Medijske 2009: finančna kriza

V letošnjem letu (in ni pričakovati, da bo tudi v naslednjem kaj bolje) se je bralo o ekonomski krizi. In bilo je kaj brati, saj se je vsaj del profesije s spraševanjem, kako za vraga smo tako zagozdili, globoko zakopal v samorefleksijo. No, te ni kaj dosti videti, če dogajanje spremljate s planeta Finance in okoli njega vrtečih se intelektualnih mediokritet, ki prodajajo isto blago kot leta 2007. Malo pošvedrano, a zato precej bolj gibko.

Globalno so vendarle močneje zasijale avtoritete, ki so profesiji izstavljale račun, kot je recimo vseprisotni Paul Krugman. A po mnenju mnogih to nalogo zdaleč najbolje opravljajo na blogu (! “tradicionalni mediji pa v jok) The Baseline Scenario, ki ga je bilo letos pač nujno brati. Simona Johnsona, nekdanjega glavnega ekonomista IMF-a in profesorja na MIT-u, ki je skupaj z dvema kolegoma ustanovil The Baseline Scenario, so nedavno pri britanskem intelektualističnem mesečniku Prospect imenovali za najpomembnejšega javnega intelektualca v času finančne krize; pred Bernankejem, Krugmanom, Stiglitzem…

But there was a clear winner. He is Simon Johnson, an economist at the prestigious Peterson Institute in Washington, DC, who has been leading the argument against overmighty banking. His ideas are well grounded in theory, but he has also done more than any academic to popularise his case: writing articles, a must-read blog, and appearing tirelessly on television. As the FT’s Martin Wolf told Prospect: “Johnson’s significance is that he is a member of the establishment—a former IMF chief economist, no less—who has emphasised the capture of the state by big finance, for the latter’s own ends. An expert on crises in emerging countries and in transition from communism, he has called what he has seen: crony capitalism at the heart of the financial system.” In particular Johnson’s essay “The Quiet Coup,” in the Atlantic of May 2009, is one of the great polemical essays of the crisis. Far from skulking in an ivory tower, he has urged citizens to the streets.

Runner-ups:
Economist’s View
CalculatedRisk
J. Bradford DeLong’s Grasping Reality with a Prehensile Tail
Naked capitalism
European Tribune