Economics says stability is the sign of a healthy economy. There may be
shocks that temporarily knock an economy out of its stable equilibrium, and
the equilibrium itself may evolve over time. But underlying it all is a
network of trading relationships which, over the long term, is resilient to
shocks and responds positively to technological advancements. Firms come
and go, but trade is eternal.
But economic history tells us that stability is illusory. Our economic
system is prone to storms interspersed with temporary periods of calm.
Economists like to believe that the periods of calm are the normal state of
the system and storms are aberrations that can be prevented with the right
policy settings. But storms are as much part of the system as calms. They
cannot be prevented, though they can be delayed or displaced by shutting
out, repressing, evicting or murdering people perceived as disruptive or
dangerous.
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