Things that went whizzing by that I want to remember.. Over at Project Syndicate, I am trying to think about what China’s best options are right now: Project Syndicate: Xi Jinping’s Historic Mistake: ‘American actor John Cena’s groveling apology to China for calling Taiwan a “country” suggests that globalization has gone horribly wrong, delong observes… <https://twitter.com/ProSyn/status/1400015812719628296> <https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/xi-jinping-quest-for-centralization-destined-for-failure-by-j-bradford-delong-2021-06>.
Concerning possible reasons that Friedman’s successors did not succeed in walking the same tightrope: it is not always easy to infer motives from results, but the Schumpeter-Hayekian project, like any (loosely) totalitarian polity, will always require fresh monsters to kill. Ultimately, Democratic presidents can appoint Fed chairs, too, which would in turn ultimately require that monetary policy, like fiscal policy, be neutralized as a possible source of discretionary intervention in the economy. The Free Market is a jealous god.
Concerning possible reasons that Friedman’s successors did not succeed in walking the same tightrope: it is not always easy to infer motives from results, but the Schumpeter-Hayekian project, like any (loosely) totalitarian polity, will always require fresh monsters to kill. Ultimately, Democratic presidents can appoint Fed chairs, too, which would in turn ultimately require that monetary policy, like fiscal policy, be neutralized as a possible source of discretionary intervention in the economy. The Free Market is a jealous god.