tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post1725092512715329180..comments2024-03-28T17:08:15.784-07:00Comments on Social Democracy for the 21st Century: A Realist Alternative to the Modern Left: The Definition of a DepressionLord Keyneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-43223468666189746182012-09-24T22:41:05.317-07:002012-09-24T22:41:05.317-07:00In vernacular usage, an economic Depression is a p...In vernacular usage, an economic Depression is a period of high poverty.<br /><br />In wage-slave economies like ours, that means that a Depression is a period of high unemployment.<br /><br />I would say the 1870s and 1890s qualify, and popular usage seems to agree.neroden@gmailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07475686367097445497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-90031650608962023392012-01-26T23:46:14.000-08:002012-01-26T23:46:14.000-08:00I find it weird that this post isn't bombarded...I find it weird that this post isn't bombarded with comments, given that a lot of the Austrian criticism toward you deals with how 'depression' is definedIsaac Izzy Marmolejohttp://radicalsubjectivist.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-14606947421123503382012-01-26T08:09:09.843-08:002012-01-26T08:09:09.843-08:00"whenever discussing depressions, to delineat...<i>"whenever discussing depressions, to delineate the periods of severe contraction in GNP/GDP, and the periods of high unemployment separately, since they are not coterminous."</i><br /><br />In case it is not clear, my definition of recession: <br /><br />"a period of actual real GNP/GDP contraction (of 2 consecutive quarters or more), generally with rising unemployment"<br /><br />Depression:<br /><br />"(1) a period of actual real GNP/GDP contraction where real output falls by 10% or more, <b>generally with rising unemployment</b> or<br /><br />(2) a period of actual real GNP/GDP contraction that lasts for 2 years or more (but where real output may not fall by 10% or more), <b>generally with rising unemployment</b>."Lord Keyneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-70595670584967768632012-01-26T07:53:45.287-08:002012-01-26T07:53:45.287-08:00Very interesting.
A good practice might be to mak...Very interesting.<br /><br />A good practice might be to make this distinction as a matter of course: whenever discussing depressions, to delineate the periods of severe contraction in GNP/GDP, and the periods of high unemployment separately, since they are not coterminous.<br /><br />But your proposed definition leaves out sharp increases in unemployment, which are an important feature of the business cycle, I think. It would be nice to have as well defined a term for this as you have proposed for 'depresison'<br /><br />At any rate, it's a necessity to keep these in mind when reading any discussion of depressions, historic, or ongoing.Argosy Jonesnoreply@blogger.com