July 21, 2004

Two Americas

An interesting post summarizing recents reports in the Wall Street Journal and from investment institutions about who has benefitted from the economic recovery, and analyzing the potential for a return to the "Old Deal." This analysis is interesting, because it points out not only the social consequences of a divided (economic) United States, but offers a view of the kinds of politics that might be associated with the economic world envisioned by the Bush administration. This is a welcome difference from one of the problems with popular coverage of 'starve the beast' economics: no thought given to the effect on grassroots politics. Many of the favorable interpretations - and some of the unfavorable ones - of this economic model gloss over the potential for political upheaval, and assume that democratic stability will not suffer. As Billmon points out, a return to the 19th Century in economic terms generates all kinds of political consequences. Some of those consequences might undermine the very political system - and its stability - upon which markets rely. Of course, had everyone read and understood her or his Polanyi... Posted by binky at July 21, 2004 02:15 PM | TrackBack | Posted to Politics


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