On a side note, I may not have given Krugman enough credit. I have always found his blog opinions suffered from a tendency for hyperbole and exaggeration that I didn't care much for. Seems they could be deliberate and part of a strategy.
Originally posted by KazetNagorra He is probably similar to moderate social democrats in Europe (haven't studied his articles much). But moderate social democrats in Europe get votes.
The Democrat party is not the monolithic entity your dismissals imply and just because its leadership moved it more to the right in recent decades, doesn't mean it's inevitable it remains there.
In the last elections, for example, there seemed to be a lot of votes in passing the impression it would move further to the left, for example. It hasn't turned out what many people expected but, like I said, it isn't at all inevitable that it won't eventually.
Originally posted by Palynka The Democrat party is not the monolithic entity your dismissals imply and just because its leadership moved it more to the right in recent decades, doesn't mean it's inevitable it remains there.
In the last elections, for example, there seemed to be a lot of votes in passing the impression it would move further to the left, for example. It hasn't turned o ...[text shortened]... e I said, it isn't at all inevitable that it won't eventually.
Did you read the article?
Yes, I did. The Democrat party may move to the middle, of course, but these things are complicated in a two-party system, and further complicated by the fact that bribery is legal in the US.
Originally posted by KazetNagorra The American "Left" died somewhere in the late 70s.
I wouldn't merely say it "died." I would say more it was slain by the wretched hopeless stagflation that enveloped the country at that time and the Carter administration's complete inability or unwillingness to do anything about it.
Originally posted by sh76 I wouldn't merely say id "died." I would say more it was slain by the wretched hopeless stagflation that enveloped the country at that time and the Carter administration's complete inability or unwillingness to do anything about it.
Well, there was stagflation in Europe in the 70s too. Carter wasn't too effective a president, but not nearly as bad as Reagan. I doubt stagflation is really responsible for the left's demise in the US.
Originally posted by sh76 I wouldn't merely say it "died." I would say more it was slain by the wretched hopeless stagflation that enveloped the country at that time and the Carter administration's complete inability or unwillingness to do anything about it.
Strange. Unemployment dropped consistently for the vast majority of his time in office.
Originally posted by KazetNagorra Well, there was stagflation in Europe in the 70s too. Carter wasn't too effective a president, but not nearly as bad as Reagan. I doubt stagflation is really responsible for the left's demise in the US.
Carter's ineffectiveness led to the success of the Reagan revolution.
Originally posted by sh76 I wouldn't merely say it "died." I would say more it was slain by the wretched hopeless stagflation that enveloped the country at that time and the Carter administration's complete inability or unwillingness to do anything about it.
I guess he could've froze wages as Reagan did. There's a conservative for you.
Krugman and America's Left
27 Apr '11 10:57
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