Sunday, December 16, 2007

A People's Economist

A recent article by Joseph Stiglitz, a noted economist, provides a concise and directed critique of the havoc created by the Bush administration. He details the economic mismanagement and financial audacity that has damaged the U.S. and will require significant effort to redact. He provides a good starting point for a discussion of the steps to be taken to fix this problem.

As far as economists go, I find Stiglitz to be one of the one's I admire most. He doesn't accept many of the "facts" spun out by economists and has worked to increase nuance among economic analysis of the "invisible hand" by identifying informational asymmetries and their role in markets.

While he still represents a more mainstream view than I would ascribe to, I find value in his analysis and his work for social change and justice. His recent involvement in the independent film "The Big Sellout" was excellent. In this film he commented on the commodification of goods and the negative effects that it had on various countries. It was a really good movie and provided some clear examples where the Washington Consensus was failing those it claims to be "developing".