Ownership Society

Stephen Colbert offers a lucid explanation of trickle-down economic theory.

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Dissenting Economists

This post is an indirect reply to the previous post. Without a doubt, mainstream economics is a very narrow discipline. Many smart people realize this, and that is why there does exist a long tradition of dissenting economists. Editors Philip Arestes and Malcolm Sawyer collect many of these biographies in their  book, “A Biographical Dictionary [...]

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History of Economic Thought- Some Navel-gazing and Soul-searching

Today, I attended an informal discussion with a senior scholar at the think tank where I work. The discussion was for other junior staff like myself, so we could learn about how that scholar came to be where he is, what his research was about, etc. Towards the end of the discussion, I asked him, [...]

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“The Hunters”

A friend sent this to me- some excellent long-form friday reading on oil drilling, BP, and society.

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Is Meat Green after All?

I’ve written before about the movement to reduce meat consumption as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Reading the UN’s 2008 livestock report was what prompted me to drastically reduce my meat intake (I still have chicken 2-3 times a week, the occasional deli meat sandwich, and beef once or twice a month). Anyways, [...]

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Is July 23rd the UK’s version of “Fool’s Day”?

Let’s take a look at today’s Financial Times headlines (and I’m aware columnists don’t always write the headlines, but these are representative): Martin Feldstein: “A double dip is a price worth paying” Jean Claue-Trichet: “Stimulate no more- it is now time to tighten” “Fed to shift policy if recovery stalls”- of course, only if financial [...]

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Hotel Workers Rising

Today is the nationwide hotel worker civil disobedience for fair contracts, affordable health insurance, and respect [ht:sm]. From the Hotel Workers Rising! website: On July 22, nearly 1000 workers in cities across North America are prepared to take arrest in non-violent civil disobedience demonstrations. We invite you to join thousands of supporters to witness these brave [...]

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Economists’ Responses to the Crisis

The Summer 2010 issue of the Hedgehog Review looks at the world of economic culture and includes a delightful essay by Philip Mirowski, “The Great Mortification: Economists’ Responses to the Crisis of 2007-(and counting).” Apart from characterizing the responses to the crisis, Mirowski offers five lessons that have emerged from this most recent meltdown. Instead [...]

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ECONned

Given the confused political debates surrounding the financial reform bill, one thing is clear: more people should read Yves Smith’s ECONned. I highly recommend it to any reader interested in the crisis. The book includes an excellent description of the shadow banking system, the environment that allowed it to flourish, and the role it played [...]

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Quick Hits

Like links, but more spontaneous and with more block-quoting… Nancy Folbre writes that another economics is possible: But I think conventional economics also plays a role, reinforcing cynical views of human nature and discouraging efforts to develop cooperative enterprises. Textbook economics treats individuals as selfish optimizers, unconcerned about the welfare of others. Only recently have [...]

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