PKT seminar: Debunking Economics: Introduction

["John Gelles" <jjgelles@xxxxxxxx>]

                A TALE OF TWO STEVES, ETC.

        Downloaded and printed (via Adobe) six pages of fine
        print -- "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Debunking
        Economics: A Users Guide", which together make up
        Steve's introduction to his book.

        The book is Seve Keen's story of teaching economics
        to young people who may staff accounting firms, banks,
        and businesses of every type.

        Steve is concerned these students may be told, (by
        other teachers of Economics), to believe metaphysical
        sentences and diagrams about supply, demand, price,
        and what the human race is up to working long hours
        and trying to spend or accumulate wealth.

        Before reading our Steve's six pages, I spent an
        hour listening to Steve Case -- he of AOL, Time
        Warner fame. Case sees himself a strategic thinker,
        determined to provide internet help to teachers and
        students to learn, and financial help to communities,
        in the thousands, to bridge the access gap, -- so the
        poorest of the poor will have an internet appliance
        to allow them to enjoy life in the information age.

        Keen remarks that Economists run the world or, at
        least, offer their nonsense as theory; and the theory
        runs the world.  OK.  It runs the world -- and it
        doesn't.

        Because the theory does not work -- it cannot run
        society or the world.   But it does confuse society.
        And society is inefficient at ending poverty and
        pollution.

        Therefore, we may say Economists (capital E for
        neoclassicals) keep us from efficiently solving our
        problems --  problems that Keensian (or maybe
        Keynesian) economists could solve with alternative
        policies and practices.

        Case claims that people run the world. People
        who love to strategize, like he does. People who
        can spend millions and billions to bring TV, movies,
        telephone, the internet and paper and ink, together,
        to educate other people and give them the things
        they want -- as determined by competitive games
        that depend on money to win.

        Both Steves may be right. Neither one, to me so
        far, has offered an alternative to competitive games
        for money. Games that are corrupt of course, subject
        to the superior power of guns and violence, but, still,
        evolved to their present state without noticeable
        effect by economists who write -- since there have
        always been some who write the opposite of what
        others wrote first. (With or without capital "E"'s.)

        Well. I'm not being mean to either Steve.

        Our Steve is writing a necessary text. I hope he
        comes out for (a) savings in place of taxes,
        (b) more government spending (and less
        compulsive consumer demand that translates
        into endless tedius work for other people with
        too little economic security for workers and
        consumers), (c) population limits, (d) automation
        to end risky and  tedius work, as well as make
        enough things for everyone, (e) green practices,
        (f) early retirement, (g) an eventual money that
        matches itself to output -- enough to zero-out
        unemployment without encouraging too much
        waste and too many lousy products, etc, etc.

        If Steve does not offer a lot of concrete goals
        and a few concrete reforms, we may be left
        with the idea that something is wrong only he
        can fix -- if we first make him dictator.

        Steve Case offered lots to hope for. He has been
        lucky so far. His ideas sound great -- but he, too,
        must face the possibility that his plans (a) for AOL
        to assume responsibility for helping teachers
        and students get control of the net (he's using
        grade-level portals -- a good approach) and
        (b) for AOL and many partners to build
        community centers that provide training,
        hardware, software and courseware, to bridge
        the access gap, -- he must face the possibility
        that his plans will need more money than flows
        his way.

        Steve Keen has a interesting thought -- many of
        us are insufficiently literate and numerate to
        solve the problems society faces. He proves,
        in neighboring thoughts, that being sufficiently
        literate and numerate won't help. We will
        continue divide along the left to right spectrum.

        Sufficiently sensitive to the suffering of others
        is one of the missing skills of people who can
        read and figure with the best of their peers.

        Sufficiently inventive to win the wars against
        poverty, pollution, hate, and war itself, is
        another skill in short supply.

        Steve warns against despair.  And he is right.
        Do not despair.  We are headed to more skills
        with words, numbers, and new and better
        creative inventive ways to be kind to people
        and animals too.

                John Gelles