Economics Rules. The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science by Dani Rodrik is a rather good middle of the road account of both the promise and shortcomings of Economics. Rodrik is quick to point out that Economics will never have the predictive power of certain natural sciences. Social forces are too varied and layered. Instead, Economics deals with a variety of models (another name for theories) of how social/economic forces work.
Unlike physics, which has, more or less, a central theory of how the universe works, Economics will always be a pluralistic pursuit. One model will never suit all areas of the economy. So, an economist must pick a model that suits a particular problem. Rodrik admits that this is more art than science, and involves a great deal of intuition. This, Rodrik explains, is not taught to graduate students, and is largely learned by economists early in their career by trial and error or informal professional guidance.
Overall, this is an informative book. Rodrik does go into the weeds sometimes, getting off target, getting a bit too technical at times. Still, Rodrik makes great points about the field. He provides a view of Economics that is not dogmatic, while also not overly cynical either.
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