Our Self: Um blogue desalinhado, desconforme, herético e heterodoxo. Em suma, fora do baralho e (im)pertinente.
Lema: A verdade é como o azeite, precisa de um pouco de vinagre.
Pensamento em curso: «Em Portugal, a liberdade é muito difícil, sobretudo porque não temos liberais. Temos libertinos, demagogos ou ultramontanos
de todas as cores, mas pessoas que compreendam a dimensão profunda da liberdade já reparei que há muito poucas.
» (António Alçada Baptista)
The Second Coming: «The best lack all conviction, while the worst; Are full of passionate intensity» (W. B. Yeats)

04/10/2026

"You can't fool all of the people all the time" (20) - Robot portrait of a Trump supporter: male, old, white, and poorly educated

Other "You can't fool all of the people all the time."

Back to the 19th century mercantilism

«In his second administration, Donald Trump has injected the federal government deep into private markets and undermined the independence of government agencies and institutions. Most notably, he repeatedly and publicly pressured the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. In a sharp departure from the traditional US model, and the model of economic government that has prevailed in the United States for centuries, Trump’s administration has acquired equity stakes in more than 30 American firms, and has even taken control of large swathes of the Venezuelan economy. 

Until the 19th century, Trumpian-style mercantilism was widely regarded as sound economic policy. That changed after Adam Smith’s powerful refutation of mercantilism revolutionized economic thinking. When private sector producers compete with one another, Smith argued, an “invisible hand” generates benefits that none intend, resulting in the production of goods and services that constitute the true “wealth of nations.”»

By Anne O. Krueger  (*)
___________
Anne Krueger is an American economist, World Bank Chief Economist from 1982 to 1986, and deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2001 to 2006.