The End of Classical Economics and the need for a

[hifiguy]

No-Growth Future:

"After the coming global collapse — the big wake-up call — classical economics will be exposed as a fraud sabotaging investors, destroying America.

Yes, new rules. Why? Because everything you know about economics is wrong. Everything. The old economics is a rigged game in a Wall Street casino. The cards are stacked in favor of the banks and their co-conspirators, political lobbyists, corporate CEOs and the Super Rich. The house always wins. You always lose. Worse, America is losing.

Here’s why: All classical economic ideas derive from one central idea. Not a scientific theory, merely an unproven hypothesis. Worse, all economic conclusions are based on this illusion, a fantasy, myth, wishful thinking. Consequently, all economic conclusions are speculations."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-20-rule-manifesto-for-new-no-growth-economics-2011-08-30?pagenumber=1

[banned from Kos]

1. there is nothing about "eternal growth" in classical economics

unless Keynes is misinterpreted for such.

Fun read though.

I agree with about 17 of the 20.

[blindpig]

2. No, we need return to 'classical economics.'

Karl Marx was the high point of classical economics, he tied it up with a bow. He built upon and completed the work of Smith and Richardo. Thing is the rulers of our society did not like his conclusions, thus we got neo-classical economics.

[FarCenter]

3. Once the economy stops growing, the effect of interest is to concentrate wealth

If the economy is growing, then interest payments, dividends, and other economic rents can be afforded out of the growing wealth. If the economy is growing strongly enough, wealth inequality can be controlled and limited.

Once the economy stops growing because of, for example, the exhaustion of cheap fossil fuel energy, the effect of interest and returns on capital is to concentrate wealth in the hands of the capitalists. Inequality increases as the concentration grows.

The American system was based on a relatively small population plundering the natural resources of a virtually untapped continent.

It is all over.

[applegrove]

4. The assumption behind all economic models is that 'given perfect information' people will

react in certain ways. Well lack of educationv, medical care, science, insider coporate intel, etc. is not distributed equally. No wonder the conservatives in Canada destroyed the long form census. They don't want information on people distributed equally by StatsCanada.