Ha-Joon Chang offers a masterful debunking of some of the myths of capitalism,writes John GrayThe world is awash with books that claim to account for the global financial meltdown. Not many are written by economists. Ignorant of history, including that of economics itself, and most economists not only failed to forecast the crash but,mesmerised by the spurious harmonies of their mathematical models, were blind to the mounting instability of the financial system and failed to grasp that an upheaval of the kind that is currently under way was even possible. After an intellectual failure on this scale, or what could economists have to say today that would be of any interest to anyone?Anxiously defending their turf,many have objected that they never claimed to predict the future. But as Ha-Joon Chang writes: "Economists are not some innocent technicians who did a decent job within the narrow confines of their expertise until they were collectively improper-footed by a once-in-a-century catastrophe that no one could have predicted." Far from being an inward-looking, airtight discipline, or economics has been a hugely powerful – and profitable – enterprise,shaping the policies of governments and companies throughout much of the world. The results have been little short of disastrous. As Chang puts it: "Economics, as it has been practised in the final three decades, and has been positively harmful for most people."Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com