Re: Ideology and Economics

[Whitalone@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 5/24/2003 9:30:19 AM Central Standard Time, gunnar.tomasson@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:

> Ideology and economics is a dangerous mix


gunnar,

I appreciate your passion for logic and for advancing economic policy that works...but ideology is and always has been from my research of history to be an intricate part of economic policy. Yet in the particular historical examples you quote.....I would have to agree with Robinson and say "bastard Keynesian' economics. While designed to cure social ills, they were misguided and based upon axioms that were fundamentally flawed, i.e., neoclassical axioms (i.e., from Reagan to Bush today). Perhaps I am wrong, but I do believe that Keynes initially was offering to the world an alternative to the socialist and communist economic threats of his time and to offer capitalism a true picture of how capitalism works within a diverse and uncertain future without defaulting to socialist or communist political system, with a particular emphasis upon how markets work. Without the governmental interventions and economic understandings of the time that Keynes help to initiate, I fail to see how capitalism could have generated the great economic advances from the late 40's to the 70's that were reflected in most advanced countries of that time. The fact that they were abandoned only testifies to me one reason our worlds' economic situation is in the state it is in now. Of course the greater question, is how does Keynesian economics mirror the world today....not as it was in the 30's and 40's.

So the question is how we move onto something better dont you think? Debating the intent of original writings some 60 years ago is just a side show. I am more interested in producing or should I say attempting policy that reflects an uncertain but hopefully useful end that advances goals that should be natural rigthts....ie...right to adequate housing, health, nutrition, and most importantly work. The fact that even Bush expresses the desire for full employment is not enough. He needs the theoretical understanding of how capitalism really works to achieve this....something not likely to occur under present economic policy prescriptions.

Scott Simpson




Scott Simpson