I always felt like Greenspan was something of both a trophy & useful idiot(some might claim he's not an idiot, and I understand that viewpoint) to the establishment.
He was a trophy in the sense that he was a guy who early in his life(and now later if he's to be believed) gravitated towards honest money, liberty, etc.(even if he was just a follower) with some credentials, but fully sold/out converted to establishment cause of the very opposite.
It's like an army putting the heads of it's enemies on spikes and carrying them into future battles against those enemies left.
So that's what made him a useful idiot as well- that, & his willingness to babble incoherently about markets in a convincing way.
Maybe zombie is even a better term for Greenspan than "idiot" given his nickname used to be "The Mortician".
Agreed, Greenspan "cashed out" on his economically conservative reputation. Agreed, the political marketing benefits of this made him especially appealing to the state to co-opt.
This is an example of someone accepting the lucrative deal the state offers to join forces with it rather than fight it. An example of what levels of prestige, power, wealth, and women can be had by switching sides to join with power.
This is the other side of the coin than heads on spikes. One side is the carrot and the other side the stick. Both transmit the same message.
I always felt like Greenspan was something of both a trophy & useful idiot(some might claim he's not an idiot, and I understand that viewpoint) to the establishment.
ReplyDeleteHe was a trophy in the sense that he was a guy who early in his life(and now later if he's to be believed) gravitated towards honest money, liberty, etc.(even if he was just a follower) with some credentials, but fully sold/out converted to establishment cause of the very opposite.
It's like an army putting the heads of it's enemies on spikes and carrying them into future battles against those enemies left.
So that's what made him a useful idiot as well- that, & his willingness to babble incoherently about markets in a convincing way.
Maybe zombie is even a better term for Greenspan than "idiot" given his nickname used to be "The Mortician".
Agreed, Greenspan "cashed out" on his economically conservative reputation. Agreed, the political marketing benefits of this made him especially appealing to the state to co-opt.
DeleteThis is an example of someone accepting the lucrative deal the state offers to join forces with it rather than fight it. An example of what levels of prestige, power, wealth, and women can be had by switching sides to join with power.
This is the other side of the coin than heads on spikes. One side is the carrot and the other side the stick. Both transmit the same message.