Mike Norman Economics

Thomas Fazi and I have been discussing the shape of our next book and I think it will be an interesting and worthwhile followup to Reclaiming the State: A Progressive Vision of Sovereignty for a Post-Neoliberal World (Pluto Books, 2017). We hope it will be published some time late in 2019. One of the angles that will be delved into is the way in which neoliberal narratives and constructs have permeated individual consciousness. Yes, sounds a bit psychological doesn’t it. But there is a...

The Britisher explains why most people don't want libertarianism. He seems to be a gentle, moderate conservative who values the state. I rather like him. This is a rather good comment someone left under the video. Anarchocapitalism works perfectly in the same universe that communism works perfectly...you know...the one where human nature is irrelevant. [embedded content]

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) has been in the news again (and filled up my Twitter feed...). There have been a number of attempts to "explain" MMT by various American conservatives. As one might expect, those attempts have been pathetic; it is generally a good idea to have at least a reasonable grasp of a topic before attempting to explain it. Critics of MMT generally do not bother with that step. Since I am trying to work on other projects, I will only give a quick response to what I have...

Mark Weber argues in the Unz Review why conservatism is finished. He says identity politics is the real deal and conservatives have nothing to counter it -  because they're not even in the same league. He says on most social issues conservatives have now become liberal, which seems to be true. Even many people on the British far-right now defend gay and women's rights against 'intolerant Islam'.On YouTube, The Britisher gives a good account about why the British Conservative Party has...

Israel Shamir says it's difficult to get the truth out now, but the social media could have helped us, but, alas, they betrayed us too. There is not a single newspaper in the US that supports the views of the US President. Nobody defended him when he was accused, brazenly, in-your-face, of being a Russian agent. Nobody supported him when he called to bring the troops home from Syria. Nobody came to his aid when he mulled parting with NATO. There are tens of millions of men and women who...

In recent weeks Rachel Riley, a British TV celebrity, has tossed the Antisemitic slur in the direction of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, Noam Chomsky, Ken Loach, Aaron Bastani, yours truly and others. In her first extended Ch 4 interview it became clear that Riley isn’t exactly an astute political philosopher. You can watch the entire Ch 4 interview here. [embedded content]

ProporNot are back, and if you use the words Neocon, neoliberal, imperialist, Zionist, warmonger, or establishment then you may a Russian propagandist, according to them. [embedded content]

The neoclassical foundational assumption of rational maximization and Buchanan's rational choice theory are "thin" theories of the actor. As a result the models created on the basis of such assumptions are simplifications. The questions is whether they are oversimplifications. That depends on the case. Such assumptions may apply generally in certain simple cases but not to all. Moreover, the assumption of methodological individualism on which microfoundations depends is similarly limited....

Tom Luongo explains the real reasons behind the US attack on Huawei are part of the ongoing US hybrid war against China and Russia as competitors. It's about power and money, as always.Tom Luongo5G, Huawei and Us — The U.S. Hates Competition

This will likely meet reciprocal response and result in a two-tier IT technology, with the West vassals using the Western system and the Global South using the Chinese system. A multi-polar world will result, especially with a growing cold war between the US/Global North and China-Russia/Global South.BloombergU.S. Preparing Trump Order to Restrict Chinese Telecoms, Sources Say Margaret Talev and Sheridan Prasso See alsoZero Hedge"Huawei Death Sentence": Trump Said To Prepare Executive...