Why is it called economics?

A nice introduction to a...discipline(?) known as feminist economics. Several observations:

-Why bother attacking an introductory textbook? It's understood within the economics profession that ALL of these issues are more complicated and that economics can only hope to approximate a description by simplification through models. No one believes that the Phillips curve is absolute fact, but it's still useful to think about in order to gain an understanding of how inflation and unemployment might interact. In your introductory political science course (Robert Dahl anyone?) a survey of democracy can't always be expected to discuss how poll-taxes were used to prevent poor people from voting or how ignorant people can be manipulated.

Also, there are plenty of economists (here's a fantastic example) who are extremely concerned with values insertion in economics research and theory. However, they seem to be significantly more careful in their analysis.

-Second: Related to my previous post regarding moral perspectives about markets, the feminist critiques include so many assertions it's astounding. Women's caring natures? I've some anecdotal evidence to the contrary. And here is where economics and feminomics diverge. One shouldn't castigate an extremely rigorous discipline for working within its stated assumptions and context by spewing any assumption and generalization that occurs to one's pretty little progressive head.

-They mistake theory for practice. The literature on the theory of trade is far different from the literature on the practice of trade as it has transpired. Moreover, it is an almost universal convention to include in intro textbooks qualifiers to the effect that while a trade can increase the pie overall, it can certainly cause some to lose their spot at the table.

The ultimate conclusion being that it would be better to get the bigger pie and figure out a way to find a few more chairs. This qualification, however, receives no mention.

Anyway, I thought it was an interesting, though mildly frustrating, read.