REAGANOMICS: A PHILOSOPHICAL AND ALMOST MIDTERM PERSPECTIVE

Evaluating the Reagan administration after 20 months in office is not an easy task. The data, good interpretive studies, the perspective of time- these are all in short supply. And when it comes to specifics, there are the usual contradictory trends within any administration. Nevertheless, there is a philosophical position in economic policy that the Reagan administration stands for and that I will try to articulate. I think understanding that philosophy is at least as important as ex-amining specific policies and their effects. If the administration is in office long enough, the philosophy and the policies will converge. I believe, also, that the economic philosophy of Ronald Reagan has its roots in a particular historical perspective. We will find it useful to begin by taking a backward glance at the American economy, from which we will draw Reaganite interpretations. This exercise is impor-tant in rendering any kind of judgment on the success of this admin-istration and its major policy initiatives, now and in the future