>>> lawrence at krubner.com 08/21/01 05:48AM >>>
Is this true? Have other economists accepted this view? Does this man have followers who are pursuing further research in this line? The implication, if I read it right, is that inflation, especially the permanence it's gained since WWII, is not a product of too much spending, but a product of all the weapons in the arsenal of the business community (advertising, patents, copyrights)? That seems like a lot of monopoly rent.
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CB: Yes, permanent inflation as a byproduct of advanced and sophisticated state-monopoly or state-oligopoly price fixing.
I know a lot of liberals who've argued that inflation in no way limits the real growth of the economy. But doesn't this whole bit suggest the opposite? It suggests that inflation is the product of a massive amount of parasitism. Is that truly not harmful?
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CB: It is inevitable in a market system.