Doug is right, the majority of posts on the economy on PEN-L -- including
mine -- are about getting excited when there is a crisis.
But I wonder if that is because there is a steady stream of cheerleading
about how wonderful the free market is -- so that I (we) react to it? The
newsreaders on TV are very happy when the Dow Jones goes up. The San
Francisco Chronicle headlines a 0.1 point drop in the unemployment rate and
buries a 0.1 point increase on the inside. So are we just reacting to that?
Gene
Doug Henwood wrote:
> Charles Brown wrote:
>
> >CB: So, have you concluded that the downturn side of the business
> >cycle has been lessened in the U.S. by some fundamental cause, or is
> >it just that the U.S. had unusual advantages compared to other
> >countrie in this period such as the only one standing after WWII ,
> >etc. ?
> >
> >During the last fifty years, what has been the trend in auto employment ?
> >
> >What was the ratio of expansionary to bust phase before the last
> >fifty years ? What is the ratio for most of the world, not just the
> >U.S. ? Perhaps the U.S. has figured out how to dump some of its bust
> >phase onto other countries, like Southeast Asia in 1998.
> >
> >What is your point ? That U.S. capital has solved the business cycle
> >of capitalism ?
>
> Did I say anything about solving the business cycle? Did I ever say
> the U.S. expansion wasn't at least in part dependent on distress in
> the rest of the world? Did I ever say the U.S. didn't have special
> advantages? These are all part of analyzing the expansion, about
> which I've seen rather little in "progressive" circles. What I see a
> lot of is getting excited when there's a crisis.
>
> Doug
