The Man Who Knew

Right-Wing Libertarian

In his early decades, Alan Greenspan’s economic and political views were sharply at odds with those of the American establishment, though he’d eventually become a central figure in that establishment. Greenspan supported individual enterprise and free markets, and he idolized the great industrial tycoons of the 19th century. But, after World War II, US administrations had moved in the opposite direction, toward “New Frontier” economics. This approach prioritized full employment and maximum economic growth. It sought to manipulate the side effects of pumped-up markets through intervention and fine-tuning policies, such as wage, price and capital controls, while influencing the Federal Reserve to hold down base interest rates. Greenspan felt this methodology stored up problems that would require mediation in the future. In the 1960s, while observing the US economy from his “perfect perch” as a partner in his successful investment consultancy, Greenspan befriended author Ayn Rand. He respected the extreme libertarian thinker and attended her discussion group, the Collective, giving lectures and developing policy proposals. In that period...