Tell Him that It's Human Nature

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was the ultimate data hound. He made his bones constructing the most rational and information-rich economic models. The acolyte of Ayn Rand believed market capitalism was ordained to triumph in the 20th century because it spoke to human strivings in a way that collectivism couldn't. But when Newsweek editor Jon Meacham and I interviewed Greenspan last week and asked what he learned from writing his new memoir, The Age of Turbulence..., he said that the experience made him appreciate that human nature is far more complex than what he learned about it from Adam Smith and The Fountainhead.

Daniel Gross in Slate expresses pleasure that Alan Greenspan has discovered irrationality.

But William Greider on The Nation's blog is unimpressed with the former Fed chair.