The Drama of a Single Switch

There has been a good deal of talk about the "re-opening of the US economy."

I have to say: I despise that expression and anything like it.

The term "the economy" is a high-level and for many purposes a quite confusing expression. What is the economy, that it could be closed and re-opened, turned off and then back on by some act of political will, so flicking of a finger?

"The economy" is a high-level and confusing expression. Consider this answer: the economy is what an economist studies. As opposed to what? the society, which is what a sociologist studies? the body politic, which is what a political scientist studies?

Surely they are all studying the same sort of facts, but with somewhat different emphases and methods.

Anyway, we have seen of late a lot of orders from a lot of different authorities dictating a lot of particular actions, prohibiting some others. We have seen no flick of a particular switch. We have seen no closing of a given door. Those are hopelessly bad metaphors.

And I also have to say this: there will be no V recovery. More like a Nike Swoosh. We've had the sharp movement down -- we will if we're lucky have a slow movement back up.

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/126489382569847604 -- that's the tweet that got me started on this line of thought.

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