Recently, newly confirmed US Treasury secretary and former Fed chief,
Janet Yellen, spelt out the challenges facing US capitalismin a letter
to her new staff.
<https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0003><https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0003?fbclid=IwAR1n92Hr0A10CraKa817eENjti-7Bp0ADm0YUwEcAte1RShuXoRv8lCORck>She
said:/“the current crisis is very different from 2008. But the scale is
as big, if not bigger. The pandemic has wrought wholesale devastation on
the economy. Entire industries have paused their work. Sixteen million
Americans are still relying on unemployment insurance. Food bank shelves
are going empty.” /That’s now; but ahead, Yellen says that there
were/“four historic crises: COVID-19 is one. But in addition to the
pandemic, the country is also facing a climate crisis, a crisis of
systemic racism, and an economic crisis that has been building for fifty
years. “/
She did not spell out what this 50-year crisis was. But she was
confident that mainstream economics can find the solutions to these
crises. “/Economics isn’t just something you find in textbook. Nor is it
simply a collection of theories. Indeed, the reason I went from academia
to government is because I believe economic policy can be a potent tool
to improve society. We can – and should – use it to address inequality,
racism, and climate change. I still try to see my science – the science
of economics – the way my father saw his: as a means to help people.”/
These are fine words. But is mainstream economics really designed to
‘help people’ improve their lives and livelihoods? Indeed, is mainstream
economics really offering a scientific analysis of modern economies that
can lead to policies that can solve the ‘four historic challenges’ that
Yellen outlines?
https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2021/02/02/the-mainstream-meeting-the-historic-challenges/
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