CM in MA

How libertarian dogma led the Fed astray: "The Fed's increasingly libertarian philosophy underpinned its view that it could not know how to recognise a credit bubble but knew what to do once a bubble burst."

Mr. Kaufman has created quite a strawman. Libertarianism is not practiced by either of the major political parties in the U.S. Libertarianism was not practiced, nor likely understood, by those operating the banks and other financial institutions. Libertarianism is not a concept that drives the individual actions of marginal borrowers and the lenders who service them. To whatever extent the Fed espoused and acted on libertarian principles (and that point is highly debatable), the Fed cannot be held responsible for the outcomes caused by the selfish actions of others. Mr. Kaufman would do well to understand libertarianism before he blames today's economic woes on a philosophy that, unfortunately, has few adherents and, sadly, fewer still practitioners.