Specialization makes the welfare of the society vulnerable to the market and to political forces beyond national control.

A prolonged and massive increase in aggregate wealth per capita has taken place over several centuries.

Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline of clearly defined political leadership.

Liberal economists conceive of societies as black boxes connected by exchange rates; as long as exchange rates are correct, what goes on inside the black box is regarded as not very important.

The dreams of "leaving it up to the market" or of returning to a politically neutral gold standard cannot succeed because the nature of the monetary system has a profound impact on the interests of powerful groups and states. Affected groups and states will always try to intervene in the operation of the system to make it serve their interests.

Specialization makes the welfare of the society vulnerable to the market and to political forces beyond national control.

I was certain that I was not a Marxist, but I did believe firmly that a connection between economics and politics existed.