Courtesy of Mish.
The Economist and the World Economic Forum (WEF) have “dumb and dumber” competing notions as to what is the gravest threat to the global economy.
The WEF says “Social Media Feed” biggest threat to democracy.
The Economist says Populist Nationalism ‘Gravest Threat Since Communism‘
Priced Out of the ‘Open Society’
Saxo Bank editor Michael S. McKenna takes on the Economist in Priced Out of the ‘Open Society’.
On Saturday, The Economist published a rather panicked editorial stating that the US presidential contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton represents “the gravest risk to the free world since communism,” with “the future of the liberal world order” depending on Clinton’s success.
What is it that The Economist fears might disappear? All social orders orbit central values from which they derive their legitimacy. For globalism, or international liberal democracy, this takes the form of a strong belief in free markets, free trade, and openness towards the sorts of human migrations that such systems inevitably produce.
This final aspect is an interesting one, as the past 24 months have seen a dramatic ramping-up of hate-speech legislation, social media policing, and more broadly the taboo against speaking ill of this or that group – in Germany, for instance, multiple people have been arrested for posting messages critical of that country’s recent migration wave on social media. In Scotland, a 40-year-old man was arrested in February after condemning his country’s decision to welcome Syrian refugees to its shores on Facebook.
While The Economist decries protectionist measures in general and Trump’s opposition to certain nascent trade deals (such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership) specifically, it is relatively silent on other, more familiar forces warping free markets across the developed world.
“If The Economist believes so strongly in free markets, why does it accept central bank measures and [overall policies] that distort that very market?” asks Saxo Bank chief economist Steen Jakobsen.
Key Question
“If The Economist believes so strongly in free markets, why does it accept central bank measures and [overall policies] that distort that very market?” asks Saxo Bank chief economist Steen Jakobsen.
Democratic Strategist Calls for Assassination of Julian Assange
Meanwhile, back in the US, ZeroHedge reports Democratic Strategist Calls for Assassination of Julian Assange.
Assange is the founder of Wikileaks. His crime? He leaked Hillary Clinton emails.
