13 MAY 1978, Page 16

Lord Balogh rebuked

Sir: The world is complex and consequently most arguments about it are complicated. It is perfectly legitimate, when debating some issue, to simplify a protagonist's views In order to highlight a fundamental error. But it is absurd to simplify someone's views and then accuse him of 'oversimplification'.

This is Profesor Balogh's habitual technique. He resorts to it again in reviewing (6 May) Tim Congdon's admirable book on Monetarism. It is significant that though Professor Balogh presents severalsilly statements in quotation marks and attributes them to monetarists, none comes from the book he is reviewing: all have been composed by the reviewer.

Peter Lilley 17, Montford Place, The Oval, London SE11