Image via WikipediaI've been contemplating the nature of the latest economic crisis. The common wisdom is that it is centered around the sub prime lending in the U.S. Economy.So what has this to do with the British government pumping billions of dollars into their economy? What has this to do with the Australian PM guaranteeing bank deposits?
As far as I can remember, economics was a subject that talked about micro and macro economics. In fact, the whole theory of economics is based upon understanding what happens within a closed system. An economy is defined within the borders of the nation.
It seems too obvious for words that we are living in a global economy. Every action has a reaction that reverberates around the world. Such is the case of the sub prime crisis.
Whilst you can read about Globalization there is not much in economic studies that grapples with the concept of a Global economy.
When economists consider economic policy it is still confined within the perimeters of micro and macro but not global.
Whilst hedge funds straddle the world and have the power to influence national economies as much as governments, there seems to be no grasp of the mechanism of global economics within the discipline of economics. There is certainly a lot of groping in the dark, reacting to situations that spin out of control but no systematic way of dealing with the global economy.
You might think that Globalization is something new, a recent development. In which case I suggest you consider that the Great Crash of 1929 was a global phenomenon. Seems to me that the global economy has been up and running for quite some time.
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7 comments:
There is certainly a lot of groping in the dark, reacting to situations that spin out of control but no systematic way of dealing with the global economy.
I think economist's generally lost their way shortly after Xenophon wrote his Oeconomicus. I mean, not everything can be "valued" in monetary terms, can it?
Socrates and economics. Damn, I missed a lot when stopped reading the classics. Thanks for the reference. Karl Marx in Kapital, claims value is created by labor. No, I don't put monetary value on everything.
I'm a big Xenophon fan... he provides a much more "robust" portrait of Socrates than I received from an exclusive reading of Plato's dialogues... and Xenophon was probably much more "representative" of Socrates (a warrior) than Plato.
I think Marx and the "materialists" were more concerned with who the "surplus value" generated by the efficiencies of a logically applied "division of labor" belonged to rather than any actual "values". The more "spiritually" demeaning the work, the more Marx, et al, fought for the classes who were required to perform it.
I still prefer Marx to the Marcusian's of the Frankfurt School who sought to supplant labor altogether with "Eros" (aka polyamorous sexuality). I see you post a bit on the subject (sexuality), do you have any thoughts on the subject? Are there any particular graves you've found more interesting than others?
In response to your question, I did consider a grand plan to cover the history of the female nude in art. Sexuality disguised within art seems to be a much neglected subject. The recent uproar in Australia regarding Bill Henson's photographs illustrates this point. Only today I read a comment that accuses Bill Henson of having a sexual interest in teenage girls. Leading on from this assumption the writer then raises suspicions on the morality and integrity of Bill Henson. This is appalling. Men are attracted to teenage girls whether they admit it to themselves or not. This is simply biology. Maybe the writer has an issue with his own guilt and feelings regarding teenage girls. This is a subject that needs to be explored.
Wow. That would be one heck of a survey. The history of the female nude in art. You could almost call it, "the never ending story". You might want to consider narrowing your field of study... otherwise there's too much material to cover. You could cut your study by 9/10th if you could ignore breasts. IMO, their artistic symbolism has been over-exploited anyway.
As for Henson's problems, I think that given the nature of our current "civilizational problem", the uproar is a little more understandable and warranted today than it was, say, in the 50's. At least back then, the counter-culture wasn't throwing everything in the book at western civ, trying to break the totems and taboos that reinforced our western exogamous marriage traditions (ie - Aeschylus "Suppliant Maidens"). A clash of civilizations battle we're slowly losing, one generation at a time.
Well, I'd better be turning in. Nice reading your blog!
Thanks fj, I love your comments and your ideas. You've given me much food for thought and inspiration. I hope to keep in touch with you from now on.
Do that. I'll likely be peeking at your blog quite a bit, but if I become too much of a pest, let me know and I'll try and cut back.
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