Laws are just commonly observed relationships, and observed relationships always exist within a given set of boundaries and assumptions.
Change the boundaries or the context, and the law may no longer apply.
Consider Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation:
F ~ Mm/r^2
This observed relationship doesn’t hold under very large M or very small r. In those contexts, a different relationship is required. That doesn’t invalidate this one, though. It just maks it situationally useful.
He has a point in that economics should be more humble. It’s a social science, not a hard science, and it should treat itself with the same level of introspection and humility as sociology or psychology.
Ugh. I feel dirty for defending economists, but…
Laws are just commonly observed relationships, and observed relationships always exist within a given set of boundaries and assumptions.
Change the boundaries or the context, and the law may no longer apply.
Consider Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation:
F ~ Mm/r^2
This observed relationship doesn’t hold under very large M or very small r. In those contexts, a different relationship is required. That doesn’t invalidate this one, though. It just maks it situationally useful.
Which all of these laws are.
He has a point in that economics should be more humble. It’s a social science, not a hard science, and it should treat itself with the same level of introspection and humility as sociology or psychology.