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Sep. 30th, 2008 01:19 pmFor those struggling to understand what's going on in the American economy and elsewhere, here's an analogy that might help.
Imagine that -- thirty years ago -- the Creationists had made a successful assault replaced the theory of evolution with the story of Adam and Eve among scientists. Imagine that the theory had taken over universities to such a degree that no one in science programs could hope to get a degree unless they subscribed to these theories.
Imagine the creationists gained the ear of governments, replaced the real scientists in bureaucracies and NGOs, and that newspapers and political leaders at least felt the need to pay lip service to the Adam and Eve story.
Imagine that the theory of evolution was described as "old-fashioned" and "discredited" by every mainstream newspaper. Imagine that the discoveries of paleontologists and geologists and physicists were described as statistical blips, one-time oddities, explainable curiosities that had nothing to do with the big picture.
Imagine that Darwinists were considered by governments and mainstream press to be "irresponsible," or even "dangerous." Imagine that -- after 9/11 -- people who talked about Darwinism were lumped in increasingly with terrorists.
As far-fetched as this sounds, it's a fairly accurate analogy to what's happened in economics in the last thirty years. A discredited, 18th- and 19th-century economics returned with a vengeance, erased our jobs. It has increased the gap between the rich and the poor, destabilized our economies, demolished our infrastructure, and returned us to the chaos of winner-take-all boom-and-bust cycles.
The theories don't work any better now than they from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Some economists are finally beginning to doubt them.
But most economists are recommending that the cure for the chaos is -- you guessed -- more of the same. More deregulation. More corporate tax cuts. Fewer trade barriers. Fewer social programs. So if the world survives this crisis, expect the next bust to be even larger.
Most economists believe that the world is flat. Is it any wonder we're going over the edge?
Imagine that -- thirty years ago -- the Creationists had made a successful assault replaced the theory of evolution with the story of Adam and Eve among scientists. Imagine that the theory had taken over universities to such a degree that no one in science programs could hope to get a degree unless they subscribed to these theories.
Imagine the creationists gained the ear of governments, replaced the real scientists in bureaucracies and NGOs, and that newspapers and political leaders at least felt the need to pay lip service to the Adam and Eve story.
Imagine that the theory of evolution was described as "old-fashioned" and "discredited" by every mainstream newspaper. Imagine that the discoveries of paleontologists and geologists and physicists were described as statistical blips, one-time oddities, explainable curiosities that had nothing to do with the big picture.
Imagine that Darwinists were considered by governments and mainstream press to be "irresponsible," or even "dangerous." Imagine that -- after 9/11 -- people who talked about Darwinism were lumped in increasingly with terrorists.
As far-fetched as this sounds, it's a fairly accurate analogy to what's happened in economics in the last thirty years. A discredited, 18th- and 19th-century economics returned with a vengeance, erased our jobs. It has increased the gap between the rich and the poor, destabilized our economies, demolished our infrastructure, and returned us to the chaos of winner-take-all boom-and-bust cycles.
The theories don't work any better now than they from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Some economists are finally beginning to doubt them.
But most economists are recommending that the cure for the chaos is -- you guessed -- more of the same. More deregulation. More corporate tax cuts. Fewer trade barriers. Fewer social programs. So if the world survives this crisis, expect the next bust to be even larger.
Most economists believe that the world is flat. Is it any wonder we're going over the edge?