Economic Wisdom

And the Nobel prize (and 1.2 million dollars) goes to economists who showed " the importance of how real-world behavior impacts policy and why it must be taken into account alongside broad economic variables like inflation and production. A critical aspect of their models rests on the idea that households and businesses make decisions based on what they believe will happen in the future. So when governments and policymakers communicate their economic plans, they can influence people’s expectations. That in itself can help steer the economy." Brilliant indeed! It's all about what we believe. For instance, we believe we can have infinite growth on a finite planet. We believe we can run off the cliff as long as we don't look down. We believe smart people will figure everything out, that new technology will solve everything. And yes, we can be influenced. By influencers. There is a reason they call economics "the dismal science". Do these people have to give the money back if the economy crashes? Will they just say oops? Not a word anywhere of criticism. This is capitalist realism at it's apex, market logic so dominant it becomes the ambient atmosphere. As riots break out in Albania and France and elsewhere we get this drivel from economists, "explaining behavior" in the Age of Anxiety. As for the riots in France, the peaceful demonstators are "stunned" that the black-clad anarchists destroyed property. Stunned, really? They hijack demonstrations/protests everytime, causing a violent reaction which favors the far Right. So why would the lifestyle "anarchists" still be described as "far left" in the press? I suspect they are split between morons and right-wing provacateurs. They are the politics of smash, which feels good for a moment. But they are not the Rupture they believe themselves to be. Don't be stunned.