Economists as the New Rock Stars

Says Michael Wolff:

It should be said that economists have perhaps never felt the way they feel now. Never before have they felt so central, so needed, so powerful. They say "crisis" with a religious and perhaps even sexual fervor. To be an economist, in these last few years and in the next few to come, is to be...a kind of rock star.

Of course, he is gaga over Roubini and Krugman:

Status, if not immortality, in the economist profession is now as much about understanding media as it is about building statistical models. Next to the way they say the word "crisis," so redolent with excitement and opportunity, is the way they say the name "Paul Krugman," breathlessly and awestruck.

And, also, the way they say Nouriel Roubini, who got the biggest turnout at the conference. Krugman with his Nobel and left-wing politics is saint-like, and Roubini, with his tireless self-promotion and seizing of all opportunities -- and the personal fortune he has likely amassed in the process -- is more devilish.

What this means is that Wolff has never attended a Mises Circle event. If you want sexy, there is no thrill like pronouncing the name Ludwig von Mises or Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, correctly for the first time. You want devilish?  I'll take Bob Murphy over Roubini, any day, and also Murphy's books and economic understanding.

And if you want Mick Jagger, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington and Pavarotti, all in one, as Lew Rockwell just explained that's economist, historian, political observer, teacher and  philosopher, Murray Rothbard.