I. The Classical Canon
From Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand", a tale,
The Classical Canon, where markets shall prevail.
With flexible wages, and prices free to move,
Full employment, a natural, constant groove.
Say's Law affirmed that supply creates demand,
No lasting glut could e'er afflict the land.
The state's involvement, limited and slight,
Ensured the grand economy stayed right.
In self-interest, all would find their way,
And balance held the promise of the day.
But deep depression, with its idle hands,
Revealed the flaw in these once-trusted plans,
A time would come, a crisis to transcend,
When older truths would find a sudden end.
II. The Keynesian Shift
Then rose John Maynard, with a different view,
As Great Depression shadows longer grew.
He saw demand, not supply, the driving force,
And government spending the essential source.
For markets falter, do not self-correct,
A persistent slump is what one can expect.
Through fiscal action, state can intervene,
To boost employment on the troubled scene.
He challenged claims that markets always clear,
Dispelling old beliefs and doubt and fear.
Keynesian thought became a powerful guide,
Where public policy could turn the tide,
A new foundation for the modern age,
And macroeconomics gained a central stage.
III. The Monetarist Counter
A counter-revolution came to light,
With Milton Friedman arguing for the right.
He claimed that money supply's the primary key,
To growth, and prices, for all the world to see.
The simple rule: let money gently grow,
Predictably, a steady, constant flow.
He used the equation, MV equals PQ,
Assuming velocity stable, tried, and true.
Though short-run shocks could move output around,
In the long run, only prices would be found.
But velocity proved unstable as could be,
And left this theory in uncertainty.
The link once strong, began to fade and break,
A difficult path for policy to take.
IV. The New Classical Way
From disarray, new classic ideas came,
With rational thinkers playing at the game.
They sought foundations, micro-based and deep,
Where agents' choices promises would keep.
With rational expectations, minds so bright,
No systematic error dimmed their sight.
Markets always clear, under every strain,
Save for surprises, like a sudden rain.
The Lucas critique warned that rules would change,
If policies should suddenly rearrange.
This rigorous approach, so clean and smart,
Made older, simpler models fall apart.
It showed the limits of the state's command,
When all the people come to understand.
Yet "sticky prices," wages slow to shift,
Showed New Classical models set adrift.
The New Keynesians saw the value there,
But added flaws that markets often share.
With incomplete information, friction's pull,
The economy is not always at full.
They integrated real and financial parts,
To better mend the market's broken hearts.
So now we blend the lessons we have learned,
A synthesis, as the profession turned.
From classical roots to this complex design,
New tools and theories intertwine,
To understand the world's great ebb and flow,
And help the macro-economy to grow.
From Senegal's sands, a different wisdom rose,
Where Cheikh Anta Diop did history disclose.
He sought the sources of a continent's soul,
And placed the Nile's deep past upon the scroll.
Not markets, wealth, nor marginal return,
But origins and truth for all to learn.
He spoke of Kush and Kemet, Black and grand,
A legacy misunderstood in every land.
His focus rested on the roots of race,
And cultural unity in time and space.
His work a challenge to the Western gaze,
To shatter old colonial, clouded haze.
No link to Smith, no market mechanism's art,
But history's truth to heal a broken heart.
II. The Scottish Economist
Across the sea, in cold, grey Scottish air,
Adam Smith conceived a different share
Of human wisdom, focused on the trade,
And how the wealth of nations would be made.
The "invisible hand," a quiet, guiding force,
To manage self-interest along its course.
From laissez-faire, the classical school took flight,
With Ricardo's rent and Mill's enduring light.
Then later still, the "Neoclassics" came,
To build on Smith, but with a different aim:
With math and graphs, where marginal utility,
Defined the prices with agility.
Two worlds apart, with different ends in view,
One built on history, one on economic culture
The scholar's mind, a lamp in shadowed space,
Illuminates the world with learned grace.
Through ancient texts and studies deep and wide,
He sought the truths that hidden secrets hide.
His rigorous thought, a path for all to tread,
Uncovering knowledge, long considered dead.
He challenged norms, with evidence his guide,
Where fact and reason firmly did reside.
A legacy of learning, sharp and clear,
Dispelling doubts and conquering all fear.
His spirit lives in every quest for light,
A dedication to intellectual might.
The printed page, his voice across the years,
Inspiring future minds to conquer fears.
The Impact of Ideas
Ideas, like seeds, the scholar's hand did sow,
In fertile ground, their lasting impact grow.
They bloom in discourse, sparking fresh debate,
And shape the understanding of our state.
He built a framework, solid and profound,
On which new studies can be built and found.
A tireless quest for progress and for truth,
Passed down to scholars in their hopeful youth.
The future benefits from what he knew,
A wider perspective, clear and fresh and new.
His contributions stand, a testament,
To hours in study diligently spent.
The power of the mind, a potent force,
Directing knowledge on a steady course.
The Legacy's Reach
The legacy of the Pharaoh of all knowledge,
Extends a hand to future, hopeful colleges.
In Africology, his methods light the way,
To combat bias and restore the day.
He built a bridge from Kemet's ancient shore,
To African identity, to explore.
His call for unity, a federal state,
Still guides the leaders who would set the date.
His works, a guide for youth, in every land,
To view their history with an open hand.
He armed the mind with science, fact, and proof,
And left no room for error or for spoof.
The power of his truth, a seed once cast,
Ensures the African Renaissance will last.
The Unbroken Thread
A thread unbroken, through the years it runs,
Beneath the watchful glare of ancient suns.
Diop, the scholar, built the mighty claim,
To link the future with a powerful name.
He showed a heritage, a lineage strong,
That proved the Western narratives were wrong.
From Wolof words to ancient Egyptian tongue,
A shared Black culture, beautifully sung.
His scientific rigor, sharp and keen,
Redefined a past, a vibrant, living scene.
Though critics challenged, still his work prevails,
A guiding star where Afrocentrism sails.
The Scholar of the Nile, his vision clear,
Dispelled the myths and banished all the fear.
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