My excellent Conversation with Liaquat Ahamed
Here is the audio, video, and transcript. Here is part of the episode summary: They start with that puzzle before moving through Gladstone’s startlingly self-interested bet on Egyptian bonds, Bismarck’s role in destroying bimetallism and deflating the world economy for two decades, whether a global silver or symmetallic standard could have worked, Britain’s fateful decision […] The post My…
In a recent conversation, Liaquat Ahamed discussed various historical events and their implications. Ahamed, a renowned economist and author, shared insights from his books Lords of Finance and 1873, which delve into financial crises and their impacts on the world.
While the first book, Lords of Finance, highlighted a crisis that triggered the Great Depression, 1873 focused on a less severe crisis that nonetheless disrupted the political economy of the world for two decades. Ahamed emphasized that the title of his second book, The First Great Deflation, better captures the situation, as the world experienced substantial growth over the next two decades despite the deflationary pressures.
In the 1920s, Ahamed noted that politics became increasingly volatile, particularly in Europe. He contrasted the political climate of the post-1873 era with that of the 1920s, describing the latter as a period marked by populism, protectionism, and a retreat from liberal ideas. This decline in liberal thought set the stage for a resurgence of imperialism, exemplified by Britain's invasion of Egypt.
Ahamed also touched upon the unique characteristics of Ismaili Muslims, an offshoot of Shia Islam. He attributed the community's apparent pro-progress orientation to the leadership of the Aga Khan, the designated spiritual and political leader. Ahamed believed that the Aga Khan's moral authority and vision for the community had a transformative effect, even if the Ismaili population was relatively small, comprising just a few million members worldwide.
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