A General Theory of Hayek, Keynes, and Seinfeld

Brian Doherty | May 2, 2006

Reason cartoon contributor Scott Stantis references the famous Hayek-Keynes debates in his syndicated daily strip Prickly City--with a punchline about how much, alas, most people care.

Comments

|5.2.06 @ 5:57PM|#

That Seinfeld thing takes talent.

|5.2.06 @ 6:00PM|#

While I am anti-keynesianism, at least they have otherwise intelligent and well educated economists putting up articulate arguments in its favor.

Regardless of how wrong those arguments may be, at least they are informed by education and an examination of the facts. What I am much much much more opposed to are the views that "intellectuals" and the general public have that are informed by neither education, nor reason, nor the facts.

Economists screw up when their extensive analysis and thinking turns out to be flawed. Philips curve, or portfolio insurance anyone?

Everyone else screws up when their nonexistent analysis and thinking leads them to say: " we need laws against price gouging [i.e. a price ceiling], unfair competition [i.e. a price floor], and price fixing of things like DRAM chips [i.e. what one would expect of prices in a commodity product is identical prices, which is what they got]".

|5.2.06 @ 7:22PM|#

The Phillips curve brings back memories from 33 years ago: As a 2nd year econ major I got into a heated argument with a foaming at the mouth communist. He said, "You can't ignore the Phillips Curve!"

"Sure, I can. The trade offs it describes are accurate at best for a brief time. Nothing is so inelastic that the market can't stretch it."

My blaspheny left him sputtering.

|5.2.06 @ 8:43PM|#

I didn't really know about the Phillips Curve, but I just looked it up, and I'd been somewhat familiar with the concept. It seems to be predicated on the idea that inflation is not first and foremost a monetary phenomenon...seriously, how do people believe this stuff? Inflation is just something that magically happens? Prices go up without any increase in the money supply? Maybe it is true that left-wing economists really don't believe in supply and demand...

b-psycho|5.2.06 @ 11:47PM|#

Eh, he made a damn good point. Though I'd say so far overall he needs to work on subtlety, the strip gives off a sort've "bash you over the head" sense about it.