Is fairness the enemy of the possible?

Is fairness the enemy of the possible in Europe? James Surowiecki seems to think so, which is why he suggests that “voters and politicians on all sides need to stop asking themselves what’s fair and start asking themselves what’s possible.” In one sense, Surowiecki is right: the ultimatum game, when at least one of the [...]

Austerity 101

The obvious response to the current crisis in higher education is to demand more financing for public colleges and universities and to create more jobs for college graduates. However, the new austerians, such as Robert Samuelson, simply dismiss these possibilities and argue instead that fewer young people should go to college. The college-for-all crusade has [...]

All warfare is based on deception

If “all warfare is based on deception” (Sun Tzu), the biggest deception concerns the costs of warfare. That’s why the work done by the folks at costsofwar.org is so important. They have attempted to estimate the human, economics, and sociopolitical costs of the ongoing wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Here are some of their [...]

“Inequality wasn’t the answer”

A friend suggested, in an email, that I may have been “on to something” when I presented my “Mind the Gap” paper at the Volcano symposium. The evidence is a recent column by Heather Stewart, who reports on last week’s OECD forum in Paris. For a long time, the growing gap between rich and poor [...]

Pay-to-play economists

source* In an excerpt from his new book, Predator Nation, Charles H. Ferguson, the director of Inside Job, describes how “significant portions of American academia have deteriorated into ‘pay to play’ activities.” Academics on industry payrolls are now so numerous and powerful that they can often prevent universities, professional associations, and academic journals from adopting [...]

A stopped clock. . .

A stopped clock is right twice a day, and even Robert Samuelson has to get something right once in a while. American capitalism is on trial. When Americans vote in November, they will unavoidably choose between these competing visions of capitalism. One would try to improve capitalism by controlling it more. The other would aim [...]

“It’s a war between people and capitalism”

Time is running out for capitalism in Greece. That, apparently, is what mainstream economists like John Kay and Paul Krugman are afraid of. Alexis Tsipras, head of the Syriza party, explains why: “I don’t believe in heroes or saviours,” says Alexis Tsipras, “but I do believe in fighting for rights … no one has the [...]

Why I won’t be giving a TED talk anytime soon

  I won’t be giving a TED talk anytime soon. Not that I’ve been invited. Or ever expect to be invited. But Nick Hanauer [ht: sm] was, and the TED folks decided his talk was too controversial to post. Here’s a link to the text of his talk. Since 1980 the share of income for [...]

Do you believe in markets?

Do you believe in markets? John Kay does, as he demonstrated during his presentation at the Volcano symposium last weekend. We were together on a panel, “Crisis in and of Economics,” along with David Vines. Kay started with the usual neoclassical assertion—planning has failed and markets are successful (ignoring, of course, all the historical examples [...]

Against conventional wisdom

Here are a few things to keep in mind while I take a brief hiatus. . . 1. Notwithstanding the conventional wisdom, Social Security is not going broke. In fact, last year it ran a surplus and, as David Cay Johnston argues, the growth of that surplus has had two major negative effects: One effect [...]