Is the life of Alan Greenspan the epitome of Rand’s ideas about human endeavors in a capitalist society?
The ability to tolerate Greenspan’s personal behavior may be where the vitality and creativity of capitalist society lies. It is also believed to be an important reason why Rand believes that capitalism is ethical.
Author: GUDORDI | 2024-08-21
Ayn Rand. (Wikimedia Commons)
Therefore, the sage does nothing and teaches without saying anything; he does all things without saying anything; he is born but does not exist; he does things without relying on them; he succeeds but does not dwell on them.
──Chapter 2 of “Tao Te Ching”
In the last chapter, the author mentioned that Greenspan can be regarded as a legendary figure in modern history. There are many different views on his place in history. The area where he is most criticized is believed to be his “condolence” of the market – Greenspan has always emphasized that it is best for the market to establish its own supervision, and the government and regulatory agencies should not intervene unless necessary. It may be Greenspan’s attitude that caused the evil trend on Wall Street to go away. Therefore, some commentators believe that Greenspan is responsible for the subprime crisis in the United States and the subsequent global financial crisis. responsibility.
Shocked by Wall Street greed
These are some very deep questions. The author has not conducted in-depth research on the causes of the U.S. subprime crisis and the global financial turmoil, and does not have a strong view on Greenspan’s responsibility. But I want to point out that it is difficult to imagine that such a complicated and involved matter can be entirely blamed on one or two people. Regarding related issues, Greenspan once said that he was shocked by Wall Street’s greed – he originally thought that shareholder rights would restrict relevant behaviors, but this did not happen.
In any case, although many officials say they believe in free markets, not many actually do it. But there are many indications that Greenspan is a man who truly understands and believes in market forces. Many people have observed that the vitality and power of the free market in the United States today are much stronger than those a few decades ago. In the 1980s, many people worried that the economic strength of the United States would be replaced by Japan. But today, I believe no one would doubt that among the world’s capitalist economies, the United States is the strongest, and how many of them are Greens Pan’s credit? This is also worth pondering.
Greenspan's greatest contribution lies in the global financial and monetary system
However, in the author’s opinion, Greenspan’s greatest contribution lies in the global financial and monetary system. Those who do not have a deep understanding of the evolution of the global financial and monetary system over the past hundred years may not easily understand and appreciate the shock to the entire system when President Nixon suddenly announced in 1971 that he would no longer commit to exchanging gold for U.S. dollars. regret. To put it lightly, the entire announcement was like dropping a gradually detonating nuclear bomb on the entire system. The basis of the entire post-war global financial and monetary system is that the US dollar plays the role of gold in the past, and the value of the US dollar is supported by the gold reserves of the United States. But after 1971, the entire global financial and monetary system was supported by only one word of faith. This means that if the relevant confidence cannot be established within a certain period of time, the entire system may collapse. From this perspective, the stagflation and economic difficulties in the United States in the 1970s can be understood as warning signs that the system may collapse.
Don’t rely on what you do, and don’t live in it if you succeed.
History is sometimes full of ironies. If we carefully read the articles Greenspan published when he was young (now collected in Rand’s collected works), we will feel that he very strongly believed that a monetary system divorced from gold is full of problems, or even to a certain extent a Intentional or unintentional deception. But ironically, the person who held this belief later became the chairman of the US Federal Reserve. However, it may or may not be surprising if the people who least agree with the relevant system are responsible for reforming and updating it. In any case, when Greenspan was chairman of the Federal Reserve, he was able to make the market feel that he was “the one who really understands.” And during these ten or twenty years, no matter what crisis occurred in the United States, he could Turning risks into safety has restored the market’s confidence in the U.S. dollar and the U.S. Federal Reserve, and this confidence has also supported the entire system. In addition, many people may not know that although some commentators believe that the Federal Reserve should not be involved in the fiscal policy of the U.S. government, Greenspan was able to cooperate with the Clinton administration and once solved the fiscal deficit for the U.S. government. A surplus occurs.
From this perspective, the contribution to the U.S. economy or even the global economy is really too great to measure. But despite this, Greenspan never flaunted his contributions and often emphasized that he had no strategy. Many of his ideas came up while taking a bath at night. There was a vague understanding of what Lao Tzu mentioned at the beginning of this article. Attitude style.
Rand's personal model of behavior?
From a certain perspective, Greenspan just did something he thought was worth doing, and took on the relevant efforts and risks himself. Although he also made great contributions to others, he himself was a little disapproving and had no intention of doing so. To gain recognition from others. The ability to allow these individual behaviors may be where the vitality and creativity of capitalist society lies. It is also believed to be an important reason why Rand believes that capitalism is ethical. It is worth noting that in Rand’s novels, daring to act and going one’s own way seems to be mainly related to the relationship between men and women, but Greenspan raised it to another higher level, and what is called selfish behavior , brings another level of demonstration. This is the third reason why Rand’s ideas deserve attention. As for the fourth reason, I think Ayn Rand can be regarded as one of the lineage of Russian intellectuals and artists. I will talk about it again.
