Subscribe to Dollars & Sense magazine. Recent articles related to the financial crisis. The death of the Washington consensus?From today's Guardian:Paul Krugman's Nobel prize for economics signals the intellectual tide is turning against unrestricted free trade Kevin Gallagher guardian.co.uk, Tuesday October 14 2008 14.30 BST Last Friday the New York Times quoted the World Bank as saying "There's no question the Washington consensus is dead," indeed it "died at the time of the $700bn bail-out." If the bail-out is death, then awarding Paul Krugman the Nobel prize for economics is the nail in the coffin. Paul Krugman did not win the Nobel for his popular critiques of Bush-era economic policy in his New York Times column, though the column no doubt helped raise his profile outside the economics profession. The Nobel committee cited Krugman's theoretical contributions to the economics of international trade, the policy implications of which fly in the face of the Washington consensus ( where themantra is to free up trade every chance you get). Read the rest of the article. Labels: free trade, Nobel Prize in economics, Paul Krugman, washington consensus Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!).
Comments:
When did the Washington Consensus ever actually promote free trade--as opposed to "free trade"?
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The centerpiece of most so-called "free trade" pacts is strict "intellectual property" [sic] provisions. IP plays the same protectionist role for TNCs that tariffs did for the old national industrial economies. It reinforces corporate boundaries in information industries where the capital outlay required for entry would otherwise be near-zero, and where the marginal cost of production is zero. The dominant corporate sectors in the global economy all follow business models heavily dependent either on IP (software and entertainment), direct government subsidies (armaments and agribusiness), or both (electronics and biotech). Plus, the Washington Consensus promotes a model of "privatization" that amounts to looting by crony capitalists, when the most just way to privatize state industry and services is to transform it into worker or consumer cooperatives. And it defends the artificial property rights of feudal ruling elites against the rightful owners of the land--the peasants who work it. << Home |
