• rhetoric of economics

I kind of like the new Treasury website on economic policy, especially the glossary of financial terms. I've avoided thinking or blogging on Obamanomics, partly out of my still-continuing relief after the election, and partly out of a desire to give the Administration the benefit of the doubt. The more I try to make sense of Geithner's (and Obama's) game, however, the more I conclude that this Administration possesses a peculiar class blindspot--specifically, that of the New Class that Alvin Gouldner (on the left) and some conservative writers (Paul Gottfried) have identified as displacing an older capitalist ruling class and the working class. Obama has lived and worked for quite a while within a closed network of Ivy League/Chicago/Stanford/Berkeley academic lawyers and economists, none of whom have much sympathy or understanding for people who actually *make* things. These "symbolic analysts," as Robert Reich famously called them, have more fundamental sympathy with Wall Street than Detroit (recall that investment bankers contributed to and voted for Obama in remarkably large numbers). I'm going to try out my "New Class" analysis of Obama at Vanderbilt in a few weeks, so stay tuned.

• Jim Aune's blog
• Login or register to post comments