The top 0.01% would not be poorer absolutely (although they would be poorer relatively) in a high-pressure higher-inflation economy.
But they think they would be…WCEG — The Equitablog
Oligarchy and Monetary Policy: I Confess That I Do Not Understand
Brad DeLong
The irony is that most problems are pseudo-problems resulting from ignorance, misconception, or misperception. As a result, actual problems are either overlooked, denied, or otherwise not addressed, e.g., due to "lack of affordability" even when real resources are available.
Delong:
ReplyDelete"The top 0.01% would not be poorer absolutely (although they would be poorer relatively) in a high-pressure higher-inflation economy."
The whole point is to be richer relatively.
Bingo y. I just put it this way at DeLong's WCEG blog:
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe the .01% are not motivated by a narrow conception of wealth accumulation of the kind economists customarily measure, but are also motivated by the desire to accumulate social power, status, political influence and control, all of which depend on relational factors. If we think of primary wealth as all of those goods and labor skills that can be traded in markets, and higher wealth as all of those kinds of wealth that depend on the social relationships that in turn depend on both the distribution of primary wealth and the prior accumulations of higher wealth, then perhaps the .01% are willing to sacrifice a significant amount of primary wealth in the short term, or even indefinitely, in order to accumulate more higher wealth. These are people who already possess all the material goodies a rational person would want to obtain. Their ambitions are not confined within the categories of accumulation that apply to mere mortals. They want to rule the world, not just add to their pile of cars, boats, and vacation homes.
The 0.01% are competing with themselves for relative position, which is why the numbers at the top keeping getting higher and higher, even though there is no financial or real reason for it. They all want to move the up the list of top holders of wealth next year. The size of the pie is irrelevant as long as its big enough to grow their pile to do so.
ReplyDeleteIn this process a lot of psychological abnormalities may also surface, such as megalomania, narcissism, and obsessive-compulsive disorder that drives the process beyond reasonable limits as some lose touch being isolated in a bubble.
And they are not just competing with one another. They are competing with us as well for social and political power. Their goal is to discipline us, dominate us and control us. And they are willing to sacrifice some increase in mere material assets if that is the cost of achieving that power.
ReplyDeleteAs I have argued a few times, the developed world is seeing an epic power struggle between the forces of democratically organized political communities and concentrated private power. The power of political communities depends on the control of real material, social and political assets, and if a substantial share of those assets shift into private hands, political communities can lose their real power and have a very difficult time recovering it without violence.