughout the system; and in no case must the social services be used to impose standards on the poor which are not applied to the well-to-do.' [1975, 'A Philosophy for the Social Services', Socialist Commentary, pp.ii-vii]
'It might well be thought that the social worker's best, indeed perhaps her only, chance of achieving aims at once so intimate and so ambitious would be to marry her client.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.273]
'The suggestion that complex problems of personal unhappiness or of defiance of social standard can be resolved by a young woman with an academic training in social work is difficult to take seriously.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.274]
'..."client" is certainly an odd word to apply to the subjects of social work...its use in this sense smacks of a deliberate attempt to pretend that things are other than they are, and looks like an illustration of the recurrent human tendency to employ words as instruments of self-deception.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.289]
On crime and justice
'Penal treatments could be described as cumulative failures. The more anyone experiences them, the greater the probability that he will require further treatment still.' [1963, Crime and the Criminal Law, p.3]
'I do not think that it is our business to punish the wicked. Our business is to do what we can to prevent the repetition of crimes; and...to do this with only such minimal interference with personal liberty as appears necessary to achieve this end.' [1967, In a World I Never Made, p.242]
'Every crime, let us not forget, is committed by a person who might not have committed it.' [1963, Crime and the Criminal Law, p.21]
'...the most effective method of dealing with anti-social conduct would be to inflict capital punishment in every case: this policy alone gives 100 per cent guarantee against recidivism.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.253]
'...far too many vital social decisions have...been made with neither foresight nor hindsight. Every day magistrates and judges are obliged to pass sentences, quite unaware whether similar decisions in the past have turned out well or badly: in more senses than one justice has been blind. That is why systematic analyses of sentencing policy...are especially welcome.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.325]
'Penal treatments could be described as cumulative failures. The more anyone experiences them, the greater the probability that he will require further treatment still.' [1963, Crime and the Criminal Law, p.3]
'I do not think that it is our business to punish the wicked. Our business is to do what we can to prevent the repetition of crimes; and...to do this with only such minimal interference with personal liberty as appears necessary to achieve this end.' [1967, In a World I Never Made, p.242]
'Every crime, let us not forget, is committed by a person who might not have committed it.' [1963, Crime and the Criminal Law, p.21]
'...the most effective method of dealing with anti-social conduct would be to inflict capital punishment in every case: this policy alone gives 100 per cent guarantee against recidivism.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.253]
'...far too many vital social decisions have...been made with neither foresight nor hindsight. Every day magistrates and judges are obliged to pass sentences, quite unaware whether similar decisions in the past have turned out well or badly: in more senses than one justice has been blind. That is why systematic analyses of sentencing policy...are especially welcome.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.325]
On science and methodology
'...scientific method...is the only generally accepted method of advancing our knowledge of anything...' [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.54]
'All science is merely the elaboration of ordinary people's reflections about various aspects of the universe.' [1938, Lament for Economics, p.20]
'...no science can make any headway at all unless it is based on exact observation of primary data and the description of these in exact language.' [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.80]
'if the chemists had used the term "oxygen" in the way that the students of politics use terms like "socialism", "honour", "interests", we should never have had the benefit of such things as anaesthetics.' [1939, 'Wanted: A New Science of Politics', The Highway, pp.50-52]
'...scientific method...is the only generally accepted method of advancing our knowledge of anything...' [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.54]
'All science is merely the elaboration of ordinary people's reflections about various aspects of the universe.' [1938, Lament for Economics, p.20]
'...no science can make any headway at all unless it is based on exact observation of primary data and the description of these in exact language.' [1950, Testament for Social Science, p.80]
'if the chemists had used the term "oxygen" in the way that the students of politics use terms like "socialism", "honour", "interests", we should never have had the benefit of such things as anaesthetics.' [1939, 'Wanted: A New Science of Politics', The Highway, pp.50-52]
On economics and economists
An economist is 'a person who can get somebody to employ him in that capacity'. [1938, Lament for Economics, p.25]
'...economics is just a cunning system of apologetics for the kind of economic order under which most of the economists themselves are living.' [1938, Lament for Economics, p.136]
'...the main effect of classical wage theories has been to justify an existing situation by explaining an imaginary one.' [The Social Foundations of Wage Policy, p.163]
'Wherever six economists are gathered there are seven opinions.' [1938, Lament for Economics, p.14]
'...economists ignore reality...they show a lamentable ineptitude, if and when they do condescend to notice the complex world in which we actually live, in making useful, or indeed even consistent, propositions, about it...they have spent too much time in minute examination of a form of society which does not exist outside the sphere of their own, rather quaint imaginations.' [1938, Lament for Economics, p.31]
'...the zealous student of economic "science" would do well from time to time to remind himself that, of all the demand and supply schedules, cost curves or indifference curves that give so formidable an appearance to his textbooks, not one (unless by accident) is founded upon fact.' [1938, Lament for Economics, p.115]
'Unemployment is, in fact, the chief cause of unemployment...This has been known to men in the street long before it was admitted by professional economists.' [1943, Full Employment, pp.10-11]
An economist is 'a person who can get somebody to employ him in that capacity'. [1938, Lament for Economics, p.25]
'...economics is just a cunning system of apologetics for the kind of economic order under which most of the economists themselves are living.' [1938, Lament for Economics, p.136]
'...the main effect of classical wage theories has been to justify an existing situation by explaining an imaginary one.' [The Social Foundations of Wage Policy, p.163]
'Wherever six economists are gathered there are seven opinions.' [1938, Lament for Economics, p.14]
'...economists ignore reality...they show a lamentable ineptitude, if and when they do condescend to notice the complex world in which we actually live, in making useful, or indeed even consistent, propositions, about it...they have spent too much time in minute examination of a form of society which does not exist outside the sphere of their own, rather quaint imaginations.' [1938, Lament for Economics, p.31]
'...the zealous student of economic "science" would do well from time to time to remind himself that, of all the demand and supply schedules, cost curves or indifference curves that give so formidable an appearance to his textbooks, not one (unless by accident) is founded upon fact.' [1938, Lament for Economics, p.115]
'Unemployment is, in fact, the chief cause of unemployment...This has been known to men in the street long before it was admitted by professional economists.' [1943, Full Employment, pp.10-11]
On professions
'...in the last resort a profession (like a nation) can only be defined as a group of people who succeed in getting themselves recognized as such.' [1955, The Social Foundations of Wage Policy, p.39]
'Over-professionalisation or pseudo-professionalism are...reflections of our social structure. So perhaps it is not without significance that in Mao's virtually classless China professional social workers are unknown and that personal and social problems are dealt with by 'street committees' of neighbours.' [1975, 'A Philosophy for the Social Services', Socialist Commentary, pp..ii-vii]
'Highly subjective assessments are still too often treated with quite unwarrantable reverence.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.311]
'...in the last resort a profession (like a nation) can only be defined as a group of people who succeed in getting themselves recognized as such.' [1955, The Social Foundations of Wage Policy, p.39]
'Over-professionalisation or pseudo-professionalism are...reflections of our social structure. So perhaps it is not without significance that in Mao's virtually classless China professional social workers are unknown and that personal and social problems are dealt with by 'street committees' of neighbours.' [1975, 'A Philosophy for the Social Services', Socialist Commentary, pp..ii-vii]
'Highly subjective assessments are still too often treated with quite unwarrantable reverence.' [1959, Social Science and Social Pathology, p.311]