Capitalism and the Dark Forces of Time and Ignorance: Economic and Political Expectations

Description

This book explores the role of expectations within the modern capitalist system. Through looking at how they are formed and develop, the impact of events that lead to a collapse in expectations, such as a major financial crisis, is examined to highlight the precarious and unstable nature of the economic system. With a particular focus on the UK and USA, it is also considered how public policy and institutions can shift the balance away from speculation and back towards enterprise. This book aims to conceptualise instability and highlight how economic and regulatory policy can limit it. It will be relevant to researchers and policymakers interested in economic policy and regulatory reform. Preface Contents 1 Living in Truth Professor Hayek’s Knowledge Machine Not a Time Machine Two Views of the Future Two Views of the Past The End of History Minsky’s Moment References 2 After the Fall Dark Forces The UK Turns Inward As Does the United States Europe Has No Seatbelts The Lure of the Far-Right This Time Is Not Different Scapegoats Must Be Found References 3 The Medium Is (Still) the Message Inside Knowledge Artists of the Floating World No Mistakes and No Learning The Unbearable Lightness of Being References 4 What Do You Expect? The Role of Expectations Long-Term Expectations The Open Society Under Pressure A Chequered History Anchoring the Future Back to the Drawing Board Motions of the Planets References 5 Possibilities, Probabilities, and Propensities “We Simply Do Not Know” An Efficient Pseudo-Science Two General Theories The Cost of Living References 6 The Best and the Brightest Hedging Your Bets Passive Resistance Losers in the Gamble of Uncertainty Going Forwards, Looking Backwards Market Power and Market Bubbles References 7 Bretton Woods Revisited Crisis Begets Crisis The Original Idea Steps to Safety A Few Pieces of Paper References 8 Selling England by the Pound Decline and Fall Going Round in Circles Catching Up The Path Not Taken Back to the Sixteenth Century References 9 Tomorrow Without Fear The Arsenal of Democracy A Better Tomorrow, Yesterday Monnet and Keynes Two Unions Stabilising an Unstable World References 10 Out of Darkness The Bankruptcy of the Reasonable Man Crises Without Politics The Shock of the New Why Then Do We Have Booms and Busts? Speculation Not so Cheap The Dimension of Time The Dark Forces of Time and Ignorance References Index