Re: Paul Samuelson, the "greatest economist" of the 20th Century (per the NY Times)
Some examples of his brilliance:
1. "In the 1989 13th edition of Economics -- as Soviet-style socialist command economies were in collapse around the globe, and as eastern Europe was aflame in revolution that would spread to the Soviet Union two years later -- Samuelson opined that "contrary to what many skeptics had earlier believed": "The Soviet economy is proof that ... a socialist command economy can function and even thrive."6
2. In the 1976 10th edition of this work -- which is perhaps the best-selling economics text of all time -- Samuelson wrote that it was a "vulgar mistake to think that most people in Eastern Europe are miserable,"3 a shockingly naïve or callous statement. In the 11th edition, four years later, he removed "vulgar."4
3. In the 1985 edition of Economics, "that entire passage had disappeared. Instead, he ... substituted a sentence asking whether Soviet political repression was 'worth the economic gains.' This non-question Samuelson ... identified as 'one of the most profound dilemmas of human society.' In the face of looming Soviet economic disaster the 1985 Samuelson text offered these paragraphs: "But it would be misleading to dwell on the shortcomings. Every economy has its contradictions. ... "5
4. Early in his career, Samuelson predicted that after World War II there would be a worldwide depression, contrary to what actually happened. In the 1973 edition of his famous textbook Economics he predicted that though the Soviet Union then had a per capita income roughly half that of the United States, it would catch up to the United States in per capita income by 1990, and almost certainly would by 2015 because of its superior economic system.
5. In 1981 he wrote in opposition to President-elect Ronald Reagan's proposals: "Swift decontrol of energy prices ... will certainly add to the inflation rates consumers will endure from 1981 to 1983,"2 again the opposite of what occurred.
6. In his book, Samuelson barely mentions Japan. ... In the 1980s and 1990s ... Samuelson and [later editions' coauthor William] Nordhaus still practically ignored Japan. In the 12th edition they asked, "For example, many people have wondered why countries like Japan or the Soviet Union have grown so much more rapidly than the United States over recent decades." They spent many pages discussing the Soviet Union, but except for a brief reference to "rapid technical change," they were silent on Japan.7
freedomkeys.com
WHAT A GREAT ECONOMIST!! I was one of those students who in the mid-60's "benefitted" from his erudition. |
