Stop the nonsense: no one is independent

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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee are having a squabble about independence.

Adam Posen claims that Mervyn King was excessively political by supporting the coalition and that independence is essential.

King has dismissed this as “not serious”.

Neither is right. Posen wants to play at the neoliberal game of the economist being an objective observer. That is nonsense: we will come with our prejudices, baggage, experience, likes ,dislikes and preferences attached. No one, not even a neoliberal economist, can get rid of them. They just pretend they can. And that, like everything else about their prescription, is false.

There is on the other hand, the duty that a senior civil servant has (and yes, the Governor of the Bank of England is a senior civil servant) do not state their opinion, and to offer the advice they think is appropriate.

King undoubtedly fail that test.

So Posen has a point, but for all the wrong reasons.


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