Monday 16 July 2018

Social Chaos

In Poul Anderson's The Avatar, Earth sounds as chaotic as it gets in the pre-interstellar period of his Psychotechnic History:

planetary crowding;
Transdeism;
New Islam;
Asianism;
unfeasible secessionisms;
legitimate grievances;
centralized global government;
revived Keynesianism!

Keynesian policies? Public spending on useful projects to boost the economy? Perish the thought. Let the market be unconfined!

Such arguments will continue as long as the present kind of economy continues. But nothing will last forever.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I think I have wondered before what exactly was "New Islam"? A Muslim movement rejecting Sharia and Jihadism? Including removing from the Koran leading to those things? I can well imagine the controversy THAT would cause among Muslims!

There are many legitimate criticisms which can be made against Keynesian economics, including how it encourages wasteful and profligate spending by the state. And MANY allegedly useful public works have been costly fiascoes. I can't think of many beyond building roads and dams.

Free enterprise economics, with some necessary checks against fraud, theft, embezzlement, etc., has been the only economic system which has WORKED for mankind.

Sean