In their patter song in The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan satirised the notion of an educated “modern major-general”. Today they might satirise academic central bankers, of which Ben Bernanke – soon to be ex-chairman of the Federal Reserve – is the very model. As a distinguished scholar, he brought to the Fed a brilliant and well-informed mind. His knowledge of economic history helped him halt a terrifying panic. But he also made mistakes. History will probably judge him kindly. But there is much to be learnt from his time at the Fed.
在喜剧《彭赞斯的海盗》(The Pirates of Penzance)的打油歌中，吉尔伯特(W.S.Gilbert)和沙利文(Arthur Sullivan)讽刺了有修养的“现代少将”形象。放到现在，他们或许会讽刺学院派中央银行家，而即将卸任美联储(Fed)主席的本•伯南克(Ben Bernanke)正是这一形象的典型。伯南克是杰出的学者，为美联储带来了才华横溢、博闻广识的头脑。对manbetx20客户端下载 史的了解帮助他阻止了一场可怕的恐慌。但他也犯过错误。历史或许将赋予他正面的评价。但我们还需从他的美联储任期中学习不少教训。