When the going gets tough, the people losing the argument start whining about civility. I often find myself attacked as someone who believes that anyone with a different opinion is a fool or a knave. As I’ve tried to explain, however, this is mainly about selection bias. I don’t spend much time on areas where reasonable people can disagree, because there are so many important issues where one side really is completely unreasonable.
Obviously someone can disagree with my side and still be a good person. On the other hand, there are a lot of bad people engaged in economic debate – and I don’t mean that they’re wrong; I mean that they’re arguing in bad faith.
Which brings us to today’s installment of oh-yes-they’re-that-bad, courtesy of Bloomberg. You may remember the infamous open letter from 2010 addressed to Ben Bernanke, then chairman of the Federal Reserve, warning that his efforts to boost the economy “risk currency debasement and inflation.” Just in case you were wondering about the political nature of the letter, among the 23 signatories was that noted monetary expert William Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard.
(Image: TUNIN; Russia / CartoonArts International / The New York Times Syndicate)Earlier this month, reporters at Bloomberg had the bright idea, now that almost four years of low inflation have passed, of asking the signatories whether they would concede that they were wrong. Not a chance. Hey, they only said there was a “risk” of inflation, and the economy hasn’t done well, so it’s all good!
Just to say the obvious: If inflation had in fact risen, they would have claimed vindication. So it’s heads they win, tails they don’t lose.
And this is far from the only example of inflationistas and bond worriers bobbing and weaving, refusing to acknowledge having said what they said and being completely unwilling to admit mistakes.
I try hard not to behave that way. If I make a mistake – like my extreme pessimism about the short-term survival of the euro, or my warnings back in 2003 about a debt crisis in the United States – I try to admit it, and figure out why I was wrong. No doubt there have been times when I rewrote history to make myself look better, but I try to avoid that – it’s a major intellectual and moral sin.
And, boy, are there a lot of sinners out there.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
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We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
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