Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Why People Don't Trust Economists who talk about "The Benefits of Free Trade"
by Ken Houghton
Conspicuous by its absence is an indicator that the winners will (or should) in any way compensate the losers.*
An alternate view from one of Tom's favorite authors can be found here.
UPDATE: Pynchon presents a timeframe, which gives the lie to Easterly's claim:
*Credit where due, he refers to them here as "victims."
Of course, there could very well be some unemployment of workers who know only the old technology—like the original Luddites—and this unemployment will be excruciating to its victims. But workers as a whole are better off with more powerful output-producing technology available to them.
--William Easterly, The Elusive Quest for Growth, p. 54 (MIT pb, 2002)
Conspicuous by its absence is an indicator that the winners will (or should) in any way compensate the losers.*
An alternate view from one of Tom's favorite authors can be found here.
UPDATE: Pynchon presents a timeframe, which gives the lie to Easterly's claim:
But it's important to remember that the target even of the original assault of l779, like many machines of the Industrial Revolution, was not a new piece of technology. The stocking-frame had been around since 1589.
*Credit where due, he refers to them here as "victims."
Labels: Economic Development, history repeated, literature
Monday, July 23, 2007
Roots of Conservative Punditocracy/ Celebrity Endorsements
by Ken Houghton
So it was with some interest that I found (at the NYPL for the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center, before seeing OOP in IMAX/3-D*) a couple of Folkways discs of Presidential Election songs, including this Oscar Brand recording.
Included is a track called "If He's Good Enough for Lindy" (track 209; sample audio available at the link above) from 1928.** "Lindy" is, of course, Charles Lindbergh, best remembered these days (politically speaking, that is) for his isolationism and the America First Committee (b. 1940). In another universe—an ill-conceived one of Philip Roth, for instance—he might have been President.
So it's interesting to find him as the prominent endorser of a candidate in 1928. And what a candidate. And what a use of Celebrity Capital.
*If you can, do it. Well worth the incremental cost.
**It is also on this Brand disc.
There is some justifiable high dudgeon on the Tubes regarding the likes of Michael Gerson and David Broder, who appear to have made careers out of Always Being Wrong.
So it was with some interest that I found (at the NYPL for the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center, before seeing OOP in IMAX/3-D*) a couple of Folkways discs of Presidential Election songs, including this Oscar Brand recording.
Included is a track called "If He's Good Enough for Lindy" (track 209; sample audio available at the link above) from 1928.** "Lindy" is, of course, Charles Lindbergh, best remembered these days (politically speaking, that is) for his isolationism and the America First Committee (b. 1940). In another universe—an ill-conceived one of Philip Roth, for instance—he might have been President.
So it's interesting to find him as the prominent endorser of a candidate in 1928. And what a candidate. And what a use of Celebrity Capital.
*If you can, do it. Well worth the incremental cost.
**It is also on this Brand disc.
Labels: history repeated, Politics, punditry
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
"Someone Has to Say It" Interlude Post: Everything Old is New Again
by Ken Houghton
It's not that it's incorrect; it's just incomplete. Watch the way the snake eats itself, Ragnarok-like:
Kevin states the conclusion, leaving the rest as an exercise to the reader. Let's tell the whole story.
It's not Kevin Drum's fault. (Or Dr. Black's, for linking to him.) But I'm getting tired of seeing half of the story told, so let me lay out what's wrong with simply stating this:
There is, at this point, simply nothing more we can do in Iraq. The only sensible course of action is to leave. Completely.
It's not that it's incorrect; it's just incomplete. Watch the way the snake eats itself, Ragnarok-like:
- The United States established permanent bases in Saudi Arabia
- Several prominent Saudis took offence at that, among them members of the Bin Laden family
- After "learning the ropes" with some (arguably limited) U.S. support in Afghanistan, Osama Bin Laden worked to develop a network of operatives loyal to him, with one stated goal being to get the United States to remove its bases from Saudi Arabia.
- Many of Mr. Bin Laden's followers were volunteers from Saudi Arabia; one may reasonably assume that his Vision Statement ("U.S. out of Saudi Arabia") was contributory to his ability to draw Saudi volunteers.
- Fifteen (15) of those volunteers were on hijacked planes on 11 September 2001. None of those fifteen was an innocent bystander.
- In the two years after 11 September 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan, withdrew its military personnel from Saudi Arabia, and invaded Iraq.
- In the aftermath of the end of "major combat activities" on 1 May 2003, the United States is establishing permanent bases in Iraq.
Kevin states the conclusion, leaving the rest as an exercise to the reader. Let's tell the whole story.
Labels: history repeated, Iraq, sovereignty, terrorism
