Money Beats Democracy

Der Spiegel has another article on the mess in Hungary this time highlighting official opposition to the strangling of substantive democracy.  Except that the article begins and really emphasizes how much the Hungarians' decision to curtail its central bank's independence matter "markets"matter to "markets," the EU, the IMF, and the World Bank. One wonders what would have happened if Orban continued on his merry authoritarian and anti-democratic way and left the neoliberal banking policies already in place alone. Would the "markets" have increased the cost of borrowing? Would the IMF/WB or the EU have tsk tsked? History, which is to say my reading of how all the relevant agents acted in the near past, suggests not.

Say What You'd Like

about Paul Krugman but his blog has provided the most sustained and intelligent reporting and arguments about the Hungarian debacle. And, clearly, the official Hungarian response to this coverage suggests that he and his colleague are getting under their skin. The recent response to this response is, I think, worth reading.