Economists’ inability to model such rapid, radical change should not be taken as a condemnation of the discipline; it is simply a reflection of the state of our knowledge, and of the fact that the economy is really, really complicated. We simply do not yet have sufficiently precise insights into how all of its elements interact during times of far-reaching change, whether it be a financial crisis or a growth spurt.
举个例子，欧盟在2050年实现温室气体减排80%的目标必然意味着在未来短短几十年内对联盟境内各类基础设施进行全面升级改造。即便经济学家无法为这种迅速且激进的变革构建出模型，他们也不应该受到谴责，因为这只不过反映了我们当前的知识水平，以及经济学真的非常、非常复杂的现实。我们只不过尚未具备足够的深刻洞察力去理解在一场遥远的变革——不管是一场金融危机还是爆发式增长——中所有的因素将如何互动。