Saturday, August 16, 2008

Things I never expected to say

Paul Krugman has an excellent column here.

Though Krugman does not make the connection, what could be more important during the Olympic frenzy, when dull and obscure sports suddenly become interesting by being wrapped in flags and summed into medal counts, than a column making the point that nationalism is indeed the enemy of both economic growth and individual freedom.

Krugman's column also illustrates the value of knowing some history.

Hat tip: the marginal revolutionaries

Addendum: despite the good column, if we had an actual social planner, she would take away the column and put Krugman back to work doing trade theory.