Discussion Composite photography and statistical prejudice: Levy-Peart and Marshall on the theorist and the theorized M. Ali Khan * Department of Economics, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA Received 29 October 2003; received in revised form 3 November 2003; accepted 4 November 2003 Abstract I read the three texts of Marshall singled out by Levy-Peart in their implication of statistical prejudice in canonical texts of eugenics, and thereby reconsider their more far-reaching implication of the theorist’s relationship to the theorized. D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: J7; B31 Keywords: Theorist; Theorized; Theoretician; Theorizing; Marshall; Eugenics; Composite photography 1. Introductory comment In an article that is part of a courageous and interesting research program, 1 Levy and Peart (2004) consider the prejudice that ‘‘different from us means ‘‘inferior’’ to us.’’ 2 They do this by viewing, all under one lens, eugenics, biometrics and classical economics (Section 2), Galton, Pearson and the Jews (Sections 3 and 4), eugenics and immigration and racial policies of British and American post-classical economists (Section 5). But perhaps more than a sordid historical episode, it is the authors’ conclusions as regards 0176-2680/$ - see front matter D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2003.11.001 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-410-516-8545; fax: +1-410-516-7600. E-mail address: akhan@jhu.edu (M.A. Khan). 1 In addition to Levy (2001) and Levy-Peart (2001 – 2002) in the references of Levy and Peart (2004), see their Classical Economics and the Cattle Herders: From ‘‘The Vanity of the Philosopher’’to Eugenic Central Planning, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 2004. Unless indicated, all subsequent references to Levy- Peart are to Levy and Peart (2004). 2 This is the first sentence of the last section titled Conclusion: Dismissing the Theorist. www.elsevier.com/locate/econbase European Journal of Political Economy Vol. 20 (2004) 23–30