Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality $10 / month

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality explores economic history, economics, political economy, finance, and forecasting with a focus on understanding and addressing the complexities of contemporary global challenges. It critically analyzes current events, historical occurrences, and theoretical perspectives to offer insight into economic inequalities, democracy, neoliberal ideas, and geopolitical tensions.

Economic History Political Economy Finance and Forecasting Contemporary Global Challenges Economic Inequalities Democracy and Governance Neoliberalism Geopolitical Tensions

The hottest Substack posts of Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

And their main takeaways

What To Do About the Dependence of the Form Progress Takes on Power?: Quick Takes on Acemoglu & Johnson's "Power & Progress"

76 implied HN points • 29 Feb 24
🚌 Education Technology Economics Social Issues Political Economy Innovation
  1. The distribution of technological progress can be influenced by the balance of power in both markets and politics.
  2. Technologies can have both positive and negative impacts on society, so it's important to consider the distributional effects.
  3. Diverse perspectives and opinions are crucial in shaping better and more equitable technological trajectories.

There are Complex-Number One-Norm Square-Root of Probability Amplitudes of 0.006 in Which Sam Bankman-Fried Is Happy

676 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
💰 Finance Investing Risk management Probability Psychology Trading
  1. Amplitudes in quantum-mechanical superposition relate to philosophy-of-probability vs. psychology.
  2. Understanding the Kelly Criterion for betting based on win-loss odds and maximizing returns.
  3. Traders use the Kelly Criterion for survival, making positive-value bets, and psychological factors.

Were We Expelled from Egalitarian Eden Not by the Pomegranate, But by the Plough and the Ox? Perhaps...

76 implied HN points • 25 Feb 24
💾 History Inequality Agriculture
  1. The shift from gatherer-hunter lifestyles to farming and domestication of animals may have contributed to the emergence of enduring economic inequality.
  2. Increased civilizational complexity led to a rise in potential wealth inequalities, possibly through factors like tools, farm implements, domesticated animals, serfdom, and slavery.
  3. Exploring the dimensions of wealth acquisition and accumulation, such as tools, farmstead implements, animals, serfdom, and slavery, can help understand the expansion of possible wealth inequalities.

BRIEFLY NOTED: For 2024-02-25 Su

76 implied HN points • 25 Feb 24
💼 Business Economics Public Reason History
  1. Branko Milanovic discusses visions of inequality, highlighting the importance of technological and business-model research and development in market economies.
  2. Shifting expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts reflect a debate about the impact of maniacal bubbles and policy near-neutrality in a balanced economy.
  3. The need for individuals to stay focused on reality outside media perceptions and the impact of lags in economic understanding discussed by Jeffrey Frankel supporting the idea that perceptions lag behind reality.
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Econ 115 :: The World Economy in the 20th Century :: Lecture 6 :: Post-1870 Technological Acceleration

115 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🚌 Education Economic History Globalization
  1. Technological advancements post-1870 were accelerated by globalization and the establishment of industrial research labs and modern corporations.
  2. Institutions like industrial research labs and modern corporations revolutionized the discovery, development, deployment, and diffusion of technologies, leading to modern economic growth.
  3. These institutions were successful because they were built on the foundations of systematic processes and sustained efforts, unlike earlier hit-or-miss approaches.

"Civic Friendship": The Baseline Requirement for Democracy, & Incompatible with the Financial Flows Underpinning the Republican Ecology

484 implied HN points • 25 Sep 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Democracy Partisan Politics Political History Republican party
  1. Democracies survive with civic friendship, treating each other as companions and helpers.
  2. Republicans have followed a path of arousing fear and scorn to win, breaking the civic bargain.
  3. Neoliberal policies following the Reagan Revolution failed, leading to societal and economic decline.

"Slouching Towards Utopia": The Sean Illing "Grey Area" Interview

38 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Economic History Neoliberalism Political Ideologies
  1. The interview discusses economic growth and sustainable resource distribution, focusing on the perspectives of Friedrich von Hayek and Karl Polanyi.
  2. DeLong emphasizes the importance of historical perspective in understanding current economic and social challenges, advocating for a more inclusive and equitable economic model.
  3. The conversation explores the historical 'Long Twentieth Century' and its impact on human productivity, wealth creation, and the need for innovative solutions to address current existential challenges.

Yes. Rome Did Fall

568 implied HN points • 22 Jun 23
💾 History Ancient Rome
  1. Rome fell to various barbarian tribes in the 5th century, leading to no Roman Empire in the west
  2. The Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople survived and transformed into the Byzantine Empire
  3. Augustine's 'City of God' reflects the fall of Rome and the importance of Christianity

Guns, Germs, Steel, Coal, Slavery, Seaborne Empires, Peninsulas, Mountain Ranges, Rainfall, & Chance: Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, & Steel" After Twenty-Five Years

522 implied HN points • 11 Jun 23
🚌 Education History Literature Science Culture Philosophy
  1. Critics of Jared Diamond often lack basic discourse ethics, skip reading, or misinterpret his work.
  2. Diamond's book 'Guns, Germs, & Steel' excels in explaining historical advantages of Eurasian powers over others.
  3. The roots of Western-Eurasian exceptionalism might lie in cultural unity and political fragmentation, but there are gaps in Diamond's explanations.