Matt Miller on the Decadence of the Western Intellectual Class

[WildNovember]

Actually Matt Miller was ostensibly writing in the Washington Post (here)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/todays_paper?dt=2011-11-26&bk=A&pg=17

about the "decadence of the Western governing class," but he was inadvertently telling readers much more about the failure of people who pass for intellectuals in public debate. Miller passes for somewhat of an expert on economic and budget policy, yet this column posed two amazing questions for readers:

"According to the IMF, China’s GDP per capita is about $8,400. The United States’ is about $48,000. How can it be that a country nearly six times richer is relying on a country so poor to help finance its current consumption?"

"Related surreal question: What does it say when Europe, where most nations have per-capita incomes ranging from $35,000 to $45,000, is also passing the tin cup to much poorer China in an attempt to backstop its recklessly leveraged banks and governments?"

Of course these questions both have very simple answers that are 180 degrees at odd with Miller's austerity prescriptions. In the first case...the answer to Miller's question is that it is a deliberate policy of the Chinese government to support the consumption of the United States...

In the case of Europe, the problem is that the German government and the European Central Bank (ECB) are trying to impose austerity across Europe....

The fact that Miller would be posing questions like these in the Washington Post shows the incredible decadence of the Western intellectual class. At least when it comes to economic policy, it is largely comprised of people who are either so ignorant of basic economics or so dishonest that they primarily act to confuse their audience and distort reality...the experts who were completely surprised by the collapse of the bubble and its impact on the economy continue to dominate policy debate in both the United States and Europe. Now that is some serious decadence.

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/matt-miller-on-the-decadence-of-the-western-intellectual-class

[drm604]

1. I don't think such a broad brush can be used on the "intellectual class".

I'm not even sure what the "intellectual class" is.