'Institutions kept failing us': Economist Paul Krugman explains America’s pessimism

20 December 2024

Liberal economist Paul Krugman surprised many of his readers when, after almost 25 years, he retired as a New York Times columnist. And his final column was published on December 9.

Krugman hasn't retired from work altogether, however. He is still publishing his newsletter and making media appearances.

Krugman has repeatedly praised outgoing President Joe Biden for his economic record, often noting that the United States has enjoyed record-low unemployment under Biden. But the economist has also acknowledged that many Americans are feeling pessimistic and resentful nonetheless. And he discussed that pessimism during an appearance on Christiane Amanpour's "Amanpour & Company" aired on December 19.

Krugman told host Michel Martin, "People's beliefs on many subjects are just not very movable no matter how good your argument is…. I think a large part of it is that the people and institutions that we looked up to just kept failing us."

The former Times columnist cited the "horrific financial crisis" of the late 2000s and the Iraq War as two of the main reasons why Americans have grown so distrustful and have a "feeling" that "the system is rigged."

Krugman told Martin that "elites" have become much more brazen, fueling the anger that so many Americans feel.

"I'm not sure why there was more restraint on the part of the powerful in the past," Krugman argued, "but Watergate would barely register as a scandal these days."

Krugman added that although the U.S. did some "horrible" things in the past — for example, helping to overthrow socialist Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973 and install a fascist dictatorship under Gen. Augusto Pinochet — it generally "behaved incredibly well for many decades" despite being an "imperial power."

"And now," Krugman lamented, "we have somewhat lost relative power and also just basically lost our own sense of benevolence — and so, stuff breaks out."

Watch the full video below or at this link.

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