Paul Krugman, November 6
If you are in the Twin Cities area November 6, and whether you are ostensibly a ‘liberal’ or not, you should see Paul Krugman speak. John Gruber calls him “the world’s best political commentator” and even wrote “I didn’t mind paying the $50 a year for TimesSelect — I’d pay that just to read Paul Krugman and Frank Rich.” Krugman’s most recent book is called The Conscience of a Liberal. Here is a quick summary from Andrew Leonard’s recent review of the book in Salon magazine:
“The Conscience of a Liberal” is a history of the political economy of the United States from the beginning of the 20th century to the present, but its most important message is that, after years of Republican ascendancy accompanied by rapidly growing economic inequality in the United States, the point at which the pendulum finally starts swinging in the other direction has arrived.
I like the phrase “political economy,” but that blanket summary isn’t as interesting as another major point from the book (summed up again by Salon):
The gross inequality of the Gilded Age that led up to the Great Depression morphed into a stunningly middle-class economy because of concrete initiatives forced through via Roosevelt’s New Deal.
Indeed, when Kottke linked to the inaugural post on Krugman’s new blog, the topic was New Deal economics and the echoes of the government’s positive influence in shaping a middle class economy. (At least I think that’s a good summary, it’s been about a month since I read that quite-interesting post.)
Regardless, according to St. Thomas, Krugman speaks at a free event at a local Jewish temple in Minneapolis.