But not Notes! Chandra

It is a “must read for anybody interested in economics”.. said my friend Jayakamal in his mail to me.

There are two interesting good notes:

Gertrude Himmelfarb writes “Like all moral lapses, this one started on a slippery slope: the relegation of notes to the back of the book. And, like all such lapses, this one has a venerable precedent. It was in 1754, in his "Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men" (familiarly known as the "Second Discourse") that Jean-Jacques Rousseau appended to the preface an ominous "Notice on the Notes":

"I have added some notes to this work, following my lazy custom of working in fits and starts. These notes sometimes stray so far from the subject that they are not good to read with the text. I have therefore relegated them to the end of the Discourse, in which I have tried my best to follow the straightest path. Those who have the courage to begin again will be able to amuse themselves the second time in beating the bushes, and try to go through the notes. There will be little harm if others do not read them at all."

Richard Ebeling's excellent comment, “economist will step up to the plate and speak out in defense of allowing the market to correct and recoordinate in this time of financial crisis, the answer is: most likely no one”.

 One may muse how come ‘no one’