dictatorial hand. Totalitarianism is defined as domination by a single, like-minded governing elite of all organized political, economic, social and cultural activities in a country by means of a single-party monopoly of power.Does Paul A. Samuelson support an open or closed society? In his economics textbook, Economics: An Introductory Analysis, Samuelson spends many chapters on the socialist economics of the Soviet Union. He believed Soviet central planning could work and that the Soviet Union had growth rates exceeding the United States. However, Samuelson was not a socialist. He frequently declared his optimism about the future of capitalism and rejected doomsday predictions about another Great Depression. He believes free trade should be considered and is critical of Karl Marx’s economics. In his recent editions of his textbook he says Soviet central planning was a “failed” model. Samuelson made these comments in an interview with U.S. News & World Report in December 1960: “I never look upon the government as something in Washington that does something to us or for us. I think of public policy as a way in which we organize our affairs.”Therefore, we believe Samuelson supports an open society.SUPPORT OF VIEWSPaul Samuelson’s contributions can be divided into four main areas. These are dynamic theory and stability analysis; consumption theory; general equilibrium theory; and capital theory.Samuelson’s dynamic theory and stability analysis departed from the traditional thinking that the analysis should not be solely in static analysis which are limited to equilibrium positions. His theory advanced the idea that analysis should also take into consideration how the economic system performs outside equilibrium and how the economy develops following a chain of development phases. This particular theory bridged a gap between static and dynamic analysis. Under this theory, Samuelson de...
