Paul Krugman: The Pathologies of the RIght Wing of Economics: Noted for August 19, 2013
Paul Krugman: Stagflation, Stagnation, and Intellectual Asymmetry:
[The] stagflation [of the 1970s] led to a major rethinking of macroeconomics, all across the board; even staunch Keynesians conceded that Friedman/Phelps had been right (indeed, they may have conceded too much), and the vertical long-run Phillips curve became part of every textbook. But the Great Recession and the long stagnation that followed (and continues) have brought no such concessions from the anti-Keynesians…. Even the most spectacular failures of prediction… have been met with nothing but excuses (It’s Obamacare! It’s interest on reserves! It’s uncertainty!)
What accounts for this asymmetry? Partly, I think… anti-Keynesian macroeconomics is… comfortable… because it involves a return to notions of perfect markets and perfectly rational individuals; so the anti-Keynesians find it hard to leave that comfort zone…. But it’s also the usual left-right asymmetry…. The right is purist, uncompromising, and ultimately not interested in contrary evidence; the left is much more open and empirical. And the economics profession, it turns out, is not that different from the political sphere. This is an uncomfortable truth…. But you go to economic debates with the profession you have…
