Americans can often be economically unaware. A majority believes anything they hear, and the rest believe what they want to believe no matter how outrageous it is. It is most likely that only a very small percentage enjoy research and in-depth analysis on important economic issues. News outlets contradict each other by only reporting one side of a story while a different outlet is telling the other, completely opposite side. This causes outrage and confusion in American society because people only believe one side or the other without discerning the story comprehensively, and the same can be said about the economic intelligence. With untrustworthy news companies, Americans must turn elsewhere to educate themselves about informative topics. This outlet comes in the form of public intellectuals. Public intellectuals are trustworthy individuals who have established themselves in public discourses through advanced work and writings on a particular subject matter. Public intellectuals are regarded as highly intelligent individuals who engage and specialize in a specific field of study. Paul Krugman is an influential intellectual who specializes in the economy and whose work and publications need to be recognized by Americans to inform themselves on the specific issues of the economy. The work of public intellectuals like Paul Krugman remains prominent and crucial in society and is important not to inform the average, economically unaware American about issues they pay no attention to, but to raise awareness, concern, and conversation about crucial economic topics for all American citizens to learn and educate themselves.
Paul Krugman was born in Albany, New York in 1953. His education alone is worthy of recognition having received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. from MIT. His work specializes in economics, and he was an economics faculty member at MIT for 20 years. Additionally, Krugman’s prestige education and successful work enabled him to be the chief staffer for international economics on President Ronald Regan’s Council of Economic Advisers. After gaining valuable experience through working with, researching, and analyzing the economy, Krugman began publishing books and papers about his research findings. Many of these papers were ultimately published in The New York Times, for which he is now a regular columnist. His extensive knowledge of economics enabled him to become, “A prolific writer, Krugman published more than 20 books and 200 papers in professional journals. Among his writings were regular magazine columns in Slate (1996–99) and Fortune (1997–99), and from 1999 he was an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. His books included the essay collection The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century (2003), which criticized the administration of Pres. George W. Bush; economics textbooks such as Microeconomics (2004) and Macroeconomics (2005); and nonacademic works such as The Return of Depression Economics (1999), The Conscience of a Liberal (2007), and Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future (2020)” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Krugman. His many intellectual publications earned him the John Bates Clark medal in 1991 (awarded to economists under age 40) and the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008, in which he mainly focused on international trade and economic geography.
Krugman’s publications on the economy and social sciences have been influential across society and in public discourses. They have risen awareness to influential economical topics that are worthwhile for Americans to know because they effect business, trade, and supply. His publications cover a wide variety of important economical topics including New Trade Theory, the currency crisis, and the general status of the economy. Despite the decline of influence that public intellectuals have on civilians, Americans need to listen to Krugman because through his writings, “Paul Krugman has made significant contributions to the field of economics” https://www.masterclass.com/articles/paul-krugman-notable-works-guide#paul-krugmans-influence-in-the-field-of-economics.
With his work earning him a Nobel Prize, it is important to understand the contributions he has made to society and how they establish him as an intellect. One of his main points of research and economic contributions is on the New Trade Theory. Through this theory, Krugman states that international trade patterns are defined by economies of scale and network effects. This is important because it disproves the idea of comparative advantage, which is often thought to be a major economic influence in international trade. There are multiple reasons for why American society needs to concern themselves with Krugman’s New Trade Theory. First, this theory explains the reason for economies of scale and globalization. It suggests, “that firms who have the advantage of being an early entrant can become a dominant firm in the market” https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/6957/trade/new-trade-theory/#:~:text=New%20trade%20theory%20(NTT)%20suggests,can%20occur%20in%20key%20industries.&text=New%20trade%20theory%20also%20becomes,explaining%20the%20growth%20of%20globalisation. According to Krugman, the ability to achieve economies of scale is also crucial for globalization because it enables markets with economies of scale to better develop in certain industries compared to poorer, economically challenged countries. Second, there are real life examples of his New Trade Theory in practice. The expansion of the technology industry in the Silicon Valley has shown that specialization in a specific geographic region is beneficial because as more technology firms are established in the area, the network grows. Krugman proves to be a public intellectual because his work engages society creates and creates real impact.
Krugman’s New Trade Theory is so impactful that it initiates government regulations. Therefore, when society says that public intellectuals are no longer prominent, do not contribute to society, or do not have an audience that listens, Krugman’s work proves otherwise. Maybe American society is too preoccupied or maybe are not interested in what public intellectuals are saying, but it is time that American people start listening. In an essay titled “The Decline of Public Intellectuals”, the author states that, “Giving expression to a certain kind of anxiety of influence has become a clichéd preoccupation of public intellectuals in the last two decades. Not Harold Bloom’s creativity triggering anxiety, but a more pedestrian sort of whining about their apparent inability to exert any influence in the public square” http://www.stephenmack.com/blog/archives/2007/08/index.html. However, this is not true. Krugman proves that public intellectuals do, in fact, have a great influence on society. The fact that, “New trade theory suggests that governments might have a role to play in promoting new industries and supporting the growth of key industries” https://www.economicshelp.org/ shows that public intellectuals publish important ideas. Without Krugman’s work, maybe the Silicon Valley does not bask in its technological glory and wealth, or maybe international trade regulations are centered around the wrong ideas. American economy and trade patterns are significantly impacted by the New Trade Theory, and it shows that public intellectuals really do make a difference.
They have not declined fully. Although they may not have every citizen’s attention, public intellectuals make a difference in society and public discourses. Their work remains important, even if, “our notions of the public intellectual need to focus less on who or what a public intellectual is—and by extension, the qualifications for getting and keeping the title. Instead, we need to be more concerned with the work public intellectuals must do, irrespective of who happens to be doing it” http://www.stephenmack.com/blog/archives/2007/08/index.html. They are worthy of American attention, especially when it involves the economy that surrounds us. Their work is valid, and their publications can be monumental. If American people continue to disengage with and ignore the work that intellectuals publish, then our public discourses will involve opinions and news station lies rather than factual evidence. Intellects serve dual purposes, one being to publish their ideas and the second being initiate important conversations, and “While public intellectuals and experts cannot tell citizens ‘what is to be done’, they can and should act as what Pierre Bourdieu calls ‘defenders of the universal’, who ensure that all viewpoints are considered and that debates are based on factual information, not lies and wishful thinking” https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2020/01/28/public-intellectuals-and-experts-cannot-tell-citizens-what-to-do/. For the sake of public discourse and society, it is crucial that America listens to public intellectuals. Today, Krugman focuses his time on writing daily columns for the New York Times. The columns cover a range of economical topics, but they are all important because the information comes from an economy expert with facts and years of experience.
Public intellectuals are not declining. Their work is prominent, and it shows in Krugman’s case through monumental trade theories and government regulations that effect our economy. Now, society can educate themselves by reading Krugman’s columns and “listening” to what he publishes. It is time to notice society and what differences can be made, more specifically, who can bring about these differences. It is the work and publications of public intellectuals that initiates important conversations which make a difference around the world. Whether its economics, philosophy, or history, educated individuals in these fields provide facts and evidence for public discourses to happen. News outlets give us some information, and whether we choose to believe it is our choice, but they are not the most reliable source to fully understand a story. Instead, public intellectuals need to be at the forefront of society for delivering educational information and creating a well-educated society.
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