Five useful guides to the current crisis
Are you confused about the cause and effects of the current global financial crisis? Here are some useful reads for you: John Cassidy, “Anatomy of a Meltdown,” The New Yorker. Cassidy tries to explain Bernanke’s decision-making process over the past eighteen months. If nothing else, this story contains the only amusing anecdote about Dick Cheney ...
Are you confused about the cause and effects of the current global financial crisis? Here are some useful reads for you: John Cassidy, "Anatomy of a Meltdown," The New Yorker. Cassidy tries to explain Bernanke's decision-making process over the past eighteen months. If nothing else, this story contains the only amusing anecdote about Dick Cheney that I have read in the past five years. Niall Ferguson, "What 'Chimerica' Hath Wrought," The American Interest. Ferguson hits the key notes, which is how the crisis affects the strange interdependence that China and the United States and the future distribution of power. This essay nicely sums up the state of play -- the numbers suggest a hegemonic power transition between the U.S. and China happening sooner rather than later, but since the U.S. has historically coped with these inds of crises better than other states, you never know. James Pethokoukis, "5 Reasons Why the Economy Might Recover Faster Than You Think in 2009," Capitol Commerce. Pethokoukis offers the best-case scenario for why this will be a short sharp recession. I remain unconvinced, especially by the benefits of cheap energy (rising energy prices failed to drag down the economy at all until they skyrocketed earlier this year, and unless oil falls to below $10 a barrel I see no reason why the reverse effect should take place either). Still, I hope he's right. Drake Bennett, "Depression 2009: What would it look like?" Boston Globe. Bennett's essay is the flip side of Pethokoukis -- what happens if this really is the Great Depression II? Bennett explains how the piublic manifestations of this depession would be markedly different from the thirties. Among the cheery notes -- fewer hungry people. Michael Lewis, Liar's Poker. I read this over the weekend and it's astonishing to see how well it holds up twenty years later. Indeed, in many ways this book provides a better guide to the origins of the current crisis -- the securitization of mortgages, the explosion of shaky debt -- than anything written this year, with the possible exception of... Michael Lewis. Readers are strongly encouraged to suggest additional and alternative readings.
Are you confused about the cause and effects of the current global financial crisis? Here are some useful reads for you:
- John Cassidy, “Anatomy of a Meltdown,” The New Yorker. Cassidy tries to explain Bernanke’s decision-making process over the past eighteen months. If nothing else, this story contains the only amusing anecdote about Dick Cheney that I have read in the past five years.
- Niall Ferguson, “What ‘Chimerica’ Hath Wrought,” The American Interest. Ferguson hits the key notes, which is how the crisis affects the strange interdependence that China and the United States and the future distribution of power. This essay nicely sums up the state of play — the numbers suggest a hegemonic power transition between the U.S. and China happening sooner rather than later, but since the U.S. has historically coped with these inds of crises better than other states, you never know.
- James Pethokoukis, “5 Reasons Why the Economy Might Recover Faster Than You Think in 2009,” Capitol Commerce. Pethokoukis offers the best-case scenario for why this will be a short sharp recession. I remain unconvinced, especially by the benefits of cheap energy (rising energy prices failed to drag down the economy at all until they skyrocketed earlier this year, and unless oil falls to below $10 a barrel I see no reason why the reverse effect should take place either). Still, I hope he’s right.
- Drake Bennett, “Depression 2009: What would it look like?” Boston Globe. Bennett’s essay is the flip side of Pethokoukis — what happens if this really is the Great Depression II? Bennett explains how the piublic manifestations of this depession would be markedly different from the thirties. Among the cheery notes — fewer hungry people.
- Michael Lewis, Liar’s Poker. I read this over the weekend and it’s astonishing to see how well it holds up twenty years later. Indeed, in many ways this book provides a better guide to the origins of the current crisis — the securitization of mortgages, the explosion of shaky debt — than anything written this year, with the possible exception of… Michael Lewis.
Readers are strongly encouraged to suggest additional and alternative readings.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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