Since innumerable ways are available to us for stabilizing the dollar, the specific means selected or stressed are bound to depend on how men value other objectives—that is, on the value they attach, among other things, to the organization of economic life on the basis of market processes, to a strong and alert national defense, and to the preservation of small business. The economist is likely to have definite views on these matters, but there is little reason to suppose that they are necessarily any wiser or better views than those of the politician.
All this brings me to the question: What skills, if any, does the economist have which are to some degree distinctive or unique? What is it, if anything, that sets the economist apart and enables him to help the politician in reaching sound decisions? The first and foremost quality, I think, is the economist's habit of thinking scientifically about jobs, prices, money, capital, and other factors of economic life. In considering such matters the economist is accustomed to dealing with facts, to sifting apparent inconsistencies among them, and to drawing conclusions that are warranted by the evidence in hand. If he cannot speak with the firm authority of science, he at least can often speak with the conviction that he has mobilized whatever knowledge exists to illuminate an issue of policy. With his ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, the economist can effectively set limits to the area within_ which he and others must do their guessing. In this way he can clarify the issues of policy that politicians debate and help to direct thought and eventual action along constructive channels.
intellectual Another special skill of the economist consists in his ntellectual grasp of the whole economic process, not merely one or another of its many parts. Through long practice, he is accustomed to viewing the economic system in terms of the nation's aggregate output, in terms of the preferences and choices of the individuals who made up a nation, and in terms of the flow of income to the varioug groups that have played a part in the productive process as well as to others whose claim to a share of the nation's income is a result of political decisions.
The economist's knowledge of the interdependence among the variables of economic life is limited. But he at least has some definite ideas about the relation of the parts to the whole. He appreciates that economic forces require time to work out their full effects and that the effects in the long run may be very different from those in the short run. He appreciates
also that the effects of any new economic event or policy spread out beyond the point of initial impact, and that indirect effects that are not easily "seen" can be no less important than the effects that are readily traceable to their source.
This attitude of mind, this capacity to think of the economy as a whole, to view its evolving behavior systematically, and to express some elements of that experience in fairly precise quantitative terms—this capacity is unique to the economist. It enables him to play a modest but useful part in promoting some of the goals on which the American people are united—viz., a high and stable rate of employment in relation to the labor force, a stable consumer price level, expanding output of goods and services, and improvement in people's living standards.
I am sometimes asked by young economists who are contemplating government service what advice I can offer. My answer is apt to be: First, remember that you belong to an old and honorable craft. Second, take a serious' view of the economic problems that come under your care but never of yourself. Third, stop and think when you develop the very first symptoms of the disease known as Potomac fever: love of sheer excitement and bustle. I don't know whether I have observed the first two rules. But I have at least respected the third rule and that is why I am back at Columbia.
A career in government brings many rewards to the economist. Besides the opportunity for rendering public service, it provides an insight into the workings of governmental policy which could not be obtained in any other way. However, extended government service also involves costs for the servant. An economist in high office is so busy applying what little he knows that he cannot keep up with the research that his professional colleagues are doing, to say nothing of making any addition to knowledge himself. If he stays too long in government, his intellectual capital becomes obsolete.
I value highly the experience and knowledge that I gained during the several years I spent in Washington, but I value no less the return to academic life. The work of a teacher and investigator in a university is less dramatic than that of a high public official. I doubt, however, whether it is any less important. When everything is said and done, education and research are the decisive weapons of a free people searching for a better life for themselves and for others. In the long run the world is ruled by thought and nothing else.