by Rob Johnson
How We Learned to Love “Free” Markets
By Rebecca L. Spang | Nobody has ever seen the economy. We can see specific markets, but my local farmers’ market looks very different from the Diamond District in Manhattan and even the street stalls I frequented in East London. Markets are institutions with more or less physical infrastructures, but “the market” (like “the economy”) is an abstraction, no more fixed or certain than “the Left” or “nature.” If “the economy”… read more
The Economy from the Ancient World to the Age of the Internet
English diconaries reveal several separate, but overlapping referents for economy: order,management; ecient conservaon of resources; praccal aairs; money, wealth; themarket. The idea of economy applies to a wide range of social units. The last two sensesabove privilege the market and rootless individuals specialized in money-making — the veryanthesis of an economy that aims to conserve the resources of both society and nature… read more
The Meltdown of Trust, Bank Closures
In this interview, we speak with Rob Johnson, the President of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, about the state of the U.S. economy in 2023 and the recent closure of Silicon Valley Bank. Johnson shares his insights on a range of topics, including: – The overall health of the U.S. economy and its prospects for growth in the coming year – The impact of inflation on consumers and businesses, and whether it is likely to persist – The closure of Silicon Valley Bank and what it says about the state of the tech industry and the broader economy Johnson brings a wealth of experience to these topics, having served as Chief Economist of the Senate Banking Committee and as a Managing Director at Soros Fund Management. He is a leading voice on economic policy and has been featured in numerous media outlets. Watch here