Mainstream economics is in “disarray.”
It ignores the reality of power, it neglects questions of equity, and its policy recommendations can be “little more than a license for plunder.”
That’s the opinion of Angus Deaton, the British-American economist who won the economics version of the Nobel Prize in 2015.
The 78-year-old professor says he’s recently been changing his mind about views he’s long held and it’s a “discomfiting process.”
But will his colleagues listen to him?
“Dennis Moore. Dennis Moore. He steals from the poor, and gives to the rich. Stupid bitch! Dennis Moore.”
Thank God, I’ve been saying this since I took Econ 101 and the prof called me an idiot because taxation is economically inefficient and clearly provides no dividends for society.
Capitalism (or rather markets) is good for economically efficient allocation of resources, but it does nothing for the human side of the equation with inelastic demand and things humans require, like healthcare and housing and food. It also has natural propensity for creating monopolies which are less efficient, and for rent seeking behaviour, which you cannot ignore. Capitalism assumes the lowest cost paid and the highest value extracted.
I’m glad we can finally discuss that we are not a network of supply and demand centres, but living breathing humans who may or may not be able to meaningfully contribute economically.
And for the record, I am a capitalist, but I don’t believe in libertarian free market states. A well regulated market for inelastic good with demand, plus well considered social safety net so people can feel secure and take risks is in my opinion the best trade off.
I don’t often hear middling views on the topic of capitalism on social media. People appear to favor either near complete deregulation or conversion to planned economies. It’s nice to hear someone both acknowledge the efficiency of free markets AND stress the importance of properly harnessing them for the sake of the public and long term sustainability.
