It might seem that agnotological interventions in an academic discipline could be greeted as an unwelcome source of meddling; for instance, many a climate scientist might ruefully wish that he had never drawn the attentions of the NTC. But in this, as in so many other respects, economics has been the outlier, because one might argue that the corporate body of orthodox economists has actually benefited enormously from the escalation of cacophony, rendering it relatively more immune to the wrath of a disillusioned populace. Precisely because of the material and intellectual conditions identified above, economists generally are not so very offended by the gush of tainted money and dubious activity pouring into the various extremities of the professional citadel of economics since the crisis. In short, the promotion of doubt over "what orthodox economists really believe" has proven a convenient smokescreen behind which the profession can evade the pitchfork-wielding populace, all the while pursuing its conventional practice of telling its patrons what they want to hear.

Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis …, loc. 633