It might help to define the salient term here, "derp". In July 2013, Krugman defined "derp" [0]: People who take a position and refuse to alter that position

It might help to define the salient term here, "derp". In July 2013, Krugman defined "derp" [0]: People who take a position and refuse to alter that position no matter how strongly the evidence refutes it, who continue to insist that they have The Truth despite being wrong again and again. Krugman has indefatigably chronicled the failure of libertarian principles to predict outcomes in the real world. Here are a couple examples of spectacular failures in recent years. * Predictions that the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program would result in double-digit inflation (or worse, Weimar-style hyperinflation), but then failing to change their views as the inflation rate hit historic lows. * Claims that the rising price of gold indicates "true" inflation, but then continuing to rail about inflation as the gold price declines 36% from its highs. Similar themes of sound money, the gold standard and Austrian economics are featured prominently in DPR's writings [1]. Krugman considers these to be "Zombie ideas" [2] that have been refuted by real-world experience, yet they continue to shamble forward. Hence, "derp". [0] http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/06/regions-of-derpistan/ http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/06/regions-of-derpi... [1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/04/29/collected-quotations-of-the-dread-pirate-roberts-founder-of-the-drug-site-silk-road-and-radical-libertarian/2/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/04/29/collect... [2] http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/bodyguard-of-zombies-counterattack-by-cockroaches/ http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/bodyguard-of-zom...