LOONY TUNES NO. 161

1

Alan Duff’s Opinion postsed (16 August)  on New Zealand Herald HERE 

“Alan Duff: Cult of Kev, population ... himself”

“The man destined to be Australia's Prime Minister proceeded to rip me apart, at least my arguments. To hell with that, if I didn't outdo him I may as well sit down in disgrace. Even with a displeased crowd against him, Rudd didn't blink as the words cascaded like some waterfall he'd designed to hit jutting rocks in a surprise spray, dive between stone contours like an invisible hand had briefly calmed the waters, then boom - you get the drift.”

2

Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz posted (15 August) on CHICAGO NOW HERE 

“Does Adam Smith's invisible hand [competition] work to provide the optimal kind, quantity and price for services in the insurance and legal industries?

COMMENT

No! ADAM SMITH never said that Markets needed or used (metaphorically even) ‘invisible hands’. VISIBLE prices are all that is needed. In fact markets wuld not work without VISIBLE prices. Newspapers and journalists are supposed to check their facts …

3

“Staggers” posts (15 August) in New Statesman HERE 

What do neoliberals actually believe in?

“The liberal economic ideology underpinning neoliberalism can be traced back to the 18th century Scottish philosopher Adam Smith. In his seminal book The Wealth of Nations, he argued that while each individual labours for their own benefit, this together creates an “invisible hand” that drives markets and adds to the public good. In the 19th century, British imperialists embraced an extreme version of economic liberalism, known as laissez faire (French for "let go). The mantra of free trade was used to justify the Second Opium War with China, when Britain forced the legalisation of the opium trade and an end to trade tariffs.”

COMMENT

Traced back by whom? Modern journalists too lazy to check the facts by actually opening Smith’s Wealth of Nations and what he said exactly about “an invisible hand”! Much easier to copy somebody else’s error
4

Eyal Kaplan (a Venture Capitalist)  posts (27 July) on 8th Global Peter Drucker Forum HERE 

“How The invisible Hand of Society Funds Entrepreneurship, Innovation, And Growth” 

COMMENT

Nothing in the text about “The invisible Hand of Society”. Apparently it means the billion dollars of annual savings for investment in innovation businesses.