January 23, 2009
Review Corner
Dusted off an oldie-but-goodie thanks to Netflix: Commanding Heights.
I watched the first (Keynes vs. Hayek) disc last night and one is astonished to realize this was broadcast on PBS and funded in part by the Pew Trusts and CPB. I bet several thought police lost their jobs over that. (FedEx is listed first, I think Fred Smith may have ponied some dough.)
As enjoyable as it is, it is bittersweet to watch it and think "freedom was winning -- just a few years ago." We seem poised to give all the gains away and return to government controlled economy.
Great, great stuff. If you missed it drop everything and watch it (I think it's available free on pbs.org). If you have, it is a very good time to watch it again. Right before we give the Commanding Heights back to the planners.
Two notes: Firstly, the evil collectivists at Google include Keynes in the spellchecker but not Hayek. Need I say more? Secondly, like reading The Everyday Economist, it reminds that Lord Keynes was not a devil. He was a brilliant figure who gave us much of the science of Economics. He was on the correct side of concern with the Versailles Pact and did not live long enough to really grasp the post-war economies. I'll still take Friedrich August any day of the week, mind you, but Keynes deserves his props.
We watched parts 1 and 3 in our World Affairs class last year. Colored me impressed- it certainly is the best introduction to international economics I have seen on the screen. (Apparently it is based off a book? Anybody read it?)
~T. Greer
Posted by: T. Greer at January 23, 2009 2:10 PM | What do you think? [1]