Although this piece focuses on Jon Stewart, I think it speaks to a broader issue with the populist left in general, and even more broadly with populists on both sides and the way they engage with the field of economics.
E_Cayce on
The real nightmare is people elevating comedians’ takes as political philosophy.
thesketchyvibe on
The podcast era has been an unmitigated disaster for the human race.
GenericLib on
This isn’t an uncommon view, unfortunately. People associate political economic commentators with economists. There is overlap, but most of the economists publicly commenting on politics are grifters who aren’t discussing optimal policies. Most of our problems come down to media literacy at the end of the day.
StayOffPoliticalSubs on
His audience is smaller than ever and the far right is on the rise, why is anyone wasting their time talking about the threat of Jon fucking Stewart?
Like, this isn’t about populism, this is about 15-20-year-old grudges from the last time he was relevant.
OkEntertainment1313 on
I love Jon Stewart, but this is how he has always been.
Evnosis on
>Stewart interjected again, rejecting the premise: “But that’s not economics, economics doesn’t take into account what’s best for society!” he exclaimed, adding that “The goal of economics in a capitalist system is to make the most amount of money for your shareholders. So my point is, since when is economics about improving the human condition and not just making money for the companies that are extracting the fossil fuels from the earth?”
This is like saying that the goal of chemistry is to synthesis more potent Meth.
lowes18 on
I really do hope we get a serious retrospective on guys like Stewart and Moore and the rest of the 90’s and 2000’s populist left. The rhetoric of “its all corrupt and bought out” in conjunction with the Iraq war basically killed an entire generations trust of business and government, and rather than a culture of reform it created a culture of nihilism that led us directly to today. The early alt-right on Youtube was basically a one to one copy of Stewart’s Daily Show, and the “I’m just a comedian” line has been a staple to push far out ideas for decades at this point because of Stewart.
LeaveMeAlone_6070 on
Kinda sad watching that entire generation of Gen X comedians–Stewart, Rogan, Chappelle, etc–all curdle in real time. They all stopped being curious (and funny) and started just smelling their own farts. The opposite of aging with grace..
OrganicKeynesianBean on
Notice how small problems with obvious solutions cascade into a Reddit comment section of self-defeatism and conspiracy theories.
It’s like no one is looking for answers, they just want to be entertained.
Goldmule1 on
On the flip side, I will say that there is a pervasive problem in the economics community of pretending it is below them to acknowledge the political realities of the current system.
If I was someone with a focus on politics I’d be similarly confused as to why economist continue to focus on a policy that appears to be political suicide. It’s just a different world perspective.
11 Comments
Although this piece focuses on Jon Stewart, I think it speaks to a broader issue with the populist left in general, and even more broadly with populists on both sides and the way they engage with the field of economics.
The real nightmare is people elevating comedians’ takes as political philosophy.
The podcast era has been an unmitigated disaster for the human race.
This isn’t an uncommon view, unfortunately. People associate political economic commentators with economists. There is overlap, but most of the economists publicly commenting on politics are grifters who aren’t discussing optimal policies. Most of our problems come down to media literacy at the end of the day.
His audience is smaller than ever and the far right is on the rise, why is anyone wasting their time talking about the threat of Jon fucking Stewart?
Like, this isn’t about populism, this is about 15-20-year-old grudges from the last time he was relevant.
I love Jon Stewart, but this is how he has always been.
>Stewart interjected again, rejecting the premise: “But that’s not economics, economics doesn’t take into account what’s best for society!” he exclaimed, adding that “The goal of economics in a capitalist system is to make the most amount of money for your shareholders. So my point is, since when is economics about improving the human condition and not just making money for the companies that are extracting the fossil fuels from the earth?”
This is like saying that the goal of chemistry is to synthesis more potent Meth.
I really do hope we get a serious retrospective on guys like Stewart and Moore and the rest of the 90’s and 2000’s populist left. The rhetoric of “its all corrupt and bought out” in conjunction with the Iraq war basically killed an entire generations trust of business and government, and rather than a culture of reform it created a culture of nihilism that led us directly to today. The early alt-right on Youtube was basically a one to one copy of Stewart’s Daily Show, and the “I’m just a comedian” line has been a staple to push far out ideas for decades at this point because of Stewart.
Kinda sad watching that entire generation of Gen X comedians–Stewart, Rogan, Chappelle, etc–all curdle in real time. They all stopped being curious (and funny) and started just smelling their own farts. The opposite of aging with grace..
Notice how small problems with obvious solutions cascade into a Reddit comment section of self-defeatism and conspiracy theories.
It’s like no one is looking for answers, they just want to be entertained.
On the flip side, I will say that there is a pervasive problem in the economics community of pretending it is below them to acknowledge the political realities of the current system.
If I was someone with a focus on politics I’d be similarly confused as to why economist continue to focus on a policy that appears to be political suicide. It’s just a different world perspective.