28/08/2007 1:16:44 pm
"Neoliberal" Power. George Monbiot has a fabulous piece in The Guardian today. He claims that a "cabal of intellectuals and elitists hijacked the economic debate, and now we are dealing with the catastrophic effects". According to him, the main effect of freer markets that the rich get richer and the rest are left to "sink or swim". And that, in turn, is the very reason for the pursuit of free markets by many institutes and think-tanks, he claims.

Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. I never feel as influential as when the leftists describe the work done by me and many colleagues. As most people, I really enjoy a real conspiracy theory. It is entertainment. But I seriously wonder if Mr Monbiot has missed the dramatic increases in incomes for ordinary people - and the fall in global poverty - during the last decades of ever freer global economy? Or would that ruin the story?

Read the article here (recommended) - >