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Moss Comments on Steven Kates: 
 
In his recent post (HES Digest 992) Professor Steve Kates commented about 
an issue that is larger than "monetarism" and that is "the role of central 
banks in managing economies and the instability they have been creating in 
their anti-inflation crusades."    
 
I think this an important topic, maybe from an historical period the real 
question for future historians of economics.  Surely this is not the 
question that Professor Brad Bateman originally asked.  I was hoping Brad 
could comment on Steve's suggestion here and why Brad does not consider 
this to be the real question for analysis.   
 
Finally, if I my add a wrinkle here.  Some of the early Keynesians ("those 
who carried the cross") somehow came to the peculiar conclusion that in a 
liquidity crisis even Central Banks could not "push on a string" and 
favored fiscal policy over monetary policy.  Was this loss of faith in 
Central Banking just a passing fad or is it in some way essential to the 
early Keynesian policy agenda?  Friedman and Schwartz were awarded a Nobel 
Prize for reestablishing (at least to my satistisfaction) the important 
connection between Central Bank policy and economic stability.  Perhaps 
this is monetarism's finest hour? 
 
L. Moss  
 
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