MetaFilter posts tagged with Greenspan

The Origins of Neoliberalism

the man of twists and turns — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 02:10:19 -0800

Philip Pilkington writes for naked capitalism: The Origins of Neoliberalism Part I: Hayek's Delusion

Hayek’s entire ideology and career had begun to come apart in the 1930s. His theories were shown to be inconsistent in the academic journals of the time and the practical implications of those theories had shown themselves to be both discredited and dangerous. A man in such a position only has two choices: he can either completely re-evaluate his ideas which, if they were held with unshakeable conviction and constituted a core component of his emotional make-up, as seems to have been the case with Hayek, would have likely resulted in a mental collapse; or, alternatively, he can engage in a massive repression, shut out reality and construct around himself a fantasy world.

Part II: The Americanization of Hayek's Delusion

This made neoliberalism a far more potent political ideology than the purely negative anti-government sentiment implicit in Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom were it left standing alone. Here was an ideology that politicians could buy into because it secured them a place in the schema. They were to become the handmaidens of corporate interests and were absolved from any need to institute proper government reforms – after all reforms were evil. Thus the neoliberal doctrine gave the politicians a very easy job and, most importantly, one from which they could largely absolve themselves from blame should the situation go awry. After all, they were not in charge – the free market was.

Part III: Europe and the Centre-Left Fall under Hayek’s Spell

But rhetoric aside the Austrians largely lost the debate on the unions in Europe, while the ordoliberals won the day. Unlike in the case of monopolies, however, there was substantial opposition from Hayek and his allies. Whereas large corporations were to be accepted as normal by all those of neoliberal persuasion in both America and Europe, the tension over unions within the movement would continue; reaching fever pitch in the administrations of Reagan and Thatcher. These politicians and their allies, in a very real and direct sense, can be seen as purist Hayekians in the context of labour policy where they were not in terms of macroeconomic policy for which they favoured the doctrines of Friedman and the monetarists.

Marks Ames, in Alternet: Stop the Austerity Craze! Massive Budget Slashing Can Lead to Economic Disaster, Violence and Repression

Bruning applied the von Hayek medicine to Germany, and the resulting backlash was so intense he suspended parliamentary democracy and ruled by emergency decree, setting a fine example for the next guy who took power. After just two years of “austerity” measures, Germany’s economy had completely collapsed: unemployment doubled from 15 percent in 1930 to 30 percent in 1932, protests spread, and Bruning was finally forced out. Just two years of austerity, and Germany was willing to be ruled by anyone or anything except for the kinds of democratic politicians that administered “austerity” pain.

Susan George, A Short History Of Neoliberalism, 1999. A Primer On Neoliberalism - "Going Bust - The Global Financial Crisis Shakes Confidence" Neoliberalism On Trial(PDF)

I cannot convince anyone by philosophical argument that the neoliberal regime of rights is unjust. But the objection to this regime of rights is quite simple: to accept it is to accept that we have no alternative except to liver under a regime of endless capital accumulation and economic growth no matter what the social, ecological, or political consequences.

The Leading Indicator of Laughter

storybored — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:15:00 -0800

The Correlation Of Laughter AT FOMC Meetings.

The Vending Machine God and the Housing Bubble

jaimev — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:16:01 -0800

Was the housing bubble caused by very low long-term fixed-rate mortgages? Or was is due to a national, get-rich-quick obsession? Or Did Christianity Cause the Crash? The Prosperity Gospel teaches that God desires the material, spiritual, and physical prosperity of his people. It fosters risk-taking and intense material optimism, and the author argues that it helped inflate the housing bubble.

Crap - I only made $15B last year

blahblah — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:16:53 -0800

There are still some smart people left on Wall St. Hedge fund manager, John Paulson, made a cool $15B for his fund as the housing market imploded. His cut? $3-4B. Not too shabby for a year's worth of work. Interestingly, Greenspan was an advisor to the hedge fund. How much did he make out in the housing decline?

Try that with a fiat currency!

mecran01 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:22:11 -0800

Federal Reserve Fan Fiction via the XKCD blog.

living in a gilded cage

geos — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:09:04 -0800

America 's debtor prisons .

Ben S. Bernanke's Payday Loans!

geoff. — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 10:14:00 -0800

The White House nominates Ben Bernanke to replace Alan Greenspan. Works at Princenton, got his doctorate at MIT, currently has several economic related papers out. Apparently actually has a job relating to economics, and wants to drop dollar bills out of a helicopter Well, cut taxes if we enter a deflationary period -- which is just as sexy.

A Profile of Alan Greenspan

Gyan — Tue, 29 Mar 2005 20:30:20 -0800

Alan Greenspan Takes A Bath : a profile of Greenspan

the maestro's agassed! aghast, get it? :D

kliuless — Fri, 15 Oct 2004 19:21:51 -0800

Greenspan on oil (speaking to the the National Italian American Foundation, which De Niro would never do :) "We will begin the transition to the next major sources of energy perhaps before midcentury as production from conventional oil reservoirs, according to central tendency scenarios of the Energy Information Administration, is projected to peak." And just to make it political, here's a chart relating presidential approval ratings to gas prices!

It all starts by looking a baby right in the eyes

languagehat — Wed, 29 Sep 2004 14:49:07 -0800

Language started with emotional signaling. That's the thesis of a new book, The First Idea: How Symbols, Language, And Intelligence Evolved From Our Primate Ancestors To Modern Humans, by Stanley I. Greenspan and Stuart G. Shanker.

Lived emotional experience is key to language learning, the authors suggest. "Mathematicians and physicists may manipulate abstruse symbols representing space, time, and quantity, but they first understood those entities as tiny children wanting a far-away toy, or waiting for juice, or counting cookies. The grown-up genius, like the adventurous child, forms ideas through playful explorations in the imagination, only later translated into the rigor of mathematics."

The book is very ambitious, and I don't think we'll ever know where language came from, but this sounds like a more fruitful line of thinking than Chomsky's deus ex machina "language gene" mutation.

Old folk are dancin'! 8d

kliuless — Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:08:05 -0800

Demography is destiny Alan Greespan in Senate testimony discusses the implications of an aging population. While the US is getting older, other countries are relatively young. Can immigration and technology provide, as Greenspan says, a "potent antidote for slowing growth in the working-age population," or are such projections academic?

Someone we trust says something reassuring.

Hammerikaner — Tue, 16 Jul 2002 13:54:37 -0800

Someone we trust says something reassuring. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, arguably the most powerful man in the world, blames "infectious greed" for the recent panic-like tail-spins on Wall Street, but says that the economy is on the way to recovery. One comment held that Greenspan was finally able to let out how he feels about what's going on, without shrouding his opinion in economic jibber-jabber.

"For once he really spoke his mind. He usually tends to obfuscate things quite a bit."

But really, how many of you expected Greenspan to say anything other than "the fundamentals are in place for a return to sustained healthy growth"? Does Greenspan actually feel this way? Could it be that he is actually majorly pessimistic, but is using his soothing sweet-song voice and obvious clout and earned respect to somehow buck recent trends? Bush's speech didn't do much for our faltering economy, but will Greenspan's? Can one man's mere words possibly change the course of history? Well?

I'm Alan Greenspan, And I'll Be Here All Week.

solistrato — Thu, 07 Mar 2002 10:02:08 -0800

I'm Alan Greenspan, And I'll Be Here All Week.

Alan Greenspan -- Dance Band Musician

dwivian — Wed, 14 Nov 2001 08:09:53 -0800

Alan Greenspan -- Dance Band Musician When thinking of the best way to approach the new economy, we wait patiently for the magical words of Alan Greenspan. I don't think we expect to hear "and a one, and a two....."

All Your Basis

bclark — Tue, 20 Mar 2001 08:24:50 -0800

All Your Basis Given all the special interest in what Greenspan may or may not do, this meme mutation was inevitable.

GWB

stbalbach — Mon, 18 Dec 2000 08:51:14 -0800

GWB sure seems happy. Wonder what Greenspan is thinking. Warning: not suitable for under 18.