Peter Dorman

@pdorman.bsky.social

150 followers 270 following 370 posts

I'm a political economist and writer on economics, politics, climate change, statistics, and lots more. I've written four books, stacks of articles and reports, blogs and am working on book #5. Watch out for really bad puns. .. more

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Peter FitzGerald Dorman is an American epigrapher, philologist, and Egyptologist. Recently a professor of history and archaeology at the American University of Beirut (AUB), he served as the 15th President of the university from 2008 to 2015. He spent most of his career as a professor and chair in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) of the University of Chicago, and was director of Chicago House in Luxor, the Epigraphic Survey field project of the Oriental Institute. He is presently a professor emeritus of the University of Chicago. .. more

Economics 39%

History 22%

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Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 1d

This was an absolutely devastating takedown and also a cogent analysis of goyper/nativist/racist politics. Man, would I love to see you in a debate with JDV. (Poor Tim Walz, nice guy who had no idea what he was dealing with.)

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 2d

What would tech reactionaries do with detailed data on low propensity voters -- who they are, what gets through to them, how their political attitudes can be swayed? How would it change not only campaigning but governing itself? They maybe doing it already.
open.substack.com/pub/peterdor...

Low-Pro's

The Washington Post recently ran a background piece on the Rockbridge Network by Elizabeth Dwoskin.

open.substack.com

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 3d

Also bilateral with multilateral. But the economics is almost irrelevant; the frame (for our appreciation) is dominant/submissive.

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 3d

Today I would also talk about private credit, since shadow banking has been resurrected in a new form. But Biden's crew accommodated this just as Trump's is doing. Incidentally, Biden did want to extend the pandemic welfare state, but he didn't have the votes. That was devastating.

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 3d

I missed this when it came out in J, thanks! I agree with a lot of what you say, and there's a lot more overlap. I think we're in agreement on clientelist quant easing and digital assets, but the bank supervision aspect is important. (Josh Mason thinks this.)

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 3d

We seem to be on different pages. My Substack is here: open.substack.com/pub/peterdor...

The Real Reason Trump Wants to Take Over the Fed

If you follow the news, you will think it’s all about monetary policy.

open.substack.com

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 4d

I read the NLR piece and thought it missed the main point: Trump wants to capture the Fed's supervisory and asset provision apparatus. The power to reward friends and punish opponents would be vast. I wrote a Substack on this a while back.

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 5d

I haven't seen anyone use the h-word, hostage, about the shutdown, so I will. Trump held low income people as hostages: hurt me and I'll hurt them. Human shields. As crooks at all levels know, that can be an effective strategy.

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 6d

Question about the Democrats' senatorial cave. None of the notorious 8 are up for re-election next year. They delayed the cave until after this year's election. So it looks like they thought voters would be angry with them. If so, what's the motivation?

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 7d

Hey, that would make a great r&r song. It even works metrically.

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 9d

And here's the explanation. Thanks, Steve.
www.stevevladeck.com/p/190-snap-w...

190. SNAP WTF?

A very quick explainer on why Justice Jackson issued an "administrative stay" in the SNAP case late on Friday night, and on what's likely to happen next

www.stevevladeck.com

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 9d

Speculative, yes, but worth considering: is the economic motive at the heart of authoritarian tech politics the need to *force* government and other systems to be restructured around AI?
open.substack.com/pub/peterdor...

Where Will the Revenue for AI Come From?

Explaining the grotesque politicization of Big Tech

open.substack.com

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 9d

OK, someone explain to me why this order was signed by Jackson. Is there a politics to this I don't understand?
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...

Supreme Court Temporarily Allows Trump to Curtail Food Stamp Funding

www.nytimes.com

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 14d

The numbers are indisputable, but what's the reason? Here's a theory. (Hint: it has nothing to do with the Talmud.)
open.substack.com/pub/peterdor...

Why So Many Jewish Economists?

and physicists, theoretical biologists and mathematicians....

open.substack.com

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 16d

Another Halloween with no trick or treaters. Where are the kids? Why aren't they out prowling the streets in their costumes? Is it just here, or is there a general decline in communal traditions all over? As in, boo-ing alone.

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 17d

To be more specific, the econ part uses CES production and demand functions. Aside from convenience, there is *no* justification for them. They overconstrain scenarios, and the underconstraining due to writing in carbon removal doesn't balance out!

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 17d

I guess this is why there are no chimps in Trump's cabinet.

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 21d

Whenever I see a new piece by a climate denier ("actually, temperatures haven't gone up" etc.), I want to ask "What part exactly of the analysis by Svante Arrhenius do you disagree with?"

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 22d

A classic racist trope. "You're so worried about a little discrimination. What about the horrible things done to *my* people? Your problems are so irrelevant. In fact, by focusing on them, you show you're really my enemy."
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/n...

Vance Criticizes Mamdani’s Comments About Islamophobia After 9/11

www.nytimes.com

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 22d

Why have demonstrations? Among other things, they get people into alignment so they can join forces on a particular issue.
open.substack.com/pub/peterdor...

The Ketchup Theory of Political Demonstrations

More precisely, it’s the alignment theory, but ketchup gets the point across pretty well.

open.substack.com

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 23d

IAM uncertainty (within or between runs) is conditional on the model itself. But as I and others have argued, there are huge issues with some of their components. In particular, the econ is very bad. This contributes to both bias and uncertainty.

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 26d

This is a predictable result of the policy framing. For 20 yrs we've been trying to tell them that rebating carbon fees is the way to go -- much better politics too. "Don't send your money to oil companies and petrostates, send it back to yourselves!"
grist.org/politics/dem...

Why Democrats aren't talking about climate change much anymore

As Democrats reflect on the 2024 election, talking about the "planetary emergency" is out, and "cheap energy" is in.

grist.org

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 27d

It's apple pie time again, so here is my path to perfect piedom returned from the archives. I found a local source of Belle de Boskoop, so I'm in luck. I've recently seen the claim that crisp > pie, but that's true only if you overdo the cinnamon. Don't.
open.substack.com/pub/peterdor...

Apple Pie for Breakfast

Here’s something I heard a long time ago: If you’re from the rest of the world, a Yankee is someone from the United States.

open.substack.com

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 28d

Another purpose of demonstrations is that they align the demonstrators. People have many different priorities and viewpoints. Demonstrations induce them to coalesce around a shared priority and purpose, setting aside their other differences.
open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

Civil Resistance Confronts the Autocracy

While MAGA’s spin was both insane and revealing, the No Kings Day 2 Marches were a major step towards taking our country back.

open.substack.com

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 28d

Go is deeper strategically, e.g. the Em. Lasker story. And it's all about spacial positioning. But unlike chess, its moves are irreversible. I think all game analogies to real life are suspect -- including game theory!

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 29d

A pair of signs seen today in Portland:
"Make American Think Again"
"Make Fascism Wrong Again"
Two sides of the same coin, maybe the same piece of cardboard.

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 29d

Same in Portland, although police were friendly at the first No Kings too. I get the impression that, despite their right wing reputation, PDX cops really don't like outside interference and agree with that part of the protesters' message.

Peter Dorman @pdorman.bsky.social · 29d

A thing about inequality people often overlook is that it restructures supply. We get more higher-end stuff and less lower-end. Life gets harder for those who aren't rich.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/b...