Clever politicians know that if you repeat a statement often enough, no matter how absurd it may be, it will be remembered and something of it will remain. The master of this tactic is former US President Donald Trump, who, for example, usually referred to his opponent during the election campaign as “crooked Hillary”, i.e. as a woman who cannot be trusted. Or by Joe Biden as “sleepy Joe”.
When it comes to economic issues, there is one more thing. Developments, desirable but above all undesirable, can also be talked about. The fact that something settles in the subconscious through mantra-like incantations can have tangible economic effects. Against this background, the bizarre dispute over the term “recession” is to be seen, which is currently taking place in the English-language edition of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.
Of the article about it was edited several times by unregistered users in the past few days. That in itself would not be unusual. After all, it is the goal of Wikipedia to use the knowledge of many, the so-called swarm intelligence. But now registered and experienced Wikipedians have blocked the article from editing by unregistered users until August 4th. Because usually users don’t just change around without comment, but discuss the possible changes on the discussion page provided for this purpose. But that was criminally disregarded here, for political reasons, as can be assumed.
The background: A dispute is raging in the USA as to whether the country is in a recession or not. The Democratic-run White House would like to avoid the nasty R-word. Central banker Janet Yellen also uses it very sparingly – knowing full well that every word she says, whether said or sometimes unsaid, is analyzed and evaluated with the greatest care. The political opponent, of course, the Republicans, want to make the government of Democrat Biden appear in the worst possible light. This political dispute has now also been taken to the stage of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. While the Biden side wants nothing to do with the recession, his opponents argue the other way around. But who is right now?
Shortly before new US GDP figures were announced, “recession” was defined in a very shortened way
The term recession itself comes from Latin. the verb recedere means to withdraw, to withdraw. Applied to the economy, it initially seems clear what this means: if economic output falls, an economy is in reverse gear, i.e. in a recession. So the Biden opponents would be right. A definition that is often heard is that when economic output falls for two consecutive quarters, there is a recession.
However, experts are not entirely unanimous. The leading economic researchers in Germany calculate somewhat differently. They first calculate what an economy could actually achieve and compare it with what actually comes out later – as Helmut Kohl said. In scientific German, what would be possible is called production potential. If an economy falls short of its potential for two quarters in a row, the researchers at the leading economic institutes speak of a recession.
Various definitions had always been offered on Wikipedia, but shortly before the expected publication of new figures for the gross domestic product (GDP) of the USA, the introduction to the encyclopedia article suddenly said, in a very simplistic way: “Economists usually look at two consecutive declines in GDP than recession.” However, neither was a suitable passage found in the main text, nor was the claim backed up by a source. When Wikipedia editors deleted the passage, it reappeared shortly thereafter, and several times in a row. Which is why the editors put an end to the spook and only allowed changes for registered users.
Opinion wars are not uncommon on Wikipedia. However, they are usually not carried out by unauthorized changes without prior consultation or discussion, but rather on the discussion pages. Therefore, the suspicion arises that the political opponents of the Biden government are trying to harm him. Anyone who hears the word “recession” on the news and briefly looks it up on Wikipedia should think the matter is settled. But that can also be seen as influencing voters via the dictionary.