as a 'failed' economist, i still occasionally find myself with an ear for 'real' economists, alan greenspan in particular lately, i guess as a result of his massive book promotion campaign.
well, after linking over to alternet through nina's blog posting on credit/maxed out, i saw this article/interview/debate by amy goodman and naomi klein with alan greenspan.
i have to hand it to him for agreeing to the interview/debate, but he failed to adequately address the issues raised by klein. it seems apparent to me, from the text, that greenspan is an old school inhabitant of the ivory tower without any concept of sustainability. he keeps using the tired argument that capitalism as we know it has created the most wealth ever and that the system is working great. he doesn't recognize the shortsightedness of rapid resource depletion, especially one as critical as fossil fuel. he doesn't realize that there is no substitute for oil. not in the time frame used by economists to rationalize resource depletion.
greenspan doesn't have the well being of ALL in mind. he still thinks we will grow our way to eliminating poverty. he had the gall to refer to populist politics as shortsighted. what a laugh!
he in effect excuses crony capitalism as a part of human nature. he recognizes it and yet doesn't take the next step of saying it is criminal. he was the greatest for the captains of capital, he was the worst for the common man.
3 comments:
I have a right wing in-law who beats the "Capitalism is the greatest system ever" mantra to death. He doesn't even have a clue what it means. That, or he can't intelligently state his case.
what's kind of sad is when people beat the "capitalism is the best" drum, while failing to see how they have gotten screwed by the same system. actually, it is a system that could work if only the private sector would distribute their wealth in a more equitable fashion--and not once forget that it is their workers who are, by and large, ensuring their success.
check out last week's Bill Moyer's Journal (http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/index-flash.html), for a great interview with John Bogle, a former business tycoon who is in effect blowing the whistle on capitalism gone amuck.
Post a Comment