I’m seeing a push on the Internets lately by a certain kind of person who is very mad that people are resisting officially declaring the current state of the economy a recession. There are edit wars going on Wikipedia about the definition of the word recession.
The economy is clearly fucked the fuck up. No question. Is it accurate to use the word “recession” to describe this economic downturn? Maybe it’s semantically correct maybe it’s not. I personally don’t care.
What I personally believe is that belief itself has a causal relationship with the state of the economy. Yes, at a certain point reality has its say. Supplies are too low, demand is too high. No amount of believing that supplies are plentiful can help you when your stomach is empty. But if people believe the economy is shit, they will behave in ways that cause it to become worse, and vice versa. We must avoid a downward spiral.
Therefore, regardless of whether it is accurate to call the current state of the economy a recession, I oppose those who are fighting to have it called as such. Some of them are pedants who will inadvertently cause harm. Many are right wing actors seeking to cause harm on purpose.
We should intentionally avoid using words like recession. Doing so will bolster confidence in the economy at least a tiny amount. And any amount of positive sentiment that we can maintain will translate into some material benefit, even if that benefit is just a brief delay of the inevitable.