18th Aug, 2003

Commanding Heights on PBS

I hear that the Commanding Heights miniseries is pretty good — and now it’s all online. The book has been gathering dust on my shelves for a while, so I think I’ve give the video version a try. Stay tuned for a review..

Update: I saw the miniseries, and I have two words for you: SEE IT. The series is a must-see for anyone who shares an interest in economics or want to learn about the economic history of the 20th century and the issues surrounding “globalization.”

The first section is an account of the economic development of the 20th century, and the second goes over some of the issues surrounding privatization and globalization. The third section is rather muddled and aimless so skip it if you are pressed for time. The many multimedia presentations and additional readings that accompany the videos are also very informative, and I spent a significant amount of time pausing the videos to browse them.

Although the overwhelming message is pro-market, I have some major issues with the economic theory presented in the series. The “free-market” is defined as a mixed economy that is far from being a welfare state, yet not nowhere near a truly capitalist society. Organizations and treaties with dubious merit like the WTO and NAFTA are endlessly glorified. The Austrians are given minor lip service, while the Chicago/monetarist school is put center stage. Clinton is given something like a dozen clips, and portrayed almost as a champion of free trade. Most disturbingly, the Marxist take on the Great Depression is accepted wholesale, along with a rejection of “raw greed” in favor of “controlled” capitalism. While the series definitely leans towards free markets, Thatcher and Reagan are glorified as the ultimate capitalists. Commentary on monetary policies is flawed somewhat by the monetarist perspective. In short, you will find a great deal of historical context, but be careful about accepting the economic theory the series presents at face value.

Posted by: David

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Hey Dave,

For the most part, I agree with your criticism of Commanding Heights. However, I think you completely underappreciate the role Hayek plays in the series. It is profound that he is rightly recognized as a center figure in the economic debate of the 20th Century; most documentaries would have neglected him without any meaningful reference. To even mention the Mt. Pelerin society — which is still thriving — says a lot. You may legitimately think that Hayek and the Austrians aren’t given enough attention, but that they are given any attention at all is monumental for a mainstream series.

Also, the Chicago school is not shown without its critics. In particular, the Pinochet sequence suggests that the Chicago Boys did more harm than good. The Finance Minister (or some position like that) argues that opening up free markets in Chile came at the price of major unemployment — he quotes an unemployment rate of 30% following the shift toward freer markets. The authors of the series make no attempt to ask Friedman’s response to these particular criticisms; we only see Friedman speak of the great positives that resulted from his conversation with Pinochet, without rebutting his critics. Yet we are told by his critics that as markets opened, poor people suffered (presumably worse than under the controlled system). Later in the third series, Hernando de Soto explains that capitalism is really a tool for the poor man to get ahead — and yet we’ve been told earlier that it devastated the poor in Chile! I believe this was the greatest error in an otherwise outstanding series. The casual viewer, who is not familiar with the details of what occurred in Chile, is left to question the results of the free market, as though it were a zero sum game. And one of the greatest fallacies in the globalization debate is that free trade is a zero sum game; it is decisively NOT a zero sum game.

I disagree with certain aspects of its content, but overall it is a series that should be required viewing.

As a side note, during the first volume, it shows Becker teaching some of my colleagues Price Theory 301 — it was filmed the year prior to my arrival at Chicago. I’ve sat in that classroom many times!

By: Laurel UNITED STATES on August 19th, 2003
at 9:14 am

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