[lit-ideas] Re: Worried?
- From: "Simon Ward" <sedward@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2009 12:59:30 -0000
I don't think it's that complicated.
In a sentence (and more to follow): economists are finding out (again) that
unrestrained capitalism does not produce unending growth but rather a cyclical
pattern of peaks and troughs. It's as though the demise of the Soviet Union and
the gradual lure of capitalism in China had convinced those in the know that
capitalism had no down side and was an unrivalled panacea. But what actually
happened was that decision makers let the system go, decreasing regulations,
increasing rewards to profit regardless of risk, and thereby exposing the
global economy to the worst recession since the last depression. Globalism
doesn't just provide benefits to the world, it also ensures the downside is
widespread.
Now watch capital draw its arms in protectively, take a snooze or maybe
hibernate while labour is shown the gates - an invitation to the food scrabble.
Blame Fukuyuma, but not Lawrence.
Simon
----- Original Message -----
From: Julie Krueger
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2009 9:20 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Worried?
I wonder if an element of this (not the whole story, but a contributing
impact) is:
Capitalism seems to work for a while under certain circumstances. And though
there was certainly a good deal of import & export, trade, tariff issues, etc.
in the past, only recently have we gone from having a national economy to
having an economy which is, thanks to globalization and a true global economy,
more a part of that global economy than simply a national economy. Our economy
is far less self-contained than what it has been in previous crises.
Capitalism may not work nearly as well as part of a global economy that also
includes other various and far different economic models. The complexity of
the global economic issues seem to me to make the uphill battle for a stable
American capitalism far steeper.
Julie Krueger
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