Economics is a failing discipline doing great harm – so let's rethink it | Andrew Simms

Our global economy should serve rather than dominate people - and that includes factoring in the climate crisis, too

Something is killing conventional economics and it's probably an inside job. Reliance on abstract mathematics and absurd assumptions has brought the discipline into disrepute, even if politics and policy are guided by the ghosts of its teaching.

Nobody was surprised recently to learn that the price of the overdue and over-budget HS2 high-speed rail project could rise by another 30bn. People were surprised to learn, however, that in the cost-benefit analysis used to justify the original project, planners assumed that no passengers work while on a train. That made the times savings on the new line look more valuable than they really were.

Related: What happens when ordinary people learn economics? | Aditya Chakrabortty

Related: While economic growth continues we'll never kick our fossil fuels habit | George Monbiot