Duly acknowledging Andrew's talent as lampoonist, I offer an
equally oblique response in the form of a quotation from a
well-known countryman of mine.
"If we take in our hand any volume ... let us ask, Does it
contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or
number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning
concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it then
to the flames: for it can contain nothing but sophistry and
illusion."
BTW, almost all empirical work in the social sciences is
done with school paste and styrofoam (i.e., less than ideal
data sources). Like Duncan, I don't believe that vitiates
empirical work, or absolves Marxists of the responsibility
of putting their theories to the test of evidence.
Allin Cottrell