The 1987 crash’s real effects persisted beneath an outwardly limited economic surface

Evidence

The overall consequences of the 1987 crash for the U.S. economy were remarkably limited. Central parts of the financial system broke down, but only briefly. The rise in stock prices of the 1980s was reversed only temporarily (the 1990s were to see an extraordinary boom), and even in the short run the effects of the reversal on the wider economy were not huge. The crash did have its effects, and those effects have persisted, but they are not evident on the surface. — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 894

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Tension between public narrative of crash as upheaval vs. measured economic insignificance — but persistent structural effects invisible on the surface. Dense distinction worth sitting with.
• XREF: connects to: The superstructure exerts real effects despite being ultimately economically determined — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 336; State intervention after the 1987 crash averted a 1929-style depression — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism: A Marxist…, 515; The 1987 crash memory persists institutionally even as living memory fades — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 935 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The superstructure exerts real effects despite being ultimately economically determined #complicates (0.75) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 336
• State intervention after the 1987 crash averted a 1929-style depression #expands (0.72) — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism, 515