We insist, start without us

The revolution...in economics, that is.  The one that just found out that when the price is zero demand outstrips supply;

...sometimes you don't even realize that there's a social revolution going on until you find yourself in the middle of one. That's what's happened to me.

I work for the Institute for New Economic Thinking, a research and education foundation in New York. Each year we hold an international conference that gathers major figures from the global economic community to discuss new ideas for addressing the critical challenges facing society.

Our conference this year starts Thursday in Berlin. Considering the location and timing, our focus naturally is on the financial crisis in Europe.

To incorporate some younger voices into the mix, we decided to invite a few students. So we put out word that we were accepting applications for 25 doctoral candidates from around the world to attend the conference, all expenses paid, and actively participate in our program and panel discussions. We figured that we'd receive from 100 to 150 responses. We got 563.

Obviously, we were caught off-guard by the level of enthusiasm. But in that heaping pile of applications we also could see a budding community of young scholars who don't want to pursue economics as it's traditionally been taught.

But, at least they recognize a freebie when it is offered.