“Many creative writers keep journals; the sociologist’s need for systematic reflection demands it.” -C. Wright Mills

The Boston Globe has a short piece on Minsky’s theory of capitalism and finance. It reports Minsky’s argument that instability is inherent to capitalism, that stability encourages reckless behavior that precipitates collapse, and that a critical solution to a crisis is a “bubble up” approach in which anyone who wants to work is provided a job by the federal government providing services that are of benefit to taxpayers in general.

Indeed, if there’s anything to be drawn from Minsky’s collected work, it’s that perfection, like stability and equilibrium, are mirages. Minsky did not share his profession’s quaint belief that everything could be reduced to a tidy model, or a pat theory. His was a kind of existential economics: capitalism, like life itself, is difficult, even tragic. “There is no simple answer to the problems of our capitalism,” wrote Minsky. “There is no solution that can be transformed into a catchy phrase and carried on banners.”