Commanding heights (3 x 2 hour video) | Hacker News Reader

Commanding heights (3 x 2 hour video)

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6 pointsmixmax8 comments

Watch this over the weekend if you want to understand the global economy and the current crisis. Excellent walk through of how and why the worlds economy has changed from the second world war up to the present day.

Or as Jon Stewart puts it:Those who don't understand history will have an exciting opportunity to repeat it

I think I'm going to need a much more detailed recommendation than that if I'm going to invest six hours in watching a video.

Indeed, the only people likely to (a) watch six hours of little internet video about economics and (b) try to persuade random people to also watch six hours of little internet video about economics are the kinds of people who have, shall we say, fringe views on economics one way or another.

Yes, you're right. So here goes:

This is a documentary of the history of economic ideas since world war 2. It describes how the two opposing forces, socialism and capitalism, battle it our on the world scene, and how the pendulum swings back and forth between the two.

It is made by PBS, and has a homepage here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/

As far as I can tell it does not try to depict one ideology as better than the other, merely to explain these ideas, and how they have shaped the world. The six hours of video will take you through the rise and fall of fascism, the fall of the soviet union, the depression of the 70's, the Asian meltdown in the 90's and much more. And most importantly: It will give an excellent insight into why these things happened, what economic and ideological ideas lay behind, what it meant for the world economy, and how it is all intertwined. In short it describes why globalisation and world economy is as it is today.

It has interviews with Gorbachew, Bill Clinton, Milton Friedmann, Lech Walesa, Friedrich Hayek, Margaret Thatcher, Jeffrey Sachs, and just about everyone else worth mentioning that has shaped globalisation.

It'll basically teach you the history off globalisation, and do so in an engaging way.

And no I don't have fringe economic views, even though I'm an economist by training ;-)

I haven't watched the third episode yet, but I think its better characterized as Keynesianism vs. the Austrian school rather than socialism vs. capitalism.

Yes you're right, that's probably more correct.

Actually watching the 3rd episode now, and it is more socialism vs. capitalism. Resonant line from it so far:

"The bailout worked" (In relation to the near collapse of the Mexican economy soon after NAFTA).

Its very much the best episode, too, thoughtful, lacking jingoism, and somewhat anti-capitalist.

Thanks, this is much more compelling.

Fair enough. I'm still not gonna invest six hours in it, but thanks for clarifying what it's about.

And I apologise for guessing about the "fringe views". I've seen too many LaRoucheites on campus today.

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