Not exactly encouraging words, but true.
Newton, Euler, Gauss, Galois... all made their marks in their early 20s.
True, Newton, Euler, & Gauss all continued productive mathematical lives till they died (Galois died at age 21 - killed in a duel).
BUT - all had established their reputations while young.
Most of us have formed our opinions - political and other - well before we reach age 30.
Greenspan??? His defining period as an economist was during the inflationary late '60s, early '70s of the last century.
Yes - his Fed policies kept inflation controlled through the growth years of the '90s... but he seriously underestimated the dotcom boom, and kept interest rates high for at least 3 quarters into the following recession of 2001.
He learned Econ 101 under Friedman: the free-market can do no wrong.
Tho' he admitted that there were risks of a housing bubble, he discounted those risks.
"If declines were to occur, they likely would be accompanied by some economic stress, though the macroeconomic implications need not be substantial."Does the word "insurance" mean anything to these folks???
More recently, Greenspan opined that financial derivatives pretty much removed all risk from the market... well, not quite: if things go south, bad things'll happen, but that eventuality is extremely unlikely.
Again, does the word "insurance" mean anything???
[aside: I don't anticipate an auto accident anytime soon... BUT: I do purchase auto insurance!!!]
When the "market" is dominated by a few huge players, Adam Smith has nothing to say. Have our economic gurus learned nothing from Ricardo, Marx, Veblen, and Keynes??? The "market" in its present incarnation bears very little resemblance to Adam Smith's pin factory!!!
For what it's worth: a delightful little book informs most of my economic knowledge:
Robert L. Heilbroner'sLike most of my recommended books, this one, too, is out of print.
The Worldly Philosophers
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