In his book on the economics of the economic profession, Sťastný (2010) provides a valuable service not only to professional economists, but also to the broader public who ought to be aware of the incentive structure of economic research and therefore cautious of accepting the advice of expert economists. In his book, Sťastný makes two broad claims, or two series of claims. The first revolves around the disconnect that exists between economists’ policy prescriptions and reality. In spite of the consensual views of economists on subjects like trade protectionism, rent controls, or agricultural subsidies, these demonstrably harmful policies remain in place, and sometimes even enjoy popular support. Hence the frustration experienced by many economists who were lured into economics with the ambition of changing, reforming, and improving the world. The second series of claims tries to account for the peculiar interaction between the supply and demand for economic ideas. Sťastný claims that the growing irrelevance of economists in shaping public policy has led them to embark on less and less salient lines of inquiry and to indulge in solving obscure mathematical problems instead of addressing empirically relevant questions and being a significant voice in public debates. Worse yet, professional economists have abandoned their original vocation and, instead of speaking truth to the powerful, they have started to accommodate the politicians’ demand for a ‘scientific’ and ‘scholarly’ justification of their actions. As a result, Sťastný argues, economists have become less socially useful than garbagemen. Our ambition is not to denounce individual economists or economists as a group— and neither is that Sťastný’s ambition. What we wish to subject to critical scrutiny, Rev Austrian Econ (2012) 25:173–183 DOI 10.1007/s11138-011-0160-6