Credited
as the economist who most accurately predicted the Great Financial
Crisis, Australian economist Steve Keen will be in Seattle to walk us through why
economics as usual failed so badly. Orthodox economics failed to predict the crisis and so far has failed to find its way to a real recovery. Keen offers us a compelling critique. Debt,
money and banking are -- as odd as it may seem -- invisible in orthodox
economic models. Drawing from John Maynard Keynes and Hyman Minsky, they are central to Keen's approach. In clear and
comprehensible terms, he will explore the radical means to address debt
burdens, help us understand how money is created, and give us insight
into the dynamics of credit in the short and long terms.
Presented by the Seattle Economics Council.
"If
it was so big, Why did nobody see it coming?" was the famous question
asked of an assembly of economists by the Queen of England. By a vote
of his colleagues, Steve Keen won the Revere Prize (Real World Economic
Review) as the person who most accurately DID see it coming. The crisis
has apparently passed, but the economics which failed so miserably is
still driving the discussion. Long-term stagnation is seen as inevitable. The banks are apparently healthy, but lending is anemic.The policies of austerity are ascendant.
Parallels to the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression continue to
mount. Keen will sketch the history, help us understand the theories
and their flaws, and introduce his revolutionary and user-friendly
dynamic modelling program "Minsky." Presented by the Seattle Economics
Council.
