Keynes vs. Hayek hip hop

December 18, 2009 9:57 AM

For economics nerds: fun Keynes vs. Hayek hip hop song on PBS Newshour.
posted by Jacqueline (12 comments total)

Via Marginal Revolution.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:57 AM on December 18, 2009

It's not Salma Hayek?

Fail.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:07 AM on December 18, 2009

Yeah. No Salma, no sale.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 10:23 AM on December 18, 2009

More rap, less stodgy old dudes trotting out the same old shite. That would make this better.
posted by schyler523 at 10:44 AM on December 18, 2009

Made me cringe when I saw it on the Newshour.
posted by Babblesort at 10:50 AM on December 18, 2009

No, no, no. Rap is all wrong for this. With Keynes's insistence that consumer "animal spirits" can only be revived with government stimulus, this should be done as a Robert Bly drum circle that will restore in us the manliness that it takes to spend.
posted by Kylio at 10:59 AM on December 18, 2009 [2 favorites]

I'm sorry, but did you use "economics" and "fun" in the same sentence? You did, god help you.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:04 AM on December 18, 2009

Interesting discourse. Atrociously lame rap.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 11:20 AM on December 18, 2009

The question is misframed: government obviously has some role in economics, the only question is where that role should end. The government takes responsibility for punishing theft, and arranging restitution for theft. The government establishes legal deed to a property, and helps ensure that someone buying property is buying from someone with the right to sell it (see the impossibility of a real estate market in many third world cities). The government carries out evictions. The government absolves individuals who run a corporation from criminal liability for corporate actions. Many governments provide free infrastructure in exchange for business relocation. The government arranges restitution when employment contracts are broken. Having a government that carries out these roles dramatically alters the economy, and I have never heard a libertarian or free market advocate criticize any of these economic interventions.
posted by idiopath at 11:32 AM on December 18, 2009 [2 favorites]

Wow that brought me back to high school when I, too, tried to make humorous rap about an academic topic. I, too, failed miserably.
posted by ropeladder at 2:25 PM on December 18, 2009

I'm all for novelty rap, but for the love of mic, make sure you're actually good at it before letting someone record you.
posted by EatTheWeek at 2:44 PM on December 18, 2009

I felt the same way when Cornell West tried to rap. Just don't let the academics get close to the microphone. Somewhere between the library stacks and the laboratory most of us had our senses of rhythm stolen.

Except for my friend the computer scientist and jazz-arranger of video game themes. He's awesome.
posted by jb at 3:22 PM on December 18, 2009