Thank goodness.
For some reason there's been a spate of nastiness lately. I don't know why - maybe it just got kicked up by Ferguson. One thing I do know is that if it escalated I'd feel obligated to read up and comment. Krugman's relative patience in the face all the haters is otherworldly. Very impressive. And when he's not patient, the times when he is makes it more forgivable.
I'm with Noah Smith, though. I'm personally more of a DeLong yes-man than a Krugman yes-man. Krugman is more likely to overstate his case or comment prematurely. Makes it harder to be a good yes-man. I guess I'm technically still in the "claque" though (I did not know this was a word before reading Ferguson [well, the beginning of Ferguson... I couldn't stomach reading too far], so that's at least something he offers).
When someone actually called Krugman out on his incessant name calling, Krugman actually responds by saying "Do not feed the TROLLS'. Klassy indeed!
ReplyDeleteAlthough Paul Krugman probably developed a thick skin to deal with people who can't stand him, he can be (and has been) maddeningly rude to anyone who disagrees with him. But in spite of him saying that he won't feed the trolls (and letting Joshua Barro and Noah Smith deal with Niall Ferguson), hasn't he technically fed the trolls before? He fed Newt Gingrich once...
ReplyDeletehttp://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/bwahahahaha-newt-edition/
Delong is too nasty. It seems as though there are people out there who imagine themselves to be engaged in some epic one on one struggle with Krugman when in fact they are not nearly in Krugman's league and warrant only Krugman's passing attention (and casual contempt) at best.
ReplyDelete"..[well, the beginning of Ferguson... I couldn't stomach reading too far]..."
ReplyDeleteCognitive dissonance much?
Krugman is the Dr. Frasier Crane of economics.
ReplyDelete