while gintis optimism about the intellectual level of econ departments is silly, his point is important. If you look at RW econ, it basically accepts a mixed economy, but wraps its authoritarian and ugly political views in some Hayekian BS about free markets. Nobody seriously suggests Boeing or AirBus try the naked free market. But Gintis remarks make me think that we have the same thing on the left: a ideological artificial flavor which involves some BS about coops to disguise the fact that the exact same mixed economy view is being sold. something like that.