European Unions

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Sun Apr 8 12:04:12 PDT 2001


Dennis wrote:


>Yoshie wrote:
>
>> First of all, why do you consider Engels' simple words to be
>> objectionable "jargon," while remaining unoffended by exchanges such
>> as the following?
>>
>> >Rakesh Narpat Bhandari wrote:
>> >
>> >>In particular, I am confused as to how post keynesian theorists
>> >>insist on both the endogeneity of the money supply (that is, the
>> >>Fed is obliged to supply the quantity of money that is demanded by
>> >>economic agents) while elevating the Fed to the key, autonomous
>> >>institution in the determination of the performance of the
>> >>macroeconomy.
>> >
>> >There's more than one kind of endogenist. Quoting myself from Wall
>Street:
>> >
>> >>Robert Pollin (1991; 1993) usefully divided the two major schools
>> >>of post-Keynesian endogenists into the accommodative and the
>> >>structural. Accommodative endogeneity holds that the central bank
>> >>has no choice but to validate private credit demand by providing
>> >>whatever reserves the banking system needs to accommodate the loans
>> >>that it has already made; that means there is no effective
>> >>constraint on credit. Leading proponents of this school include
>> >>Nicholas Kaldor and Basil Moore. Structural endogeneity - the
>> >>branch that appeals to both Pollin and me - holds that central bank
>> >>attempts to constrain the growth of credit are frequently evaded
>> >>through creative finance.
>>
>> Your response cannot but originate in your prejudice against Marxism,
>> since you don't find non-Marxist "jargon" objectionable.
>
>Didn't read this post till now. It's crap.

Love you too, Dennis.

So lemme see. Trying to understand how the system of money & credit works is "crap," because it cannot be easily explained to the proverbial cleaning woman (who is presumed to be an ignoramus). So the hierarchies of capitalist society, in which technical and cultural education is reserved for the few, and anti-intellectualism assumed to prevail among the rest, are now accepted as a norm for radical anti-capitalists?

The other night, Bob Fitch told Liza & me about a worker in Connecticut with an 8th grade education who'd taught himself enough law to sue the union that fucked him over and had him beaten up for challenging the leadership. A federal appeals court just accepted his case. Was he wasting his time studying law? Or is there something admirable and inspiring about that?

Doug



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