From the looks of this op-ed in today's state-controlled Oriental Morning Post, a debate over "rationality" vs. "intuition" in China's national economic policymaking might have accidentally introduced Reaganomics to idea set.

Mr. Yan commits the error of Taking Down Mr. Zhang's "aloof rationality" and replacing it with his own "intuition," and for this he cites the Reagan economic policies of the 1980s as an illustration. According to Mr. Yan, Reagan depended completely on his own "intuition" to draw up and carry out his economic policies, and he obtained successful results.

"Starting from the beginning of 1983," he says, "the roller-coaster American economy suddenly left behind the 'stagflation ' of the 1970's, and entered into 6 years of continuous, high-speed growth, leading to the prominence of Reagan and the continuation of his policies."

Mr. Yan correctly described the effects of the Reagan administration's policies, but his explanation for it's success is all wrong. Reagan's economic policy by no means stemmed from his own "intuition." Rather, it was a rationally thought-out and executed plan called "Reaganomics."

...

Just as the name suggests, supply-side economics contradicts the Keynesian tradition of "demand." Its emphasis is on the supply side of the supply-demand equation, since, as its proponents hold that, "supply creates its own demand."

Certainly makes one go hmm. Another interesting passage:

As Mr. Yan points out, Reagan's economic policy was a product of democracy. On this point, I agree with him - an economist may be an expert on economic theory, but national economic policy needs to pass through the democratic process. A democratic system is not limited to politics, but includes economic policy as well.

HT: Watching America