Posted on 03/01/2009 7:24:14 AM PST by rellimpank
Fortuitously, I recently stumbled on a copy of Henry Hazlitt's "The Failure of the 'New Economics,' " 1959, reprinted 1973.
The "New Economics" referred to by the esteemed Mr. Hazlitt -- who replaced H.L. Mencken as editor of The American Mercury in 1933 and joined The New York Times in 1934, writing financial and economic editorials there and later a bylined weekly financial column well into the 1960s -- is Keynesianism, the economic doctrines of the Briton John Maynard Keynes which are still widely taught in American college economics courses.
The top blurb on the back dust jacket panel caught my eye:
"A great book, the best and most thorough exercise in economic demolition since Boehm-Bawerk exploded Marx's labor theory of value," wrote my late friend Murray Rothbard, in the National Review. "It is no exaggeration to say that this is by far the best book on economics published since Mises' great 'Human Action' ten years ago ... It will be read, and it will destroy the Keynesian system."
Writing in the Christian Science Monitor, Ludwig von Mises himself said of this book "Hazlitt has entirely demolished the Keynesian misconceptions."
In brief, Keynesianism -- as set forth by Keynes 73 years ago in his "General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" -- holds that the twin answers to unemployment and economic downturns are massive government deficit spending and "cheap money" -- the artificial driving down of interest rates to "free up more credit."
(Excerpt) Read more at lvrj.com ...
Views were quite similar - no bailouts for anyone domestic or foreign.
Cheers!
I never had any faith in any of the Bushes and was pleasantly surprised by Jeb (I live in Florida). As for George- l and ll, well, Clinton, Gore, and Kerry were far worse choices. I still do not crave to see Jeb Bush the Republican candidate for President in 2012 or ever. He carries the wrong genes.
The article is spot-on.
Unfortunately, the study of Economics invariably begins with a dose of PURE Keynes, in the form of Macro-Economics. It is not without value, because it does introduce the concept of mathematical models to represent behavioral patterns. But it deals in aggregate behaviors without considering the many and varied motivations and incentives for those INDIVIDUAL decisions about economic activities.
Parents, I plead with you - have your children take MICRO-Econ FIRST, so they will have some understanding of those individual decisions and how to model them, before they advance to the grandiose visions of managing national and global economic systems.
Deuteronomy 15:1-2
1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’s release.
Obama is President. Got that????
From your last link dated August 27, 2001:
“But Keynes's own formula in the “General Theory” was subtler. The key to recovery, he argued, lies in investor psychology. Investors are motivated “as a result of animal spirits — of a spontaneous urge to action rather than inaction.” Investors overcome fear “as a healthy man puts aside the expectation of death.”
And here is the central task for Mr. Bush: He needs to reduce uncertainty and fear in the financial markets by promoting policies that are stable and predictable.”
By the New York Times'/IHT's standard Obama has FAILED! The Market which looks FORWARD (from October 2008 on wards) knew Obama would be a free market NIGHTMARE.
YOUR President Obama just signed a $3,500,000,000,000 bill without reading it in its entirety. YOUR President just declared war on small businesses, entrepenpeurs, the stock market, etc. Your President had condemned millions of workers to unemployment with this Non-Stimulus Bill. Your President just condemned this country to a long recession at the very least. Get over Bush. Your President IS Obama.
I found this book to be interesting, and I laughed as the media and the Democrats were outraged when it was first published.
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is a 2005 non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner. The book has been described as melding pop culture with economics.[2] As of 2008 it has sold over 3 million copies worldwide
Obama is President. Got that????
W gave tax cuts a bad name and that's going to have a negative effect for years if not decades. He's like a skunk who's sprayed his scent all over the place. It's going to take time and effort to get rid of the stench.
But the topic of this thread is Keynesianism, and why it is "back in vogue." I have presented evidence to remind people that it was the Bush administration pushing Keynesianism before Obama ever took office.
Temporary tax cuts. Stimulus checks. Rebate checks. It was all Keynsian, all the time. The facts are what they are. Sorry the truth is so unpleasant.
Neither did I. I didn’t vote for Bush in 00. Voted for him in 04, based solely on the war still going on. I felt the troops needed Bush over Kerry. Other than that, Bush was basically worse than my already low expectations.
The Anti-Bush Freepers like the Rabid BDS Dems are STILL talking about Bush while Obama is DESTROYING the economy with no questions asked.
Instead of raising Hell, RINOs and Anti-Bush Freepers wallow in what was instead of what is and what will be.
Enough! Focus on Obama. Focus on Obama.
Deal with the now and the future. Focus on Obama.
You want reality. Check these posts, dear Rabid Freeper:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2196311/posts?page=32#32
Because
RINOs and Anti-Bush Freepers are so INTIMIDATED with the past they cannot fight the fight that needs to be fought.
Again for the billionth time, we need to:
1) decrease income taxes
2) decrease fuel taxes
3) increase domestic drilling
4) increase refining capacity
5) decrease capital gains taxes to:
a. 0% for two years
b. 5% for two years
c. 10% for two years
d 15% for two year
6) decrease depreciation from 30 years to 15 years.
Now fight the fight or get out of the way.
Were you a Gore Bore?
We ought to be able to deal with the now, while at the same time learning from our mistakes and planning for the future. It can all be accomplished, in fact, it all must be accomplished.
It's simply a fact that GWB used Keynsian policies again and again. Newt called him out on it at CPAC. In one crisp speech, he dealt with past mistakes, offered new solutions, and took on Obama. It's possible, and necessary.
No. I’ve never voted for a Democrat on any level.
No argument there!
We know from history that the following stimulates employment/economy:
1) decrease income taxes
2) decrease fuel taxes
3) increase domestic drilling
4) increase refining capacity
5) decrease capital gains taxes to:
a. 0% for two years
b. 5% for two years
c. 10% for two years
d 15% for two year
6) decrease depreciation from 30 years to 15 years.
Now let's fight the good fight and do what is right for American Workers today and tomorrow. Focus on Obama. Focus on Obama Focus on Obama.
: )
Whew! I can still talk to you. You passed the test. ; )
It's even simpler than you think.
Keynesianism disregards the long-term effects of its own actions. Famously, Keynes himself, when challenged on this point, said, "In the long run, we're all dead".
Now, as a man captivated by sex with other men, Keynes' interests were in the present. Posterity was no concern of his - he renounced his genitive nature and had no offspring.
Since his time, most of society has taken up his "here and now" orientation. If a child conceived tonight is not aborted, he or she will in all likelihood be denied a real childhood. If the child is a girl, she will be sexualized prematurely. If the child is a boy, he will be immersed in pornographic filth by an early age, forever distorting his capacity to be a father and a husband.
So, when people say, "we're all Keynesians now", they say more than they intend.
We deny our posterity, to the point that most of the young cannot even entertain the concept. The posterity for which the US Constitution was written, for whose benefit the blessings of Liberty were secured, do not exist in the mind of the average American.
Without posterity and without Heaven, after all, who gives a sh*t if the currency is debased? After all, in the long run, "we're all dead", to quote Professor Keynes.
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