Economics and a lack of Humanities

I confess that I haven’t read any of Barry Eichengreen’s work, he writes on economics and the history of economics and it hasn't occurred to me to read a book about economics. Actually, until I booked a ticket to this event I had never heard of him. Eichengreen was a senior advisor to the International Monetary Fund in the 90’s and currently conducts research for the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Both of these organisations are influential nonprofit organisations conducting economic research and advising policy makers and business around the world. Eichengreen has a new book out, The Populist Temptation, and this was essentially a publicity event with an opportunity to hear the author give a synopsis of his new book and purchase a signed copy.

A small audience, of perhaps 50, convened in Waterstones book store where we listened to what appeared a somewhat staged discussion between Eichengreen and the event host (a fellow economist, from UOB) followed by a brief question and answer session. The general premise of The Populist Temptation is that the recent rise of populist politics across the world can be seen as a part of a repeating pattern which occurs following economic downturns and sudden shifts in technology, agriculture and industry which leave sections of communities feeling abandoned and without a stake in society. The host provided Eichengreen with some well rehearsed and entirely non-critical questions which allowed the author to put forward his views and reference his new book often enough that audience members might want to purchase a copy in order to get more detail. It was I thought a slick performance, but it was a relief to hear Eichengreen challenged in his views during the subsequent Q and A session by an audience member who made it clear that he felt the author’s previous incarnation as an IMF advisor made him a part of the problem rather than someone who should be describing it. Eichengreen dealt smoothly with the dissenter and the host swiftly moved the discussion on.

Eichengreen’s views on populism, while expressed drily and mostly in terms of economics, at least at this event, did speak to me of a world in which an understanding of humanity can be lost to government and big business. Where sheer scales of global economics and power blind those who make policy and drive industry and finance to what should be unsurprising — that economies are made of human beings who will react like human beings when they are pushed to the limit. The Humanities can teach economists and politicians about such reactions, both past, present and hopefully future. Eichengreen’s use of historical research reveals that the lack of understanding of, or interest in the processes of being a human within an economy has had, and continues to have profound consequences on a local, national and global level.