Human Centered · Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences

A Different Glenn Loury

·1 hr 11 min·5 clips

Glenn Loury confesses he became a 'black conservative' to escape doubts about his potential as an economic theorist.

This episode features economist and public intellectual Glenn Loury in conversation with his former student, economist Rohini Somanathan. Their discussion explores Loury's career evolution, his reflections on race, and the influence of academic institutions. Loury explains he began drafting his memoir during a 2015-16 fellowship at Stanford's Center for Advanced Study. He initially struggled to find a framework, titling a draft "Changing My Mind" to reflect his ideological shifts, but has now completed a manuscript for publication in 2024. He describes choosing economics at Northwestern in the 1970s as a way to bridge his mathematical interests with a desire to address urgent social justice issues. Loury recounts a crisis of confidence as a young professor in Harvard's economics department, feeling isolated among famous colleagues. Economist Thomas Schelling counseled him, laughing and noting that many faculty members shared similar anxieties. Loury moved from Harvard's economics department to its Kennedy School of Government, a transition aided by Schelling. He states this period coincided with his emergence as a "Black conservative" public figure, as he began questioning mainstream civil rights narratives and emphasizing supply-side factors in racial inequality. He credits Boston University's economics department in the early 1990s, led by chairman Larry Kotlikoff, with providing a collegial space that reignited his passion for economic theory. Loury contrasts the high-pressure, individualistic culture he experienced at Harvard with the more open, collaborative environment he found earlier as a graduate student at MIT. He notes MIT's department, shaped by figures like Paul Samuelson, actively recruited Black students in the early 1970s. A surprising insight is Loury's acknowledgment that his public intellectual persona offered rewards and affirmation that partly relieved his doubts about his potential as a pure economic theorist. He describes his 2002 book, "The Anatomy of Racial Inequality," as moving from a formal model of "stereotype" based on statistical discrimination to a more sociological concept of "stigma." Loury recalls economist William "Sandy" Darity Jr. challenging the realism of statistical discrimination models by asking why agents in such models never experiment and learn the truth. This question, along with readings in sociology, led Loury to consider the limits of rational-choice frameworks for understanding deep-seated racial biases. He references sociologist Orlando Patterson's theory from "Slavery and Social Death," which posits that slavery's core is dishonor and "natal alienation," not just labor exploitation. The tone is reflective, intellectual, and conversational, grounded in a decades-long mentor-student relationship. The style is a deep, meandering dialogue that explores personal history, academic politics, and conceptual evolution without rushing to conclusions. Listeners interested in the personal journeys of public intellectuals, the hidden cultures of elite universities, and nuanced economic thinking on race will find this compelling. Those seeking a structured debate or definitive policy answers might find the introspective and narrative style less engaging.

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A patient conversation about pressure, fit, and intellectual work inside institutions.

Human Centered spends its time on the pressure, fit, and self confidence that serious intellectual work demands inside hard edged institutions.

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