If stability and efficiency required that there existed markets that extended infinitely far into the future - and these markets clearly did not exist - what assurance do we have of the stability and efficiency of the capitalist system?
Interpretation
The quote questions the assumptions of stability and efficiency in capitalism without infinite market scenarios.
Joseph Stiglitz's quote critically examines the foundational beliefs of capitalism, suggesting that if the ideal conditions for stability and efficiency—namely infinite future markets—are not present, then we must question the stability and efficiency of the capitalist system itself. It implies that the capitalist framework relies on unrealistic expectations that may not hold true in practice.
In practice
This quote could be used in a discussion about economic policy during a conference on capitalism.
Free migration within Europe means that countries that have done a better job at reducing unemployment will predictably end up with more than their fair share of refugees. Workers in these countries bear the cost in depressed wages and higher unemployment, while employers benefit from cheaper labor.
I don't think we can have democracies that work where most of the people are not benefiting economically, where most of the people are worried about their job security.
Let me put it very forcefully: No large economy has ever recovered from an economic downturn through austerity. It's not going to happen in the United States, and it's not going to happen in Europe.
What separates developing countries from developed countries is as much a gap in knowledge as a gap in resources.
One of the arguments I make for the failure of the euro is that, at the time it was being constructed, there was a 'neo-liberal' ideology which said that all we need to do to make this thing work is to get deficits low, keep inflation low, and take down barriers, and then everything would be fine.
Trump sees the world in terms of a zero-sum game. In reality, globalisation, if well managed, is a positive-sum force: America gains if its friends and allies - whether Australia, the E.U., or Mexico - are stronger. But Trump's approach threatens to turn it into a negative-sum game: America will lose, too.
A global economy is characterized not only by the free movement of goods and services but, more important, by the free movement of ideas and of capital.
Many markets work best with little or no outside interference. But others - especially those subject to big 'externalities' - need a helping hand.
Gold still represents the ultimate form of payment in the world. Fiat money in extremis is accepted by nobody. Gold is always accepted.
It is better that a man should tyrannize over his bank balance than over his fellow-citizens and whilst the former is sometimes denounced as being but a means to the latter, sometimes at least it is an alternative.
When money is controlled by a few it gives that few an undue power and control over labor and the resources of the country. Labor will have its best return when the laborer can control its disposal.
The budget should be balanced not by more taxes, but by reduction of follies.
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