This isn't really how this works though. You don't get to elevate economics by tearing into other fields, all you do is drag them down (fine by me). You invoke

This isn't really how this works though. You don't get to elevate economics by tearing into other fields, all you do is drag them down (fine by me). You invoked "economics textbooks" like some kind of conversation-ender, and I showcased several things economists treat as hard natural law that end up being, at best, oddly amiss in key cases: - Rent control (Montreal has it, best city in North America) - Free trade (China doesn't do it, most reduction of poverty world-wide) - Sweatshops are desired (Except in a controlled experiment where they are not imposed, they are rejected) - Debt is bad (Incredibly damaging pro-austerity garbage study boosted in spite its flaws) Feel free to make each subsequent case on its own merits and evidence as you understand it, but please don't point at economists and act like they possess an authority that they do not. And preponderance of studies doesn't eclipse a key result. Montreal routinely ranks as the best city on the continent, so even if something "works in most places", it doesn't mean it's something you should pursue when you're trying to be the best, or when you're trying to do well by yourself and not trying to be the best. You surely know about the economics "Theory of the Second Best"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_the_second_best https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_the_second_best