Here’s what’s being passed around the Marketplace office today: A rap video pitting two of the world’s most renowned economists against each other. Yes, I said economists and rap video in the same sentence.
The creative folks at Econ Stories TV produced “Fear the Boom and Bust” a Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem. Econ Stories is a collaboration between George Mason University economics professor Russell Roberts and producer/director John Papola of Spike TV.
I suspect the video below is the first and only rap battle between British economist John Maynard Keynes and Austrian economist Freidrich von Hayek. Hopefully I’m right about that, but it’s a pretty awesome video.
If you’d like to sing along, here are some choice verses.
Keynes:
You see it’s all about spending, hear the register cha-ching
Circular flow, the dough is everything
So if that flow is getting low, doesn’t matter the reason
We need more government spending, now it’s stimulus seasonSo forget about saving, get it straight out of your head
Like I said, in the long run–we’re all dead
Savings is destruction, that’s the paradox of thrift
Don’t keep money in your pocket, or that growth will never lift…
Hayek:
If you’re living high on that cheap credit hog
Don’t look for cure from the hair of the dog
Real savings come first if you want to invest
The market coordinates time with interestYour focus on spending is pushing on thread
In the long run, my friend, it’s your theory that’s dead
So sorry there, buddy, if that sounds like invective
Prepared to get schooled in my Austrian perspective
Learn more about Keynes and Hayek here.
Who would you call the winner?
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
