Krugman Tackles Libertarian Economics | National Catholic Reporter

Krugman Tackles Libertarian Economics | National Catholic Reporter by MSW.  MGB: The phosphorus example is interesting - especially Erickson's threat to beat members of a state government to a bloody pulp - which is Republican rhetoric, not Libertarian (although some anarchists have been known to glorify violent action as well).  Of course, there is nothing violent about going into Lake Erie, collecting some alga samples and sending them to Eric at Red State.  I suspect he would call the postal inspector - what a wimp.  I am not sure Krugman really talked about libertarian economics - he was spreading the myth of the benevolent capitalist - and speaking more about government and business relations than economics. Libertarian economics is sadly now synonymous with the Austrian School, specifically the work of von Mises and their obsession with hard currency and letting collapses run their course.  Meanwhile, libertarian socialists talk of other things - the creation of cooperatives that might even include education, retirement and social security within the cooperative or employee-owned corporation - with some of these functions contracted out the the Church (not all libertarians are secularists).  Indeed, if the DMV is bad, the social welfare system has been worse - but that is because the Republicans constantly underfund it.  The economics behind that is obvious - if people can't get help getting out of poverty they will have to take low wage work with no opportunity to advance in order to eat.  Now that's Randian economics ala Paul Ryan!