I don't think most economists would seriously suggest that the market lives, should live, or ideally would live in a static equilibrium. I know that most economists wouldn't say they can predict the fluctuations of the market. The ones that think they can, of course, get disproportionate amounts of airtime on CNBC or wherever, so it's an understandable misapprehension.
"almost without exception, economists since Adam Smith have viewed economic systems as being in balance or equilibrium, and as having a natural tendency to return there after any disturbance. In this view, crises can be understood only as anomalies, the consequences of unusual outside shocks."
That quote shows a huge lack of contextual knowledge. A more accurate quote could be that since BEFORE Adam Smith Economists have disagreed on this point. (Menger/Walras, Rothbard/Schumpeter etc etc etc)
I don't think most economists would seriously suggest that the market lives, should live, or ideally would live in a static equilibrium. I know that most economists wouldn't say they can predict the fluctuations of the market. The ones that think they can, of course, get disproportionate amounts of airtime on CNBC or wherever, so it's an understandable misapprehension.