I watched The Fog of War last night (Robert McNamara interview) and I think there is a parallel between McNamara's impotence in confronting the realities of the Vietnam war and Obama's "preemptive compromise." There is no non-transformational "technocratic solution" to the jobs crisis. Obama and his advisers, however, are fundamentally committed to solving the crisis without upsetting the status quo. A little tinkering here and a smidgeon of high-blown rhetoric there.
The documentary's title comes from a comment by McNamara: "There's a wonderful phrase: 'the fog of war.' What "the fog of war" means is: war is so complex it's beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend all the variables. Our judgment, our understanding, are not adequate. And we kill people unnecessarily." There is also a fog of economics. "It's beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend all the variables." So what do economists do? They isolate a few of the more comprehensible and tractable variables and pretend that is all there is to it. Take your pick: "Want more jobs? Stimulate more growth! Want more growth? Boost investor confidence! Want to boost investor confidence? Cut their taxes and regulations! Didn't work last time? Do it more vigorously!" Or "Want more jobs? Stimulate more growth! Want more growth? Stimulate final demand! What more final demand? Spend more on infrastructure! Didn't work last time? Do it more vigorously!" Don't ever, EVER ask, "What do we want those jobs FOR?" or "What's an economy for, anyway?" On Sun, Sep 4, 2011 at 10:47 AM, Sally Lerner <[email protected]> wrote: > 'President Obama's promised jobs plan needs to be > unrealistic and unreasonable, at the very least. If he > can crank it all the way up to unimaginable, that would > be even better. > > 'This is a moment for the president to suppress his > reflex for preemptive compromise. The unemployment > crisis is so deep and self-perpetuating that only a > big, surprising, over-the-top jobs initiative could > have real impact. Boldness will serve the nation well - > and, coincidentally, boost Obama's reelection > prospects.' > > Columnist Eugene Robinson > Washington Post > August 30, 2011 > http://tinyurl.com/3tpq9kj > > > What would FWers propose? > > Sally > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > -- Sandwichman _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
