Assume a can opener

A manual can opener
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"Assume a can opener" is a catchphrase used to mock economists and other theorists who base their conclusions on unjustified or oversimplified assumptions.[1][2]

The phrase derives from a joke which dates to at least 1970 and possibly originated with British economists.[3] The first book mentioning it is likely Economics as a Science (1970) by Kenneth E. Boulding:[4]

There is a story that has been going around about a physicist, a chemist, and an economist who were stranded on a desert island with no implements and a can of food. The physicist and the chemist each devised an ingenious mechanism for getting the can open; the economist merely said, "Assume we have a can opener"!

The phrase was popularized in a 1981 book and has become sufficiently well known that many writers on economic topics use it as a catchphrase without further explanation.[5][6]

  1. ^ Mankiw, N. Gregory (2010). Macroeconomics (7th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. pp. 238–239. ISBN 978-1-4292-1887-0.
  2. ^ Kaletsky, Anatole (2010). "11 "There is no can opener"". Capitalism 4.0: The Birth of a New Economy in the Aftermath of Crisis. New York: Public Affairs, a member of the Perseus Books Group. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-58648-871-0.
  3. ^ Popik, Barry (December 5, 2010). "'Assume you have a can opener' (economics joke about opening a food can)". The Big Apple.
  4. ^ Kenneth E. Boulding: Economics as a Science. McGraw-Hill, 1970, p. 101
  5. ^ Drum, Kevin (August 18, 2010). "First, Assume a Can Opener..." Mother Jones. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  6. ^ "Monetary policy: First, assume a can-opener". The Economist. November 28, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2013.