Comments on: Masters and Servants in the U.S. and Pakistan: Insights and Missed Opportunities

By: Rubina Sohail

Rubina Sohail — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 07:07:00 +0000

Your insight and comments are a treat for me. At your age , this maturity of thought is commendable

By: Jeffrey Goldfarb

Jeffrey Goldfarb — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:47:00 +0000

I worry that the present vogue with collective memory reveals a loss of vision. I think the distinction between vision and ideology is very important. We need vision, could do well without ideology. We need vision to imagine alternatives to the past and present. I found the article building upon concrete experience most illuminating. The exchange between Khan and Milberg is a special treat.

By: Daniyal Khan

Daniyal Khan — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:45:00 +0000

Thank you for your comments, Prof. Milberg. A study of Heilbroner’s work has indeed led me to understand the importance of not only the explicit articulation of vision, but also of subjecting it to what he called “painful self-scrutiny.” Much of his own work is an attempt to scrutinize the vision which guides modern economic thought. While he was aware of the pitfalls of ideology, he was also aware of the legitimacy and necessity of vision. The fear that vision is “merely ideological” is founded, I think, on the failure to distinguish ideological aspects of vision from non-ideological ones. Schumpeter himself thought that “vision is ideological *almost* by definition [emphasis added],” but not entirely so.

By: Will Milberg

Will Milberg — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:22:00 +0000

This is a wonderful posting, and as Heilbroner’s former colleague and co-author, I can say without doubt that he would amazed at the insights gained about life in 21st century Lahore from this reflection on Heilbroner’s class position in early 20th century New York City. I like that Khan begins with the quote about the vanishing of analytical capacity at the level of vision, but ends with a fascinating remark on the consciousness of self-alienation. Heilbroner was of course interested in the history of economic ideas, but even here I think he shared Khan’s perspective: that vision (the term he borrows from Schumpeter) is not simply inevitable and ideological at its core, but that its explicit articulation is an important source of creativity in social analysis. In this sense, the great fear in the economics profession — that it is non-scientific or merely ideological — was viewed by Heilbroner (and I think Khan would agree) as a great strength in our efforts to understand the social. Will Milberg

By: Will Milberg

Will Milberg — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:22:00 +0000