In case you hadn’t heard last week, a Twitter debate exploded between the well-known rapper B.o.B and the also, although possibly not equally, well-known astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. The debate centered on B.o.B’s belief that the world is actually flat and Tyson’s scientifically reasoned explanation of how we know the world is actually round. While you might think I am about to wax poetic about the theories of the world’s shape and their linkage to economics, the Twitter debate reminded me of another rap anthem, a macro-economic one.

"Are you a Keynesian or a free market libertarian?"

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the two main macro-economic theories of how to deal with business cycles and economic downturns.  You may be familiar with the John Maynard Keynes’ approach, which advocated for increased government spending in a recession to stimulate economic demand and reverse the recessionary trend. This is, in fact, largely the theory we have been operating on since World War II. So, even if you don’t know who Keynes is, you have experienced Keynesian theories first hand.

Friedrich von Hayek, on the other hand, didn’t believe that government intervention would be efficient and preferred that the economy be left to its own devices - free market libertarianism - as it came to be known.

The positions of both Hayek and Keynes resonate more so now than ever before, given the recession we have recently been through and the financial and economic challenges we have faced.

But, don’t take my boring economist’s word for it, instead watch Fear the Boom and the Bust: A Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem.  It’s possible you may learn more macro-economic business cycle theory in seven minutes, than I learned in an entire economics career!

Then, you can decide, are you a Keynesian or a free market libertarian?