Attempts to explain the shift from egalitarian Classical economic thought to the difference and hierarchy of post - Classical economic thinking Continuing the themes introduced in Levy’s acclaimed book How the Dismal Subject Got Its Name, The Vanity of the Philosopher picks up the issues of racism, eugenies, hierarchy, and egalitarianism in classical economics and looks at the various attacks on classical economics’ doctrine of human equality. Responding to accusations over the years from the left and the right that the market economy has created either inequality or too much equality, Peart and Levy look at the role of the eugenies movement in pushing economics away from the classical economists’ respect for the individual toward a more racist view at the turn of the century. Thus the book attempts to demonstrate the consequences of hierarchy in social science. It show how the
vanity of the philosopher
has led to recommendations that range from the more benign but still objectionable
looking after
paternalism, to overriding preferences, and, in the extreme, to eliminating purportedly bad preferences. The conclusion is that, at least as a first approximation, an analytical system that abstracts from difference and presumes equal competence is morally compelling.