“I would sum up the public responsibilities of the economist as follows:
– be brave about your conclusions when they are firmly based on empirical research;
– be modest about your conclusions otherwise, and own up to the limits of our knowledge and the nature of uncertainty;
– do not hesitate to engage in the discussion of controversial subjects, especially if there are myths to be punctured, or if others are engaging in the abuse of evidence to support their prior views;
– but if you are arguing on the basis of your political views rather than empirical research, or taking a view that supports a particular company or interest that has been funding your research, you have a duty to say so;
– above all, communicate better with non-economists and the general public, because good economic policies will not be implemented if they do not have popular legitimacy, and the public understanding of economics is low.
I end up with the sense that in what we collectively say about public policy, economists sound too certain where we ought to be humble about how little we know, and too hesitant where we ought to have more confidence. In both cases, we have been doing no service to economics. The imperative driving these behaviours is the wish to tell others engaged in policy-making what they want to hear. But if you want to be liked, you probably shouldn’t become an economist. ” — Diane Coyle, Tanner Lectures on Human Values, 2012.
Finally, Keynes’ magnificent vision of an economist has been clearly explained.