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After a dozen years as a market research executive, Fred Phillips was professor, dean, and vice provost at a variety of universities in the US, Europe, and South America. He is now Visiting Professor... Read More »

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Resilience: Debunking The Debunker

Resilience: Debunking The Debunker

Jan 15 2024 | comment(s)

Sarah Green Carmichael, in a Bloomberg News item titled “You don’t need more resilience, you need friends, and money” debunks the business gurus who tell us all resilience comes from inside us. Sarah’s thesis is that our environments determine our resilience, or at least can shield us from the traumas that necessitate resilience.

There’s DEI, And Then There’s DEI

There’s DEI, And Then There’s DEI

Jan 12 2024 | comment(s)

A job interview, some years back, at No Name University (NNU). I was the candidate. The diversity question, pitched right on schedule. The surprise was who asked it. Of the seven search committee members (plus the search firm rep) only one was a person of color, and guess who they stuck with asking the diversity question? A clear signal I would not want to work at their institution, but I gave it my best game anyway.

The Economics You Were Taught? Dead.

The Economics You Were Taught? Dead.

Jan 05 2024 | comment(s)

This is a companion piece to “Enough: Toward A Sustainable Economics” 

https://www.science20.com/fred_phillips/enough_toward_a_sustainable_economics-256755.

Fallen Tech Heroes Miss Chance At Redemption

Fallen Tech Heroes Miss Chance At Redemption

Dec 24 2023 | comment(s)

Jobs. Gates. Berners-Lee. They opened our worlds to wonders: Graphical user interfaces, PCs, the World Wide Web. They were my heroes, and probably yours, deservedly so.

What Should College Presidents Do?

What Should College Presidents Do?

Dec 18 2023 | comment(s)


Enough: Toward A Sustainable Economics

Enough: Toward A Sustainable Economics

Aug 25 2023 | comment(s)

We're no longer surprised that so many people bow down to the Invisible Hand of economics, worshipping its messenger coins and notes, and attending its oracles, the Wall Street analysts. Adam Smith, the 18th-century originator of the invisible hand metaphor, took pains to affirm its workings should be tempered by moral considerations and should not be interpreted as the will of God. Those emphases have been lost.