Ezra Klein’s nominally talking to economists, but you guys sitting in the back might get something out of this as well:
Listen to political scientists, sociologists, etc. They have perspectives, evidence and training worthy of consideration.
jfleck at inkstain
A few thoughts from John Fleck, a writer of journalism and other things, living in New Mexico
Especially sociologists ’cause they’re badass
I would disagree about listening to political scientists, sociologists (And psychologists, too).
I would say: economists, political scientists and sociologists are normally distributed like anyone else. Do the same thing you’d do if you were a hiring manager looking for employees:
look at a number of candidates, check out their track records, and select a few to watch carefully, and if convinced they are good, listen hard to *them*.
I know some people in each of these categories I think are very good, but there are plenty I really wonder about. Hard sciences sometimes provide stronger reality checks, conservation laws, etc, but the fields above are in some ways more difficult.
Oh, wow – we should listen to a diversity of perspectives! Who knew?
Best,
D