Panic Rules!: Everything You Need to Know about the Global Economy

by Robin Hahnel

Contents Foreword by Jeremy Brecher
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Bloom off the Boom
Chapter 2 Deconstructing the Neoliberal Myth
Chapter 3 The Latest Bust
Chapter 4 Understanding the Crisis
Chapter 5 How Asia Caught the Flu
Chapter 6 The IMF to the Rescue
Chapter 7 What Should We Want? What Should We Fear?
Chapter 8 Mainstream Reform Proposals
Chapter 9 Progressive Reform Proposals
Conclusion Lilliputian Luddites Until Globalization Can Be Built from Below An Excerpt from Panic Rules! By Robin Hahnel Boom and Bust Among economic systems, capitalism is the manic-depressive patient. Exuberance, unbridled optimism, and euphoria are followed by gloom, listlessness, and depression. But no matter how often the cycle is repeated the patient always believes the latest boom will last forever, only to feel foolish again when the bubble bursts. And no matter how often the patient reverts to manic behavior when taken off medication, the economic "psychiatric" establishment eventually succumbs to the patient's pleas to be taken off medication during the "ups"-freeing the exuberant economy from policy restraints-only to insist on placing the patient back on meds-re-application of necessary policy protections-when the unmedicated patient "crashes." The Latest Boom The truth is that neither part of capitalism's manic-depressive boom-and-bust cycle is "healthy." Like most capitalist booms, the benefits of global liberalization during the 1980s and 1990s were not all they were made out to be. In fact, most people in the world were worse off economically at the end of the latest boom than they had been when it began-that is, even before the over-hyped boom metamorphosed into the global economic crisis of 1997-98. How is this possible, you ask? We were told "the world economy grew at 3 percent a year in the 1980s and 2 percent in the first half of the 1990s," and that "low- and middle-income economies grew more rapidly, averaging 3.4 percent growth in the 1980s and 5 percent in the 1990s." We were assured that "growth in trade from increased trade liberalization that has gone hand-in-hand with increased private capital flows and financial integration,"

Genres: Economics, Politics, Nonfiction

125 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

Robin Eric Hahnel (born March 25, 1946) is Professor of Economics at Portland State University. He was a professor at American University for many years and traveled extensively advising on economic matters all over the world. He is best known for his work on participatory economics with Z Magazine editor Michael Albert.

Hahnel is a radical economist and political activist. Politically he considers himself a product of the New Left and is sympathetic to libertarian socialism. He has been active in many social movements and organizations for forty years, notably as a participant in student movements opposed to the American invasion of South Vietnam, more recently with the Southern Maryland Greens, a local chapter of the Maryland Green Party, and the Green Party of the United States. Hahnel's work in economic theory and analysis is informed by the work of Marx, Keynes, Piero Sraffa, Michał Kalecki, and Joan Robinson, among others. He has served as a visiting professor or economist in Cuba, Peru, and England.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here Hahnel explains what went down during the Asian financial crisis in the late '90's. It's a good (and quick) read, but I wouldn't have followed it well if I hadn't previously read his book The ABC's of Political Economy. It was a bit haunting to read it in the midst of the current economic crisis, as Hahnel paints a picture of politicians and mainstream economists, in 1999, claiming to be "waking up" from the dream of a free-market, unregulated financial idustry utopia.

[Rori.Cantall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short sweet and pretty neat.

10 years after it was written, the central tenets are still incredibly valuable. Hahnel breaks down economics principles and discusses financial crises without letting his arguments get bogged down with unimportant information.

His whole shtick is progressive, democratic economics, and he makes it seem realizable, if fleeting.

[Mat]

Despite the decent content it is too jargon heavy; would have been better served with a title Everything You Need to Know about the Global Economy if you Already Know A Lot About Economics--not surprising the positive quotes on the back are from academic economists!