Quote:
Originally Posted by dammage79
That's what I mean. They bring in a guy who does stuff but he's a central banker. And in my historical readings, central banks are bad for ppl and good for business. So really, a well read and educated person serving the means of the dollar vs serving the ppl, that's the gleaming white hope. Fascism or more of the same vice grip on our earnings. Fun options.
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The difference I see in Carney, which may well be his undoing, is that his time as a central banker has seemed to change his view. His books and talks very much focus on how we need to use capitalism to work within our society, not dominate it, which differs from seeing his talks or interviews from the early 2010s. This to me is a stark difference from your standard banker who seeks to have capitalism guide society and that peoples needs will be met by letting capital control the way.
He also refers to economic theories of Friedman and Hayak in the same breath as Smith, Keynes and Marx. They all had coherent points to make, but each have become distorted. He is very knowledgeable not just in banking but he does have a grasp on the philosophy of economic theories.
His focus on environmental concerns are not based on partisanship or extremism. He is clear how his interaction with the insurers at Lloyds of London and their marking of risk as it pertains to climate change makes the threats very real and calculable. He wants to find ways to make today work for a tomorrow, instead of sacrificing tomorrow for comfort today.
That will be easy to twist, and yes, he is still very much in favor of costing carbon, because it is cheaper in the long run than not. That is realism and pragmatism to me, not just following the popular opinion du jour. His opposition to Brexit wasn't based on personal opinions of what the UK should do, but because of the real financial hurt that could, and did happen.
I was very skeptical of him as just another neoliberal banker. But now I see him as a neo-realist. Understanding that capitalism is the way of the world, that people need strong economies, but also that we must control capitalism to fit our human based society, not control humans to fit a capital based society.
He will not be left enough for the lefties, or right enough for the righties - but doesn't that put him in the radical centre?