Getting History Right

As Europe pushes austerity and the Republicans push an austerity agenda in the US, Paul Krugman points out a bit of history that is overlooked:

The Brüning Thing

Joe Weisenthal tells us about an analyst willing to risk a Godwin’s Law citation; Dylan Grice of SocGen points out that it was the deflationary policies of 1930-32, not the inflation of 1923, that brought you-know-who to power.

Indeed. When we hear assertions that Germans are deeply hostile to loose money because of their historical memories, I always wonder why those memories are so selective. Why is 1923 seared into collective memory, while the Brüning disaster has apparently gone down the memory hole?

This is important — and there’s not much time to get the record straight.

The political right thought it could "control" Hitler. He seized power and destroyed Germany. That wasn't the plan that the 1% thought it was so deftly "handling" in 1932. Today the ultra-rich and the political right are sewing the seeds for another disaster. Maybe not a new Hitler, but something disastrous. Sadly, most people don't know enough history to recognize the path the world is on. And sadly, most people -- especially the elites and the politians they have bought lock, stock, and barrel -- don't know enough economics to realize how disastrous their austerity (deficit reduction) plans truly are.

Everybody should read the Joe Weisenthal article that Krugman is pointing at.