In a recent column about the current economic situation (inflation fears vs. unemployment) Paul Krugman has a little fun with metaphors.
Krugman introduces the column by commenting on “the way the Federal Reserve allowed inflation to become entrenched in the 1970s” and “the way policymakers allowed the economy to operate far below capacity, needlessly sacrificing millions of potential jobs.”
Of course, “inflation” is itself metaphorical: MORE IS UP / MORE IS LARGER and PRICES ARE SUBSTANCES. “[B]ecome entrenched” is a WAR metaphor, implying a story in which an army digs defensive trenches to resist the necessity to retreat, implying INFLATION IS AN ARMY; LESS INFLATION IS RETREAT. “Allowed the economy to operate” implies THE ECONOMY IS A MACHINE, a common metaphor also evident in phrases like “the wheels of commerce.” “Far below capacity” implies THE ECONOMY IS A CONTAINER and ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IS A SUBSTANCE. “[S]acrificing millions of potential jobs” is a particularly interesting blend of cruelty and religion: JOBS ARE ANIMALS (or, perhaps) HUMANS and ECONOMIC CONSTRAINT IS RITUAL KILLING.
The SUBSTANCE and CONTAINER metaphors are relatively neutral; MACHINE implies that the economy will continue functioning on its own if it is not impeded. The WAR and RITUAL KILLING metaphors are more powerful, with potentially ominous implications. It is useful to compare these metaphors to plausible alternatives: Instead of “become entrenched,” inflation might become “a self-fulfilling prophecy” or “a habit.” Instead of “sacrificing” jobs, the Fed might have “forfeited,” “cost,” or “lost” millions of jobs, dispensing with the implicatures of violence and blood-shed.
Following these rather conventional introductory metaphors, Krugman describes the Fed as trying “to steer a course between Scylla and Charybdis, avoiding both past mistakes. (Which mistake is Scylla, which Charybdis? I have no idea.)” The geographic reference is to the north end of the Strait of Messina, which has a rocky shoal to the east (Charybdis) and a powerful whirlpool to the west (Scylla): for underpowered vessels such as the oared ships of classical times, veering to either side could be disastrous. (In The Odyssey, Scylla is a six-headed sea monster that would grab six crew-members off any ship that came within reach; the whirlpool was capable of swallowing the entire ship. Odysseus was advised to sacrifice the six sailors rather than risk losing his entire ship.) The parenthetic disclaimer is interesting: Krugman leaves it to the reader to decide whether continued inflation or unemployment is “a whirlpool” or “a monster" - or "wrecking on a rocky shoal.” Perhaps by doing so he allows the entailments of both metaphors to be associated with each outcome. However, an immediately subsequent metaphor suggests a a particular reading.
Krugman continues by blending the “Scylla and Charybdis” metaphor with another mythic hazard from The Odyssey, an island inhabited by sirens, whose singing is so alluring that those who hear it are drawn in to their destruction. In order to hear their song, Odysseus has himself tied to the mast and instructs the crew to block their ears with wax so they will not succumb to the allure of the siren song. Krugman advises that “the Fed should steer a bit farther to the left than it may previously have been inclined to, and turn a deaf ear — stuff its ears with wax? — to demands it turn hard right rudder.” “To the left” is associated in economic journalism with low interest rates and low unemployment, even at the risk of high inflation. “Right” is associated with a focus on low inflation, even at the risk of high unemployment. “Hard right rudder” then implies steep rises in interest rates. This passage continues the SHIP OF STATE / ECONOMY IS A SHIP and POLICY-MAKING IS A JOURNEY metaphors.
The strong allusions to The Odyssey invite other plausible entailments. Both events are part of a long wandering as Odysseus tried to get home from the Trojan War, buffeted by obstacles imposed by jealous gods (but advised and assisted by Athena) – with the complete loss of his entire crew along the way. So perhaps, A SOUND ECONOMY IS ITHACA, THE FED IS ODYSSEUS, and ECONOMIC DISRUPTIONS ARE JEALOUS GODS (with one exception: PAUL KRUGMAN IS ATHENA, who offers advice to “Odysseus” – the Fed).
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