Lost Legacy Online Again

Many thanks for your patience since the storm took out my French Internet connections.

It has been for me a very trying time, particularly in light of the US and British credit crunch crisis. Comments on Adam Smith's alleged role and views have been most annoying.

One group, the mockers, have been trouncing Adam Smith for his alleged views on the invisible hand of the market 'not working', which is a wholly silly charge given that Smith did not have any theory of an invisible hand having anything to do with markets. This notion was invented by 1950s modern neoclassical economists to give their theories of general equilibrium an aura they did not (and do not) deserve.

Well, the turmoil in the credit markets gives opponents of markets and supporters of more government an axe to cut down market-minded economists from offering positive solutions to the turmoil. Those proponents of markets who purvey the myth of the invisible hand have much to answer for. They created a stick with which they are going to take a beating.

Smithian economists are of a different persuasion. They can counter the wilder government sponsored schemes with a genuine Smithian response, of which I shall comment upon throughout the following days.

It will take me some time to work through the backlog of mail and comment, so please bear with me.

Update: French Telecom/Orange say they will restore my Internet connection on 3 October and I hope this will not recur again. Rural France has many attributes which normally give me much pleasure, but connectivity and alternative providers are non-existent when something goes wrong.

Meanwhile, I am back on-line in Edinburgh...