This book explores the American freemarket economy, espoused by Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve, through decoding the discourse of economics. Combining an analysis of both economics and language, the legacy of Reaganomics is examined in relation to economic inequality, fiscal policy, public discourse, and the moral economy. How notions of easy money, conspicuous consumption, and unlimited economic growth were harnessed to justify the Free Market revolution is also discussed.
This book aims to highlight the drivers of modern inequality and economic distress. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in the history of economic thought and economic discourse.
Author(s): Geoffrey D. Klinger
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 267
City: Cham
Acknowledgments
Contents
About the Author
List of Figures
Chapter 1: Introduction: Painting by Numbers—Decoding the Discourse of Economics
References
Chapter 2: American Dream: Manufacturing Monetary Miasma
References
Chapter 3: Bread and Circuses, or Poppies to Make You Sleep
References
Chapter 4: Children of the Revolution: Reaganomics as Free Market Redux
References
Chapter 5: Spirits in the Material World: Alan Greenspan and the Newspeak Economy
References
Chapter 6: (Misery at the) Funplex: From Ideology to Imagology
References
Chapter 7: Public Image Limited, or He Blind(er)ed Me with Silence
References
Chapter 8: (Tell Me Why) I Don’t Like Mondays: The Crash of 1987
References
Chapter 9: Vision Thing: The Savings and Loan Debacle
References
Chapter 10: Who You Fighting For? Desert Storm and the Recession of 1990
References
Chapter 11: Telling Stories: Interrogating “Irrational Exuberance”
References
Chapter 12: The Disappointed: The “Great Recession” of 2008
References
Chapter 13: Tired of Sleeping: Trumped Up Trickle Down
References
Chapter 14: Epilogue: We Can’t Make It Here—Moving Beyond the Free Market
References
Index
