Everybody has a model. It might be specified in code, it might be a set of equations, or it might be a poorly-specified and half-unconscious set of assumptions and biases in your own head.
I'm having a hard time thinking of a topic involving economics where the latter would be preferable.
They do and that's fine. Now that they're written down, they're conscious and specified, so we can examine both the assumptions and their implications.
I'm having a hard time thinking of a topic involving economics where the latter would be preferable.