If Paul Krugman was a boxer, it’s safe to say he would
have thrown enough punches at President Bush to knock him out.
But so far Krugman has kept his boxing gloves at home, letting
words and numbers do the talking. As a prominent political
economist and New York Times columnist, Krugman ““ who will
speak in Royce Hall on Oct. 18 ““ has been a controversial
leader in the liberal wave of criticism of the current
presidency.
In a time when many artists are leaving the realm of
entertainment to voice their opinion on the upcoming election,
Krugman agrees that he is decreasingly rare in his desire to speak
his mind.
“Art has gotten more political along with everything
else,” said Krugman. “If you stop at any water cooler
in America you would find politics being talked about more these
days.”
With films like “Fahrenheit 9/11″ hitting current
box offices, political documentaries seem to be running rampant.
According to Krugman, though, their effects on voters are hard to
make tangible.
“It works in a more indirect way, in that it gets people
mobilized,” said Krugman.
While many politicians have criticized artists for being
activists against the current administration, Krugman argues that
the right-wing segment of the population is often underestimated
for being just as outspoken.
“It’s always been true that artists are rebel types,
and that tends to put them on the left of the political
spectrum,” said Krugman. “But I would argue that the
real radicalism is on the right, which is a radical closing in on
our boundaries.”
Needless to say, Krugman maintains that the election is
important on more fronts than just giving artists reason to talk.
But, he said a film like “9/11″ will probably only move
a few hundred-thousand people to the polls.
“Then again, a few hundred-thousand people can make all
the difference,” he added.
If that’s not enough to get people motivated to vote,
Krugman still has a few fighting words of his own.
“If you’re not terrified,” said Krugman,
“then you’re not paying attention.”