Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek - Economics Rap Battle Round Two

Radical Discourse5 HN recommenders · 2011–2024
5.9M views · music · evergreen · Uploaded 2011-04-28

A hip-hop music video from EconStories in which Keynes and Hayek rap-battle over how to handle recessions and government spending. It is the second round after the first rap battle.

Offered as a quick, entertaining primer on Keynesian versus Austrian economics, especially for newcomers to Hayek.

Watch on YouTube

10 comments from Hacker News

@olalonde2011 · in “Bitcoin money ≠ the Gold Standard.”

I'm oversimplifying here, but it all boils down to Keynesian economics[1] (steaming rant) vs Austrian economics[2] (this submission) if anyone wants to dig deeper in the subject. tl;dr: [VIDEO] [1] [LINK] [2] [LINK]

@ramanujan2011 · in “United States loses AAA credit rating from S&P ”

You take the Keynesian view. It's difficult to discuss this in more than a soundbite, but the Hayekian view is well explained by these two videos: [LINK] [VIDEO] Well worth watching if you haven't seen them. In short, the opposite/Hayekian view contends that taxation is seizure of resources from profitable/efficient entities and redistribution towards unprofitable/inefficient entities. We saw this in extremis in the bank bailout, and more controversially in microcosm with individual redistribution. If you accept this -- that "profitable" correlates with "efficient", and conversely, though the correlation is not perfect -- then taxation is not a Robin Hood sort of thing that increases well being, but rather a move that ties the legs of the efficient sectors of the economy -- those that can post a profit even in tough times -- to those that are already underwater.

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@nickik2012 · in “Milton Friedman's Thermostat”

You have very strang opinions. One the one hand you speak well of hayke on the other point you use the exact opposit of what hayek belived to explain the recovery from the great depression. I dont want to go into the hold Great Depression discussion, I just wanted to point out that hayek would have made the argument that the New Deal made the GD much longer, same with the WW2. The idea that a war can help the economy would made hayek cry. Watch this modern Rap-Video of Hayek vs. Keynes and listen closly when the talk about the war. [VIDEO]

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@smoyer2015 · in “Remembering My Cousin, Ludwig Wittgenstein (1977)”

I don't always agree with him but I always enjoy reading Hayek's writing. Another little treat - Keynes and Hayek discussing the 2008 crisis in the US: [VIDEO]

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@caseysoftware2015 · in “Advanced economies are so sick we need a new way to think about them”

"Standard new Keynesian macroeconomics essentially abstracts away from most of what is important in macroeconomics." Yes, that has been the criticism for decades. There is nothing new here. The only time Keynesian economics has "fixed" an economy was WW2 when we (the US, specifically) had full employment because of the draft and all of our competition had been literally flattened and/or killed. For another look at it, check out the Keynes vs Hayek rap battle: [VIDEO]

@bhauer2016 · in “This Tech Bubble Is Bursting”

Good point. "The economy is us. We don't need a mechanic. Put away the wrenches—the economy's organic." [VIDEO]

@miles2020 · in “Failure to recognize J. M. Keynes's work guarantees further crises”

On the contrary; it is our slavish devotion to Keynesianism that promises a continued future of boom and bust cycles: Keynes vs. Hayek, Round 1 & 2: [LINK] [VIDEO]

@miles2020 · in “Friedrich Hayek on Evolution and Spontaneous Order (1983) [video]”

There have been a number of Hayek posts, though sadly few of them gained much traction: [LINK] For those new to Hayek, here is an entertaining overview: Fear the Boom and Bust: Keynes vs. Hayek [LINK] Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek [VIDEO]

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@passion__desire2023 · in “Intermediate sci knowledge associated with overconfidence and negative attitudes”

Well is it possible that an Alan Sokal kind of trick be pulled of in economics if it is a social science. Relevant : [LINK] [VIDEO]

@hayst4ck2024 · in “Rethinking my economics”

If anyone wants a fun quick summary of Hayek this throwback to the 2008 crisis is an easily consumed primer on Keynes vs Hayek: Keynes vs Hayek rap battle 1: [LINK] Keynes vs Hayek rap battle 2: [VIDEO]

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