… is from pages 48-49 of Arnold Kling’s superb 2016 book, Specialization and Trade: A Re-introduction to Economics:
The engineering approach requires a presumption that someone is standing outside the economy – an economic policy adviser – who, with the aid of simple models and equations, clearly sees what it would take to achieve outcomes that are superior to those that would emerge without government intervention. The engineers argue, quite reasonably, that we should not interpret market outcomes as perfect or ideal. However, they implicitly assume, much less reasonably, that the political process aided by economic models, will succeed in correcting the flaws in markets. Moreover, they assume that individuals and organizations acting in the context of markets will be unable to adapt to solve the problems that arise.
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