July 17, 2009
First Things First
Most American economists are deep in an intellectual rut because they don't really understand that economics is about human behavior. Our choices cannot be reduced to a neat mathematical algorithm. If this seems theoretical, consider how it may apply to the possible demise of the Eurozone, if not the European Union itself, or the great advantages which could accrue to the U.S. through protectionism. Or how the left benefits from a proper understanding of the issues. To get at some of these questions I turned to the brilliant political economist Dr. Jacques Sapir, director of studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, in Paris. Jacques is, I think, at the cutting edge of political analysis. It was very kind of him to talk with me and I hope we do it again. Total runtime an hour and ten minutes. Enjoy!
Comments
So where art these articles on protectionism you've seen? I certainly haven't found any by anyone even approaching mainstream.
[Maybe not mainstream, exactly, but here's a recent one by Thom Hartmann. He's certainly quite influential. You might also want to look in the EP archives for my interview with Ha-Joon Chang. g.]
Posted by: Benedict@Large | July 18, 2009 1:50 AM
George: I was wondering if you could explain your support of protectionism as policy for the US to a Canadian.
Posted by: David Ford | July 18, 2009 9:25 PM
Having elected not to take up my request to justify your support of American protectionism to a Canadian, George, I feel inclined to up the ante a bit by pointing out that the article you quote to justify it using the case of South Korea appears pretty weak to me. South Korea was and is such a small economy that policies that may have worked there are not by any means necessarily applicable to the US of A. Also, I think a perfectly good argument could be made that their success was as much a function of excellence in their public service in its investing acumen than it was of this policy in particular.
If you feel inclined to answer this time, you might recall while doing so where about a quarter of your oil comes from, and who your largest trading partner is.
[If you read Chang's book — or listen to my interview with him — it's made very clear that protectionism has always been a key element of a nation's obtaining the status of an industrial power. That is to say, to repeat, there is no example otherwise. And, to be honest, if I were Canadian I'd have second thoughts about selling my oil at relatively cheap prices to the U.S. when it would make more sense to keep it in the ground. Just as it would for Australia to keep its coal in the ground instead of putting it all on the world market. In any case, read Chang's book. He's a professor at the University of Cambridge and no dummy. g.]
Posted by: David Ford | July 20, 2009 8:53 PM