--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mainstream economics scholarship produces…" description: "\"Mainstream economics scholarship produces theory without facts (\"pure theory\") and facts without theory (\"applied economics\").\" — Michel Chossudovsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/michel-chossudovsky-29911_economics_mainstream-economics-scholarship-produce_2538809.jpg" --- # Mainstream economics scholarship produces theory without… ![“Mainstream economics scholarship produces theory without facts ("pure theory") and facts without theory ("applied economics").” quote by Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/michel-chossudovsky-29911_economics_mainstream-economics-scholarship-produce_2538809.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/michel-chossudovsky-29911_economics_mainstream-economics-scholarship-produce_2538809.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/michel-chossudovsky-29911_economics_mainstream-economics-scholarship-produce_2538809.jpg) > “Mainstream economics scholarship produces theory without facts ("pure theory") and facts without theory ("applied economics").” [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mainstream economics separates theory from facts, creating a loop of theory without data and data without theory **In simple terms:** Economics often disconnects theory from real evidence Key Takeaway Bridge theory and evidence in economics Themes economics methodology policy science critique Mood critical analytical Type academic inquisitive When to use this quote - Policy making - academic research - public discourse - education - media analysis Key Concepts Theory empiricism modeling Questions to Reflect On - How can economics integrate theory and data better? - What role should empirical evidence play in shaping theory? A Different Perspective Complex systems resist simple separation ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Mainstream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainstream/) [Scholarship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholarship/) ## Related quotes > [Mainstream economics scholarship produces theory without facts (pure theory) and facts without theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/mainstream-economics-scholarship-produces-theory-without-facts-pure/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [I don't care very much for the People Magazine approach to applied economics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/i-don-t-care-very-much-for-the-people-magazine-approach-to-applied/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [ \[Mathematics is\] purely intellectual, a pure theory of forms, which has for its objects not the combination of quantities or their images, the numbers,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hankel/mathematics-is-purely-intellectual-a-pure-theory-of-forms-which-has/) Hermann Hankel > [“...If you look at mainstream economics there are three things you will not find in a mainstream economic model - Banks, Debt, and Money.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/if-you-look-at-mainstream-economics-there-are-three-things-you-will/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [Almost all the other fellows do not look from the facts to the theory but from the theory to the facts; they cannot get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/almost-all-the-other-fellows-do-not-look-from-the-facts-to-the-theory/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [With respect to teaching, I couldn't make sense of mainstream economics when I had to teach it to college students. At the same time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/with-respect-to-teaching-i-couldn-t-make-sense-of-mainstream/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [I grow daily to honour facts more and more, and theory less and less. A fact, it seems to me, is a great thing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/i-grow-daily-to-honour-facts-more-and-more-and-theory-less-and-less-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“Some object that unless we have some explanation of what it is for a proposition to correspond with the facts, the theory is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-object-that-unless-we-have-some-explanation-of-what-it-is-for-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I’m not into the whole Austrian type, strongly libertarian economics. I like more mainstream economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sarvis/i-m-not-into-the-whole-austrian-type-strongly-libertarian-economics-i/) Robert Sarvis > [Theory is the essence of facts. Without theory scientific knowledge would be only worthy of the madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-heaviside/theory-is-the-essence-of-facts-without-theory-scientific-knowledge/) [Oliver Heaviside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-heaviside/) > [When people are running up more and more debt for housing, they call that "real wealth." It exposes what's wrong in the mainstream economics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/when-people-are-running-up-more-and-more-debt-for-housing-they-call/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [Who wrote the Bible? Current scholarship, to my knowledge, assumes that the material that constitutes the Old Testament was put together from various oral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/who-wrote-the-bible-current-scholarship-to-my-knowledge-assumes-that/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The Indians didn't help me in dealing with the media. I think they wanted to keep my market value down. I'm moody. I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-belle/the-indians-didn-t-help-me-in-dealing-with-the-media-i-think-they/) [Albert Belle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-belle/) > [Part of the broader task of Christian scholarship is to help create and sustain a cultural milieu in which the gospel can be heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/part-of-the-broader-task-of-christian-scholarship-is-to-help-create/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [The respect for human rights, essential if we are to use technology wisely, is not something alien that must be grafted onto science. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-respect-for-human-rights-essential-if-we-are-to-use-technology/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) ## More by Michel Chossudovsky > [According to the World Bank, the concentration of wealth and the structures of corporate economic power have no bearing on woman's rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/according-to-the-world-bank-the-concentration-of-wealth-and-the/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [The experience of Somalia shows that famine in the late 20th century is not a consequence of a shortage of food. On the contrary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/the-experience-of-somalia-shows-that-famine-in-the-late-20th-century/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [Relentlessly feeding on poverty and economic dislocation, a New World Order was taking shape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/relentlessly-feeding-on-poverty-and-economic-dislocation-a-new-world/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [For the West, the enemy was not "socialism" but capitalism. How to tame and subdue the polar bear, how to take over the talent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/for-the-west-the-enemy-was-not-socialism-but-capitalism-how-to-tame/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [Lost in the barrage of images and self-serving analysis are the economic and social causes of the conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/lost-in-the-barrage-of-images-and-self-serving-analysis-are-the/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [The civil war in Rwanda and other ethnic massacres were an integral part of US foreign policy, carefully staged in accordance with precise strategic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/the-civil-war-in-rwanda-and-other-ethnic-massacres-were-an-integral/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [Mainstream economics scholarship produces theory without facts (pure theory) and facts without theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/mainstream-economics-scholarship-produces-theory-without-facts-pure/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [Global poverty is an input on the supply side; the global economic system feeds on cheap labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/global-poverty-is-an-input-on-the-supply-side-the-global-economic/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [While Financier George Soros was investing money in Kosovo's reconstruction, the George Soros Foundation for an Open Society had opened a branch office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/while-financier-george-soros-was-investing-money-in-kosovo-s/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [Modern capitalism appears totally incapable of mobilizing these untapped human and resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/modern-capitalism-appears-totally-incapable-of-mobilizing-these/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [Both Hindu, as well as Islamic fundamentalism, feed on the poverty of the masses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/both-hindu-as-well-as-islamic-fundamentalism-feed-on-the-poverty-of/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [ The achievements of past struggles and the aspirations of an entire nation are \[being\] undone and erased… No Agent Orange or steel pellet bombs,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/the-achievements-of-past-struggles-and-the-aspirations-of-an-entire/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [The Cayman Islands, a British Crown colony in the Caribbean, for instance, is the fifth largest banking center in the world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/the-cayman-islands-a-british-crown-colony-in-the-caribbean-for/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [Humanity is undergoing, in the post-Cold War era, an economic and social crisis of unprecedented scale leading to the rapid impoverishment of large sectors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/humanity-is-undergoing-in-the-post-cold-war-era-an-economic-and/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) > [The budget targets imposed by the Bretton Woods institutions, combined with the effects of the devaluation, trigger the collapse of public investment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/the-budget-targets-imposed-by-the-bretton-woods-institutions-combined/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) [Explore all 18 Michel Chossudovsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) ## More Economics quotes > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don't have anything useful to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zandi/our-biggest-challenge-is-to-eliminate-the-popular-perception-that/) [Mark Zandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zandi/) > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [Our engagement through international economics, trade, these trade agreements, is vital and is linked to our national security. This is a lesson we learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-boustany/our-engagement-through-international-economics-trade-these-trade/) [Charles Boustany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-boustany/) > [“The free-market economy and globalisation process have brought about, in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, a sharp and sudden rise in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaakov-malkin/the-free-market-economy-and-globalisation-process-have-brought-about/) Yaakov Malkin > [“Everything economic science posits as given, that is, the range of dispositions of the economic agent which ground the illusion of the ahistorical universality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bourdieu/everything-economic-science-posits-as-given-that-is-the-range-of/) [Pierre Bourdieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bourdieu/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [Having an economy that works for the 99% is achievable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-byanyima/having-an-economy-that-works-for-the-99-is-achievable/) [Winnie Byanyima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-byanyima/) > [“a select group of high-performing companies have managed to close the strategy-to-performance gap through better planning and execution. These companies—Barclays, Cisco Systems, Dow Chemical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mankins/a-select-group-of-high-performing-companies-have-managed-to-close-the/) [Michael C. Mankins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mankins/) > [The system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-system-of-private-property-is-the-most-important-guaranty-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Economists think about what people ought to do. Psychologists watch what they actually do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/economists-think-about-what-people-ought-to-do-psychologists-watch/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Economists have a singular method of procedure. There are only two kinds of institutions for them, artificial and natural. The institutions of feudalism are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/economists-have-a-singular-method-of-procedure-there-are-only-two/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [As the variable capital always stays in the hands of the capitalist in some form or other, it cannot be claimed in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-the-variable-capital-always-stays-in-the-hands-of-the-capitalist/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) [Browse all 7,788 Economics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mainstream economics scholarship produces theory without facts (\"pure theory\") and facts without theory (\"applied economics\").", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel Chossudovsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/mainstream-economics-scholarship-produces-theory-without-facts-pure-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Economics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/mainstream-economics-scholarship-produces-theory-without-facts-pure-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/michel-chossudovsky-29911_economics_mainstream-economics-scholarship-produce_2538809.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/michel-chossudovsky-29911_economics_mainstream-economics-scholarship-produce_2538809.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/michel-chossudovsky-29911_economics_mainstream-economics-scholarship-produce_2538809.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mainstream economics scholarship produces theory without facts (\"pure theory\") and facts without theory…” — Michel Chossudovsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michel Chossudovsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Mainstream economics scholarship produces theory without...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/mainstream-economics-scholarship-produces-theory-without-facts-pure-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/mainstream-economics-scholarship-produces-theory-without-facts-pure-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```