Krugman joins Blogtopia
By Libby
Introductory posts are almost always a bit awkward and Krugman's opening one is a bit on the formal side, but then again it's still affiliated with the NYT so I suppose some constraint is necessary. I tend to temper my work at the Detroit News for the same reason. (Well okay, I'm not that temperate there either, but I don't use profanity and try to use PG appropriate analogies.)
In any event Krugman now has a personal blog and his first post is a bit dry and really just sort of a pitch for his new book but I liked this one point. We're about the same age, and I also remember when this was true.
As long as I can remember, political grandstanding has been the favorite sport inside the beltway and the movie images of smoky back room deals and back stabbing betrayals wasn't made up out of the whole cloth. But there were times when the good of the country required it, that the political class put aside their differences and worked together without the primary concern being who would score the political points.
I find that the single most disturbing aspect of today's political climate. Our "leaders" are willing to completely subvert the long term common good for short term gains, even knowing that long term damage will impact everyone - friend and foe alike. It's so senseless.
In any event, I welcome Krugman to Blogtopia and await with interest to see how his voice develops in this format.
Introductory posts are almost always a bit awkward and Krugman's opening one is a bit on the formal side, but then again it's still affiliated with the NYT so I suppose some constraint is necessary. I tend to temper my work at the Detroit News for the same reason. (Well okay, I'm not that temperate there either, but I don't use profanity and try to use PG appropriate analogies.)
In any event Krugman now has a personal blog and his first post is a bit dry and really just sort of a pitch for his new book but I liked this one point. We're about the same age, and I also remember when this was true.
It was also a society in which political bipartisanship meant something: in spite of all the turmoil of Vietnam and the civil rights movement, in spite of the sinister machinations of Nixon and his henchmen, it was an era in which Democrats and Republicans agreed on basic values and could cooperate across party lines.
As long as I can remember, political grandstanding has been the favorite sport inside the beltway and the movie images of smoky back room deals and back stabbing betrayals wasn't made up out of the whole cloth. But there were times when the good of the country required it, that the political class put aside their differences and worked together without the primary concern being who would score the political points.
I find that the single most disturbing aspect of today's political climate. Our "leaders" are willing to completely subvert the long term common good for short term gains, even knowing that long term damage will impact everyone - friend and foe alike. It's so senseless.
In any event, I welcome Krugman to Blogtopia and await with interest to see how his voice develops in this format.
posted by Libby Spencer at 11:24 AM
2 Comments:
I think Krugam n is okay as a sort of snarky critic of capitalist dilemmas, but his own ideas are to me pretty awful. I mean, when the state is involved in the economy it's fascism. Why anyone would want MORE of this is beyond me. the free market is going to keep thse companies in check alot better than the greased palms of beltway bribees.
also, speaking of the economy here's a novel from the 1920's where the main cahracter is the price of wheat
http://www.mises.org/books/bushel.pdf
the author had a bit of an interest in the stock market evidentally.
Lester, I run hot and cold with Krugman. I'm not a huge fan but he occassionally writes a really good column. In any event it will be interesting to see if he succeeds at transitioning to blogging. It's two very different animals and I've seen many good journalists who couldn't make the transition. They weren't comfortable at all with the feedback.
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