A Stunning Admission - the world's not flat, it's buried.
I encourage folks to read Thomas Friedman's OpEd piece "The Inflection Is Near?. Friedman is no socialist, and wrote the sunny book "The World is Flat." Well Friedman is not so sunny now on free market capitalism.
In his piece in the Saturday NY Times, he states:
Let's today step out of the normal boundaries of analysis of our economic crisis and ask a radical question: What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession? What if it's telling us that the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall -- when Mother Nature and the market both said: "No more."We have created a system for growth that depended on our building more and more stores to sell more and more stuff made in more and more factories in China, powered by more and more coal that would cause more and more climate change but earn China more and more dollars to buy more and more U.S. T-bills so America would have more and more money to build more and more stores and sell more and more stuff that would employ more and more Chinese ...
We can't do this anymore.
So Greenspan says that his ideology of market self-regulation is "flawed," and Friedman says we went down the wrong path. Gee thanks guys. A lot of us have been trying to say exactly this for a long period of time and have been labeled "commies," "socialists," and outright "unamerican."
An apology to all of us and the world would be nice.
Don't hold your breath. Oh, manatees can hold their breath for a looong time.
=D
Nvrmnd
March 8, 2009 1:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ulrichp/1362599/
March 8, 2009 2:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
ACK!
Nothing is sacred!
=D
March 8, 2009 2:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sacred cows are tasty...
March 8, 2009 2:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Raging manatee attacks helpless oil well.
A cousin of mine with a bad temper.
March 8, 2009 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Having posted the "Oh, the Huge Manatee" photoshop, The Old Grouch, you've taken ownership and now, have the duty to interpret the image.
Other than the fact that a manatee's shape is a somewhat close analogue to the shape of a dirigible*, what the hell does it mean?
* Not to mention that I can't make out the Hindenberg in that photo, anyway -- or why the manatee's a stand-in for a sacred cow.
March 9, 2009 12:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think the realization is dawning - infinite expansion is not possible in our (effectively) closed system.
Further, it is the ethic of a malignancy.
Our challenge is now to seize this opportunity to short-circuit those who would further exploit others as we change social models.
March 8, 2009 2:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Indeed! Before the last of our resources are thrown into the fray to save a system that can't work.
March 8, 2009 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually I found Greenspan's mea culpa stunning. He is one of the High Priests of laissez faire economics and he is saying his economic 'religion' is based on a false god. That was sweet vindication for me. Now from the left we have these sobering observations from, another 'free market' champion, Tom Friedman.
But none of the decision makers are paying any heed to the Krugman/Delong/Roubini et al...who have been correct all along.
March 8, 2009 2:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, what's up with that?
March 8, 2009 2:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Squawk to me about it chicken!!! =D
Lets see...the powers to be say 'You know the people we've been listening to about the economy are all wet. And those other people over there have been correct all along but we're still not convinced we should listen to them. Messers Greenspan and Friedman, even though your advice got us here to begin with, what should we do next?'
I guess winning an Nobel in economics doesn't give one a seat at the table.
March 8, 2009 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Makes me madder than a wet hen. =D
March 8, 2009 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
At least you don't have egg on your face like they do. ;-)
=D
March 8, 2009 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I believe it is called "playing to the center," and it is not only wrong but disastrous -IMHO.
March 8, 2009 2:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I definitely agree. Despite Obama's soaring rhetoric about change often times he seems to be comfortable in being dangerously safe with status quo crowd. Right now status quo is not the right place to be hanging out...
March 8, 2009 7:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
This reminds me of my blog: RIP: consumer economy. I read Friedman this morning and I thought, oh, boy, now it's moving into the MSM!
We are headed for a new world. A new system. Call it what you will, but people, ordinary citizens are already behaving differently and calling with almost one voice for sane policies.
Uncanny! ;)
March 8, 2009 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ooooops, my bad. He said as he dropped the multi trillion dollar economy on the floor, breaking it into a million pieces.
Let's just move forward. Not look back.
March 8, 2009 2:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hear Hear.
Friedman's cheerleading of global capitalism in his 'aint it cool' tone has grated for years. I remember watching Asian currencies in free fall and countries devasted while reading him brag about how his mutual fund voted against asian governance. Funny now that his wife has lost her shopping mall billions how he has changed his tune.
But I still wont ever forgive him for the trumpeting the Iraq war. He knew better.
March 8, 2009 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well said Saladin.
March 8, 2009 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I must admit I find your all's humor refreshing! I got several chuckles and a couple of outright laughs from the play. Thank you.
March 8, 2009 2:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Humor is a very high level coping mechanism. We need all the chuckles we can get to survive this current melt-down. And maintain sanity. This is one healthy group here!
March 8, 2009 4:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Speak for yourself TheraP. I'm quite proud of that "Criminally Insane" diagnosis they gave me. I worked hard for it, and I'm not giving it up. Besides, I kinda like it here in Arkham Asylum. Good friends, 3 squares, top bunk... even free internet access.
Though it's probably mostly the free internet thing that keeps me here. If it wasn't for that, I'd be out, putting into action this plan we cooked up - these incredibly cool ways to wreak havoc on the global financial system.
What's that? It IS? $7 trillion ALREADY???
Damn them. When Two Face and the Joker were getting out, they SWORE to me that they were going straight. I guess the lure of banking was too much.
And now I missed it. Crap.
March 8, 2009 5:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Everything with me is either worship and passion or pity and understanding. I hate rarely, though when I hate, I hate murderously. For example now, I hate the bank and everything connected with it....."
— Anaïs Nin (Henry and June: From "A Journal of Love," the Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin;
and,
"A foolhardy lot, we accepted it all, as we always do, never asked: "What is going to happen to us now, with this invention of print?" In the same way, we never thought to ask, "How will our lives, our way of thinking, be changed by the internet, which has seduced a whole generation with its inanities so that even quite reasonable people will confess that, once they are hooked, it is hard to cut free, and they may find a whole day has passed in blogging etc?"
— Doris Lessing
March 8, 2009 5:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry WW, I'd write a longer reply but I've got a blog, errrrrr "report" to write. ;-)
March 8, 2009 5:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Quinn:
When you aver " I'm quite proud of that 'Criminally Insane' diagnosis they gave me. I worked hard for it, and I'm not giving it up..."
then I have to ask if you are not southern, after all??? Because it is well-known that the reply to an accusation of insanity, in the south is: "Why, I have several relatives who might be categorized as insane....and so I thank you, for askin'."
March 8, 2009 5:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
hahahahaahhaahahah!!!!!
March 8, 2009 5:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Healthy!
March 8, 2009 6:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm also loving the ads that are in the middle of your blog here, Rowan. Not sure it's the same for everyone, but mine is entitled "Financial Meltdown 2009" and when you click it, the site says:
"In FREE SAFE MONEY REPORT #1, U.S. Debt Collapse Striking! Government Bailout to Fail! Next: Danger of Bank Runs!"
I'm comforted. ;-)
March 8, 2009 5:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Karma ;-[ mine says "Who says full time moms can't be full time students?" (And hold 3 jobs on the side)
March 8, 2009 5:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
...and raise 14 kids (8 of which with the same birthday) to boot! Everything is easy when you don't have that pesky burden of reality to weigh you down.
March 8, 2009 6:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't ferget the insaitable dog, the five cats, and other assorted critters.
=D
March 8, 2009 6:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
OMG! I didn't know about that! I think I'd rather not know.
March 8, 2009 8:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I live in a zoo. Er, farmyard.
=D
March 8, 2009 8:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
The ultimate ownership society--titans own the profits, the public walks away with the losses. No one goes home empty-handed!!
Everyone gets a piece of the pie.*
*no trade of ownership--In the event there are no losses, the public has no right to the profits. In the event there are no profits, titans have no right to the losses.
March 8, 2009 5:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
It seems to me that Friedman and Greenspan committed the ultimate sin for men who appeared to fancy themselves as rational, pragmatic, realists. They first decided what they wanted the end result to be and THEN built arguments which designed to support that desired conclusion. What did the Red Queen say; "Verdict then evidence"?
March 8, 2009 8:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
"verdict, then evidence."
Amazing how just three words in the wrong order can so fully repeal the age of enlightenment.
March 8, 2009 10:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's quite amazing, this stupid guy now is not telling us that there is a political and social problem, so many years devoted to transfer money to the rich and destroy the society: he is telling that we are in a mess because ecological problems.
They did well but it is arrived a storm.
What a kind of stupid.
Something has to change but first of all on the political side and in the way of managing the economy. There is a power problem.
March 8, 2009 8:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
The power problem is that the people were lulled out of their power. I'm hoping were pissed off enough to take it back.
Like these folks in NY.
Unfortunately, it's starting small. Only 2 dozen brave souls stood up and shouted.
March 8, 2009 10:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Rather than an apology, how about a new sytem of government and economics where we reorder permanently the distribution of wealth and power in our society?
How about we join our closest allies in setting up a system of Democratic Socialism where capitalism is allowed to continue what it does best, but is regulated and that the needs of the entire society and not just the wealthy get met? That's the sort of discussion that needs to be taking place in America now.
I'm glad to see blindmen like Friedman finally waking up, but we have to give up this fantasy that we can just tweak some things about the edges and get back to the way things were. For the majority of Americans the way things were sucked and didn't work for them but they were able to get by. Now that the economy is on the rocks it can't even fake the possibility of working for them in the foreseeable future. It's becoming apparent to all, that Laissez Faire capitalism American style doesn't work any better at the opening of this century than it did at the opening of the last century.
Modified capitalism or Democratic Socialism, whatever you want to call it, is what we need.
March 9, 2009 12:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
oleeb, Well said and I agree. Democratic socialism would be at least a good first step.
March 9, 2009 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink