27 Oct 2003 (updated 27 Oct 2003 at 21:31 UTC)
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On Krugman
Krugmanology seems to be becoming a more and more popular sport these days... It's nice to see that berend and raph are having a discussion of Krugman's book: I'd be interested to hear what comes of it. Thanks to
berend for giving me the link to Econopundit (
Steve Antler). A quick thought, after reading Oliver Kamm on
Krugman's pathology: I think most critics of Krugman miss the point, namely the important thesis of Krugman's is
whether or not Bush is pushing through a revolutionary agenda that is being ignored by the mainstream media (subthesis: due to
the Bush administration providing an endlessly changing stream of rationales for an unchanging policy), and that criticism of Krugman has to be centred on whether or not this thesis is true. The usually astute Oliver Kamm seems to have missed the point here.
For more sympathetic Krugmanology, see the current New York Review of Books on The Awful Truth. Happy 40th Anniversary to the NYRB, btw; they've put everything online so we can celebrate.
Oil
While I mention berend, with regards to his recent prediction about oil, his argument is
supported by the recent issue of the Economist, which
argues we should end our oil dependency. Whether you
agree with their argument or not, it seems clear that the alternatives to oil are now practicable, even if still
somewhat expensive.
News
Well, not so new news; I guess just about everyone who reads this diary knows already, but better late than never: my wife is six months pregnant; our baby daughter is due in January.
Life will change...