Mark Blyth's State of the Union

Mark Blyth, the silver-tongued professor of political economics at Brown University, recently sat down at WBUR studio to discuss the state of politics and the world economy in 2018. Blyth is one of the most erudite speakers on class politics today, and links the current political climate to the developing creditor-debtor relationships of the 1970s and onward. In the video below Blyth discusses the origins of the current generational, economic, and political strife and makes some not-so-optimistic predictions about the next few years.

In particular, Blyth lays significant blame at the feet of Baby Boomers, arguing that they benefited both from the social programs and high inflation of the 1970s (which conveniently erased their debt and lifted their property values), and the deregulatory, pro-creditor environment of the 1980s onward. Blyth further makes the case that there is little younger generations can do, other than invest in healthcare and inherit their parents' wealth. Unfortunately for most of us potential successors, middle and working class Boomers have not saved much for retirement, let alone their heirs.

Blyth also makes the case that neither the left nor the right are correctly diagnosing the problem or providing solutions to the core economic issues driving the conflict. While the right spins apart screaming about immigrants and other boogeymen, the left acts as if it can resurrect FDR and recreate the economic climate of the 1950s and 1960s. The world, however, has simply changed: the economy is now global, and the United States simply cannot expect to be the manufacturing base, breadbasket, and military superpower of the world anymore.

Take a listen and let me know what you think in the comments.