Just a little bit controversial: Niall Ferguson: Obama’s Gotta Go

**AetheLove** · 08-20-12, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by -Lazarus-

Well, I'm laughing anyway... I posted the only published retorts to the article I could find, by the way. I'm sure the outrage will continue to grow, right up until Obama is voted out of office. Then the outrage plus empty charges of racism and voter fraud will kick in... Gotta love liberals right? Don't provide solutions, just tear down the opponent. What happened to the audacity of hope? Could we just not print enough money to pay for it?

Here's Krugman's criticism:

Unethical Commentary, Newsweek Edition - NYTimes.com

It's quite short. That's a blog post, not a longer opinion piece or a full-fledged article.

It highlights something about his popular (rather than academic) work that I admire - it makes good effort to separate analysis and economics from opinion and political preference. He has a political view, and when he's writing the opinion pieces the NYTimes pays him for he puts it on display.

But much of his work in the popular press is more about pointing out the faulty reasoning and incorrect facts of people who pose as though they know anything about economics. I sometimes wish he didn't do the opinion stuff because his (self-labelled) liberal view point makes everyone with different political leanings accuse him of being a hack and simply dismiss anything he has to say.

Cheers,

AetheLove

**-Lazarus-** · 08-20-12, 10:57 PM

Originally Posted by AetheLove

Here's Krugman's criticism:

Unethical Commentary, Newsweek Edition - NYTimes.com

It's quite short. That's a blog post, not a longer opinion piece or a full-fledged article.

It highlights something about his popular (rather than academic) work that I admire - it makes good effort to separate analysis and economics from opinion and political preference. He has a political view, and when he's writing the opinion pieces the NYTimes pays him for he puts it on display.

But much of his work in the popular press is more about pointing out the faulty reasoning and incorrect facts of people who pose as though they know anything about economics. I sometimes wish he didn't do the opinion stuff because his (self-labelled) liberal view point makes everyone with different political leanings accuse him of being a hack and simply dismiss anything he has to say.

Cheers,

AetheLove

Or, he could just be an establishment hack that has profited for years on politically slanted work. It could be just that simple.

**AetheLove** · 08-21-12, 12:28 AM

Originally Posted by -Lazarus-

Or, he could just be an establishment hack that has profited for years on politically slanted work. It could be just that simple.

Now that I think about it, you're right. It could be.

It could be that there is a maze of logic that's just twisty enough to get you from his seminal work in International Trade and Economic Geography to whatever bizarre conspiracy you've cooked up in your head. As we all know, most academic economists become spectacularly wealthy. It JUST MIGHT BE TRUE!

But I asked my friend William, and he says that there is a much more likely explanation.

Cheers,

AetheLove

**Red_Lizard2** · 08-21-12, 12:46 AM

Originally Posted by AetheLove

Now that I think about it, you're right. It could be.

It could be that there is a maze of logic that's just twisty enough to get you from his seminal work in International Trade and Economic Geography to whatever bizarre conspiracy you've cooked up in your head. As we all know, most academic economists become spectacularly wealthy. It JUST MIGHT BE TRUE!

But I asked my friend William, and he says that there is a much more likely explanation.

Cheers,

AetheLove

Well he did get his degree in Kenya...=p