At James Madison College, I teach courses such as "Politics & Markets," "Constitutionalism & Democracy," "Constitutional Political Economy," and and applied public policy seminar--"Michigan Futures in a Global Economy." Despite differences in content and approach in different classes, they all have the same objectives. Some time ago I wrote the following about my objectives and being at JMC:

George Stigler once said of Frank H. Knight:

For most present-day economists, the primary purpose of their study is to increase our knowledge of the workings of the enterprise and other economic systems. For Knight, the primary role of economic theory is rather different: it is to contribute to the understanding of how by consensus based upon rational discussion we can fashion [a] liberal society in which individual freedom is preserved and a satisfactory performance achieved. This vast social undertaking allows only a small role for the economist, and that role requires only a correct understanding of the central core of value theory.

Insofar as that "central core of value theory" is the link between cost and choice, I would agree with Knight, although an understanding of that core probably takes us farther than Knight was willing to go!

If I have characterized Knight rightly, then the central problem he posed for social science still stands (despite the efforts of social scientists throughout the twentieth century to resolve, bypass, or even simply ignore it!): liberal democracy is "government by discussion," not the rule of experts, and the exercise of social control, even in the name of "good" social science, is inimical to liberty.

What might this have to do with teaching? Two things.

First, I am privileged now to teach in a setting where the question of what role the social sciences play in a successful liberal society based upon rational discussion has explicitly been left open. Liberal education is deeply ethical because it prepares students to recognize the multi-dimensional nature of public choices, to appreciate how various disciplines may play a role in understanding those choices, and, above all, to continually ask whether the choices made reveal us to be the people we want to be. My task over the next several years is simultaneously to help keep the conversation open, and to help students and others appreciate the "small role" that economics has to play in the fashioning of a liberal society.

Secondly, undergraduate liberal education in public affairs is not the impartation of "knowledge" from an expert to the uneducated. Rather, it is a common exploration, in which both teacher and student learn. I have often referred to the following story to illustrate my teaching philosophy:

Rabbi Hayim of Tsanz used to tell this parable. A man wandering lost in the forest for several days, finally encountered another. He called out: "Brother, show me the way out of this forest!" The man replied: "Brother, I too am lost. I can only tell you this: The ways I have tried lead nowhere; they have only led me astray. Take my hand and let us search for the way together." And Rabbi Chayim would add: "So it is with us. When we go our separate ways, we may go astray; let us join hands and look for the way together."