Wednesday, May 13, 2009
An Actual Conservative versus Modern "Conservatism"
The intellectually solid Judge Richard Posner:
My theme is the intellectual decline of conservatism, and it is notable that the policies of the new conservatism are powered largely by emotion and religion and have for the most part weak intellectual groundings. That the policies are weak in conception, have largely failed in execution, and are political flops is therefore unsurprising.Emotion? Religion? Ya' don't say. But it gets better:
These unanticipated and shocking events have exposed significant analytical weaknesses in core beliefs of conservative economists concerning the business cycle and the macroeconomy generally. Friedmanite monetarism and the efficient-market theory of finance have taken some sharp hits, and there is renewed respect for the macroeconomic thought of John Maynard Kenyes, a conservatives' bête noire.Indeed. It would almost seem that conservative economics was based upon a faith-based belief system rather than analysis. A pattern? ¶ 1:19 AM
