Is the Great Recession over? How is prosperity created? Government spending or free, unencumbered markets? John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek rap it out in this video, released last week by collaborators
John Papola and
Russ Roberts. It's their second go 'round. They released their first rap Jan. 25, 2010. In this one, fake Hayek and fake Keynes rap, and mug, about, among other things, whether the military spending of World War II ended the Great Depression, whether self-regulation works and the problem with bailouts.
An excerpt:
Kenyes: "The future's uncertain. Our outlooks are frail. That's why free markets are so prone to fail. In a volatile world, we need more discretion. State intervention can counter depression."
Hayek: "People aren't chess men you move on a board at your whim, they're dreams and desires ignored. With political incentives, discretion's a joke. Those dials they're twisting, just mirrors and smoke. You need stable rules and real market prices so prosperity emerges and cuts short the crisis. "
Check out the very hilarious and brilliant video here.
And Round 1 here.
And here's a podcast about Papola and Hayek's collaboration.