Krugman Analyzed

January 28, 2008 1:03 PM by Jeffrey Tucker | Other posts by Jeffrey Tucker | Comments (2)

Daniel Klein writes to tell us of his new article:

Abstract: We have made a complete review of Krugman's New York Times columns
1997 through 2006--in all, 654 columns. The pattern of policy positions and
arguments do not square with his purported concern for general prosperity and the
interests of the poor. Some of the evidence lies in statements made. But the more
important evidence lies in patterns of statements not made. Because Krugman
assumes the role of addressing the most important things, because our account is
comprehensive, and because the omissions are flagrant, we may treat omissions as
evidence of Krugman's ideological character and sensibilities. Krugman is best
interpreted as a committed social democrat and Democratic partisan. Our main
contention is that his social-democratic bent sometimes trumps people's interests,
notably poor people's interests. The tension surfaces in what Krugman has written
about immigration and the threat it poses to the US welfare state. But the tension is
found in his writings on several topics, and, importantly, in omissions in his
writings. Krugman has only rarely come out against extant government
interventions, even ones that expert economists seem to agree are bad, especially for
the poor. If Krugman would admit that, to some extent, he is ready to sacrifice poor
people's interests for the sake of advancing social-democratic values, then he has to
admit conflict between relevant values and give up posturing to the effect that he
has been a voice of unbiased research and has stood above any ideological
interpretation of public affairs.