Stiglitz: What Lies Ahead in 2011?

Joe Stiglitz looks into his crystal ball. You probably won't like what he sees:

What Lies Ahead in 2011?, by Joseph E. Stiglitz, Commentary, Project Syndicate: Note: Project Syndicate posted this too soon and has since removed the Stiglitz and Roubini articles from its site. They have also asked me to remove the articles until they are reposted. [The link no longer works, but it's in the Google cache.]

[Stiglitz makes the point that the emergence of free market idology is standing in the way of optimal policy.] As I noted here, I think that free market ideology will have more influence over policy in the future, and that is to our disadvantage. Like Stiglitz, I am also surprised that the crisis did not "undermine confidence in that ideology." Its reemergence will slow the recovery over what we could have achieved with effective short-term fiscal stimulus and longer term fiscal consolidation, so I am not looking forward to a fast recovery either. Just the opposite. But to me the more worrisome prospect is what will happen if there's another economic crisis due to a financial meltdown or some other cause and the free market ideology is dominant. If policymakers sit on their hands and do nothing when the next big crisis hits, we will look back at this recession -- as bad as it was -- and realize just how valuable policy was at preventing an even worse outcome.