Economists should be trained to think critically about their assumptions and methods, and to judge theories not simply on their mathematical originality or elegance.

FEED believes in the value of pluralism and diversity in any science, where radically innovative ideas are encouraged, but they are tested by rigorous scrutiny and debate.

The discipline should not be defined in terms of a set of favoured assumptions or techniques, but in terms of the use of rigorous scientific approaches to understand and explain economic phenomena.In 1992, FEED funded an initiative in the form of a "plea"[2] that was drafted and circulated among prominent members of the economics profession by Geoffrey Hodgson, Uskali Mäki, and Deirdre McCloskey.

Consequently, we call for a new spirit of pluralism in economics, involving critical conversation and tolerant communication between different approaches.

We believe that the new pluralism should be reflected in the character of scientific debate, in the range of contributions in its journals, and in the training and hiring of economists.The above text was signed by the following leading economists: Moses Abramovitz, W. Brian Arthur, Robert Axelrod, Mark Blaug, Kenneth E. Boulding, Keith Cowling, Richard M. Cyert, Richard H. Day, Paul Davidson, Phyllis Deane, Edward F. Denison, Meghnad Desai, Christopher Freeman, Bruno Frey, Eirik Furubotn, John Kenneth Galbraith, Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, Richard M. Goodwin, Clive W. J. Granger, Jean-Michel Gradmont, Geoffrey Harcourt, Robert Heilbroner, Albert O. Hirschman, Charles P. Kindleberger, János Kornai, David Laidler, Harvey Leibenstein, Robin C. O. Matthews, Thomas Mayer, Hyman Minsky, Franco Modigliani, Richard R. Nelson, Mancur Olson, Luigi Pasinetti, Mark Perlman, Kurt Rothschild, Paul A. Samuelson, Martin Shubik, Herbert A. Simon, Aris Spanos, Jan Tinbergen, Shigeo Tsuru, Douglas Vickers, E. Roy Weintraub.