Editorials & Other Articles

n2doc

(47,953 posts) Tue Dec 30, 2014, 10:10 AM Dec 2014

What is Paul Krugman afraid of?

by Ezra Klein

Paul Krugman is a lot of things. New York Times op-ed columnist. Nobel prize-winning economist. Arcade Fire fanboy. Obama administration frenemy.

But the side of Krugman I've always found most interesting is the sci-fi obsessive. Krugman has long claimed it was science-fiction author Isaac Asimov's "psychohistorians" who led him to economics. "Someday there will exist a unified social science of the kind that Asimov imagined," he wrote, "but for the time being economics is as close to psychohistory as you can get."

Punditry tends towards the short view. What will happen in the next election? What will happen in Congress next week? What just happened on cable news? And as a pundit, Krugman takes on those topics often. But sci-fi takes the long view. It gravitates towards the threats and hopes humanity will face if it is lucky enough to survive into a world vastly different than our own. And so when I got a chance to sit down with Krugman recently, I asked him to take the long view — the science-fiction view.

The interview:

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/29/7458807/paul-krugman-economist

12 replies

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Highlight:

What is Paul Krugman afraid of? (Original Post) n2doc Dec 2014 OP

That's not just a "Good Read" - it's an excellent read! bananas Dec 2014 #1

For a better understanding read Asimov's "The Foundation Trilogy". Lochloosa Dec 2014 #2

Love the Foundation Trilogy abelenkpe Dec 2014 #3

Really? daleanime Dec 2014 #6

That would be tough to do well yurbud Dec 2014 #9

Yeah agree abelenkpe Dec 2014 #10

it would be better fodder for a cable mini (or maxi) series yurbud Dec 2014 #12

fun fact: it also inspired AUM Shinrikyo! wait, w-what? MisterP Dec 2014 #11

Fascinating Hari Seldon Dec 2014 #4

Great Read! blackspade Dec 2014 #5

Kick.... daleanime Dec 2014 #7

K&R 2naSalit Dec 2014 #8

bananas

(27,509 posts)

1. That's not just a "Good Read" - it's an excellent read!

Reply to n2doc (Original post)

Tue Dec 30, 2014, 10:18 AM

Dec 2014

Thanks for posting that!

Lochloosa

(16,066 posts)

2. For a better understanding read Asimov's "The Foundation Trilogy".

Reply to n2doc (Original post)

Tue Dec 30, 2014, 11:34 AM

Dec 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series

The Foundation series is a science fiction series by Isaac Asimov. For nearly thirty years, the series was a trilogy: Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation. It won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Asimov began adding to the series in 1981, with two sequels: Foundation's Edge, Foundation and Earth, and two prequels: Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation. The additions made reference to events in Asimov's Robot and Empire series, indicating that they were also set in the same fictional universe.

The premise of the series is that the mathematician Hari Seldon spent his life developing a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory, a concept of mathematical sociology. Using the laws of mass action, it can predict the future, but only on a large scale. Seldon foresees the imminent fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way, and a dark age lasting 30 thousand years before a second great empire arises. Seldon also foresees an alternative where the interregnum will last only one thousand years. To ensure the more favorable outcome, Seldon creates a foundation of talented artisans and engineers at the extreme end of the galaxy, to preserve and expand on humanity's collective knowledge, and thus become the foundation for a new galactic empire.