Big news from the World of Economics! Friedrich August Hayek and John Maynard Keynes face off in a smokin’ rap battle!
(It’s good, but it would be better if someone in this project actually knew how to pronounce “Keynes.”)
Fear the Boom and Bust
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Since the producers of the project include Russ Roberts, whose bio declares, correctly, that he is “Professor of Economics and the J. Fish and Lillian F. Smith Distinguished Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University,” you should now understand why Brad DeLong says that contemporary economists have forgotten what their forebears knew.
I have been told that “Canes” is the standard American pronunciation for Keynes among American economists.
What this tells me is that American economists don’t have any idea how to look things up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc&feature=relmfu
The follow up to this is actually pretty interesting, although its even MORE clear what school of economics the creators have more sympathy for. The coolest part is how the fans at the end react to each economist, with a media “trickle down” style for Keynes and a one conversation at a a time style for Hayek.
If you haven’t seen the first video it’s here.
http://econstories.tv/2010/06/22/fear-the-boom-and-bust/
And Russ Roberts is very honest about his bias toward Hayek on his the CafeHayek blog and on the Econtalk podcast. Occasionally, when he interviews someone on the podcast with a similar ideological bias there’s a swirl of mutual confirmation bias, but I’ve found that I enjoy Roberts because he is willing to challenge his own beliefs. In a world where all talk of economics is almost always a thin veneer over rationalization or pure ideology, it’s nice to hear an hour long discussion of economics where people occasionally doubt their own point of view. Plus, rap videos about economics, what’s not to like?
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