Friday, December 7, 2018

Olivier Blanchard tweet


https://twitter.com/ojblanchard1/status/1070776221741580288

3 comments:

Andrew Anderson said...

It is government privileges for the banks that give capital such an enormous advantage since those with capital are the most so-called worthy of what is then, in essence, the public's credit but for private gain.

Otherwise, capital would be much more broadly owned since it would be much more justly owned.

Konrad said...

Q. What comes after capitalism?

A. Neoliberalism. That is, a regression to feudalism.

Blanchard surely knows this, having been chief economist for the IMF.

Blanchard championed gratuitous austerity until about 2012, when he admitted that he had been an azzhole. By April 2014 he admitted that inequality was a "central issue" for "macroeconomic developments." By the end of 2018 he is supporting the yellow vest protesters.

The lesson here is that once in a great, great while, an economist miraculously grows a brain and a moral conscience.

Ralph Musgrave said...

That's the "Blanchard" who was advocating "consolidation" (i.e. austerity) when he was chief economist at the IMF at the height of the crisis. As Bill Mitchell rightly said, the IMF is so incompetent it should be closed down.