Back in the 70s, we used to make jokes about all those unemployed PhDs standing around in the unemployment lines chatting about Sartre and Derrida. Reading more news of mass layoffs in banking (link), it occurs to me that we face one distinctive consequence from the new unemployed: lots of people with time on their hands who actually know a bit of something about how an economy works. Up to now, of course, they have been cheerleaders and true believers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if their formerly benign views of their former profession will be at least open to reevaluationl. Moreover, while a few of these may actually jump out of windows and sell apples on street corners, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few others have actually salted away some of that obscene wealth that rained on them, giving them leisure and wherewithal (along with the new opportunity) to tell their story. Look for a wave of tell-all memoirs-- a bacteria’s-eye view of the dark intestines of capitalism, as these former Ayn Randians discover their inner Karl Marx.
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