The entire purpose of social science is to apply disciplined, logical, and serious analysis to of all aspects of contemporary social life. Whether ‘scientific’ or not, this process of exploration is intrinsically valuable.

While parts of Aditya Chakrabortty’s recent piece in the Guardian were sensible and informed, its central claim was unfair – that social science disciplines have been unable or unwilling to explore, explain, and confront the ‘Great Financial Crash’ of 2007-9