Economics is an imperfect field, but a major source of criticism of it is that many people fundamentally object to the idea that you can ask "is" questions about the economy. The only proper questions are "ought" questions, and since economics is mostly about "is" questions, it's automatically suspect.
There really were a group of economists that fit the "license to be bad" stereotype, such as Milton Friedman. But Arrow was not one of them.
There really were a group of economists that fit the "license to be bad" stereotype, such as Milton Friedman. But Arrow was not one of them.