A Noneconomic Analysis of the Election

A couple of interesting op-ed pieces on the election, although they are not written by economists or economic in content. I was struck by some similarities in the arguments. The first is by a colleague in the political science department at Hope--Jeff Polet. The second is by a syndicated columnist, Jonah Goldberg. They both point to a long-standing movement in American politics to break away from the constitutional emphasis on checks and balances and a politics that reflects a variety of mediating institutions to one more organic or following what Bismark did in Germany. 

Battle of the Titans

Paul Krugman has a blog today concerning an op ed piece by Gary Becker and Kevin Murphy in Financial Times. Becker and Murphy criticize the ability of governments to effectively generate better economic outcomes than capitalism. Krugman argues that conservatives have a bullet-proof argument against government especially when the most recent conservative government was inept.

Krugman has become so politicized that he cannot recognize an argument that isn't as political as his writings. Evidently, he also cannot distinguish among different types of "conservatives", i.e., libertarians who consistently advocate a limited role for government, and some conservatives who promote more government but in different roles than liberals such as Krugman advocate.