Bernard E. Harcourt (Author of The Illusion of Free Markets)

Uchicago Political Science is now friends with Bernard E. Harcourt

Bernard E. Harcourt said "yes" to attending the event: Book Salon at Firedoglake.com this SUNDAY 7/24 5 EST

date: July 24, 2011 05:00PM
location: http://fdlbooksalon.com/2011/07/24/fdl-book-salon-the-illusion-of-free-markets/, The United States
description: http://fdlbooksalon.com/2011/07/24/fd...

Dear friends,

If you are free this Sunday afternoon July 24th at 5 EST, please join us for a Book Salon on my new book, The Illusion of Free Markets, over at Firedoglake.com:

http://fdlbooksalon.com/2011/07/24/fd...

Here are the directions from FDL:

Please be at Firedoglake.com at 5:00pm Eastern to see / participate in Bernard's FDL Book Salon. If you want to submit questions and participate, please stop by a few minutes early to Register, we will send you...more

Bernard E. Harcourt made a comment in the group Q&A on "The Illusion of Free Markets" with Bernard Harcourt — Topic #4: Why Isn’t There a Prisoners’ Political Action Committee? topic

"Just got this e-mail from a friend and former student, and it seems it fits in this discussion thread:

Dear friends:

This week I incorporated a not-for-...more "

Bernard E. Harcourt made a comment in the group Q&A on "The Illusion of Free Markets" with Bernard Harcourt — Topic #6: Neoliberalism and Punishment topic

"Gary wrote: "your use of liberal and neoliberal, while clear in the context you provide, do not conform to the popular meanings of those terms in curr...more "

Bernard E. Harcourt made a comment in the group Q&A on "The Illusion of Free Markets" with Bernard Harcourt — Topic #3: Paul Krugman, the Shock Doctrine, and the "Naturalization" of Free Market Outcomes. topic

"Thanks, Pattie, for getting to the heart of the matter! I really appreciate it! Let me make a couple of comments before I too get to the heart of the...more Thanks, Pattie, for getting to the heart of the matter! I really appreciate it! Let me make a couple of comments before I too get to the heart of the matter… (as quickly as possible).

First, while I agree that most reasonable people should know full well that free markets aren’t really free, the fact is that the opinion polls suggest that a vast majority of people believe that the “free market system” is the best economic system around. 71 percent of respondents in the United States agree with the statement: “The free enterprise system and free market economy is the best system on which to base the future of the world.” (This is from the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland). So I think that we have to deal with this puzzling fact: most people believe that even if “free” does not mean “completely, entirely unregulated,” most Americans embrace the free market.

So, to summarize this first point: though a lot of us realize that the free market is actually regulated, a majority of our fellow citizens believe that markets should be free and that the free market system is the best system in the world (essentially because government is incompetent).

Second, the link. Here, the place to begin is the paradoxical belief that the government is competent when it comes to policing and punishing (and external security as well, i.e. the military). I say it is “paradoxical” because it produces two very different views of the state: (1) an incompetent state that can’t manage the economy, but (2) a competent state that can manage crime and punishment.

This paradox is the link, in the sense that it is what makes us resist government intervention in economics, but embrace government intervention in the field of crime and punishment. It is what makes us less resistant to criminalizing all deviant behavior. It makes us less resistant to the massive prison expansion that we witnessed in this country.

The paradox is captured well in this quote by Ronald Reagan: “[T]his is precisely what we’re trying to do to the bloated Federal Government today: remove it from interfering in areas where it doesn’t belong, but at the same time strengthen its ability to perform its constitutional and legitimate functions…. In the area of public order and law enforcement, for example, we’re reversing a dangerous trend of the last decade. While crime was steadily increasing, the Federal commitment in terms of personnel was steadily shrinking…” Notice that the government is viewed as bloated and incompetent in the area of social programs and economic regulation; but legitimate and competent in the area of crime and punishment. This reduces our resistance to amassing prisoners and inflating our jails.

Now, to the heart of the matter: “Who cares?” Good question! Harsh, but good question! Perhaps you are right, Pattie, that some people will ask that question, but I am not sure the majority would. Who cares? Well, I think we can start with the 7 to 8 million plus Americans who are under correctional supervision (either in prison or jail, or under parole or probation) as well as the dozens of millions of family members and friends of theirs. Then I think we could expand to all of the people who are directly and indirectly affected by the social instability caused by removing so many from their commnities and families. And from them, I think we can then enlarge the picture to all the people who have a sense that the inequality being produced by our system of mass incarceration is unacceptable.

Frankly, I think we all should care given that we are all responsible for mass incarceration in this country. And that is really the heart of my intervention. What I try to do in my work is address the question “How did we let this happen? All of us, that is. What role have we all played?” I think it is too easy to point at specific instances of neoconservative law-and-order interventions (three-strikes, mandatory minimums, etc.) and blame neoconservatives. We need instead to probe how our commonly held beliefs about the state have made it so easy to criminalize and punish. We need to explore how our own set of beliefs and world views have contributed to mass incarceration. That is the intervention I am trying to make. That is really the heart of the matter.(less) "

Bernard E. Harcourt made a comment in the group Q&A on "The Illusion of Free Markets" with Bernard Harcourt — Topic #5: Would Justin Yifu Lin Agree with the Idea that the Free Market Is an Illusion? topic

"Ever since reading this New Yorker article, “Boom Doctor,” about the economist Justin Yifu Lin, head economist of the World Bank, I have been wonderin...more "

Bernard E. Harcourt added:

Between Class and Market by Bruce Western

Between Class and Market: Postwar Unionization in the Capitalist Democracies
by Bruce Western

My rating:

Bernard E. Harcourt added:

Imprisoning America: The Social Effects of Mass Incarceration
by Mary E. Pattillo

My rating:

Bernard E. Harcourt added:

Punishment and Inequality in America
by Bruce Western

My rating:

Bernard E. Harcourt added:

Pockets of Crime by Peter K. B. St. Jean

Pockets of Crime: Broken Windows, Collective Efficacy, and the Criminal Point of View
by Peter K. B. St. Jean

My rating:

Uchicago Political Science is now friends with Bernard E. Harcourt
Oct 26, 2011 07:02pm
Bernard E. Harcourt said "yes" to attending the event: Book Salon at Firedoglake.com this SUNDAY 7/24 5 EST date: July 24, 2011 05:00PM location: http://fdlbooksalon.com/2011/07/24/fdl-book-salon-the-illusion-of-free-markets/, The United States description: http://fdlbooksalon.com/2011/07/24/fd... Dear friends, If you are free this Sunday afternoon July 24th at 5 EST, please join us for a Book Salon on my new book, The Illusion of Free Markets, over at Firedoglake.com: http://fdlbooksalon.com/2011/07/24/fd... Here are the directions from FDL: Please be at Firedoglake.com at 5:00pm Eastern to see / participate in Bernard's FDL Book Salon. If you want to submit questions and participate, please stop by a few minutes early to Register, we will send you...more
Jul 22, 2011 08:35am
Bernard E. Harcourt made a comment in the group Q&A on "The Illusion of Free Markets" with Bernard Harcourt — Topic #4: Why Isn’t There a Prisoners’ Political Action Committee? topic "Just got this e-mail from a friend and former student, and it seems it fits in this discussion thread: Dear friends: This week I incorporated a not-for-...more "
Apr 06, 2011 06:59pm
Bernard E. Harcourt made a comment in the group Q&A on "The Illusion of Free Markets" with Bernard Harcourt — Topic #6: Neoliberalism and Punishment topic "Gary wrote: "your use of liberal and neoliberal, while clear in the context you provide, do not conform to the popular meanings of those terms in curr...more "
Apr 03, 2011 03:00pm
Bernard E. Harcourt made a comment in the group Q&A on "The Illusion of Free Markets" with Bernard Harcourt — Topic #3: Paul Krugman, the Shock Doctrine, and the "Naturalization" of Free Market Outcomes. topic "Thanks, Pattie, for getting to the heart of the matter! I really appreciate it! Let me make a couple of comments before I too get to the heart of the...more "
Mar 31, 2011 02:53pm
Bernard E. Harcourt made a comment in the group Q&A on "The Illusion of Free Markets" with Bernard Harcourt — Topic #5: Would Justin Yifu Lin Agree with the Idea that the Free Market Is an Illusion? topic "Ever since reading this New Yorker article, “Boom Doctor,” about the economist Justin Yifu Lin, head economist of the World Bank, I have been wonderin...more "
Mar 08, 2011 11:56am
Bernard E. Harcourt added: Between Class and Market: Postwar Unionization in the Capitalist Democracies by Bruce Western	My rating:
Mar 03, 2011 04:48am
Bernard E. Harcourt added: Imprisoning America: The Social Effects of Mass Incarceration by Mary E. Pattillo	My rating:
Mar 03, 2011 04:48am
Bernard E. Harcourt added: Punishment and Inequality in America by Bruce Western	My rating:
Mar 03, 2011 04:46am
Bernard E. Harcourt added: Pockets of Crime: Broken Windows, Collective Efficacy, and the Criminal Point of View by Peter K. B. St. Jean	My rating:
Mar 03, 2011 04:46am

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	The Illusion of Free Markets: Punishment and the Myth of Natural Order 3.33 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2011	My rating:
	Illusion of Order: The False Promise of Broken Windows Policing 3.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions	My rating:
	Language of the Gun: Youth, Crime, and Public Policy 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2006 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Against Prediction: Profiling, Policing, and Punishing in an Actuarial Age 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2006 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Guns, Crime, and Punishment in America 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2002	My rating:
	L'illusion De L'ordre: Incivilités Et Violences Urbaines: Tolérance Zéro? by Bernard E. Harcourt (Goodreads Author), Brigitte Coste (Traduction) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2006	My rating:
	Criminal Law and the Regulation of Vice by Franklin E. Zimring, Bernard E. Harcourt (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2007	My rating:
	Wrong-Doing, Truth-Telling: The Function of Avowal in Justice by Michel Foucault, Fabienne Brion (Editor), Bernard E. Harcourt (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — expected publication 2013	My rating:

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Bernard's Bookshelves

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Bernard's Fans (12)

Bernard E. Harcourt

Goodreads author profile

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rssBernard E.'s Recent Updates

recent postsBernard E.'s Groups

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combine editions
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