Down with Freakonomics

I thought Freakonomics was a clever little book when it first came out. I've since been convinced that the Freakonomics approach to economics is destroying my profession. The argument against Freakonomics, in a nutshell, is: how about we think about important economic issues for awhile rather than spending so much time and energy showing each other how clever we are?

Sady Doyle has an excellent definition of Freakonomics:

Freakonomics, of course, is the science of choosing an appropriately wacky or controversial subject (sumo wrestlers, abortion), applying a little economic analysis to it and coming up with a shocking conclusion that will make people blog about you.

The takedowns in blogotopia of Levitt and Dubner's new book, Superfreakonomics, have become very tiresome. But the lesson we should learn from all this is simple: don't buy Superfreakonomics. Buy The Cost of Capitalism instead.