Video: Madrid Debate on Economic Crisis — Steve Keen vs. Steve Keen (and Andrew Kliman)

On March 10, a lively debate took place between Andrew Kliman and Steve Keen, following their presentations on the causes of the recent economic crisis, during the opening plenary of the Jornadas Economía Crítica 2016 conference at Complutense University of Madrid. Kliman is a Marxist-Humanist; Keen is a self-proclaimed follower of the late Hyman Minsky.

The debate included the following noteworthy exchange:

Steve Keen, @ 2:09:35: “… ‘why, if it’s a financial crisis, it would already be over?’ It’s not over, because we’ve barely delevered from the level of debt we reached at the peak in 2010. So the crisis is continuing because of the accumulation of debt, not because of the rate of flow of debt alone.”

Andrew Kliman, @ 2:15:46: “To call what we’re living through now, particularly in the United States, a financial crisis, continuing financial crisis, just weakens the meaning of the word ‘crisis’, makes it basically meaningless. What we are experiencing, let’s say today in the United States, is nothing like what we were experiencing in September, October, November of 2008.”

Steve Keen, @ 2:20:23: “I did not say that America is in a financial crisis like 2008. I said it’s in the aftermath of a crisis caused by the collapse of a debt bubble.”

Andrew Kliman, @ 2:25:18: “I hope somebody made a recording, so that we can see what in fact Professor Keen did say. But I must have been in the ballpark, or I wouldn’t have gotten such a defensive reaction, ’cause I didn’t mention anybody by name.”

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