Mike Norman Economics

American populists are largely reactive and somewhat confused. They don’t know what hit them. And they don’t know their own, often forgotten, history. Nineteenth-century American populists were not socialists, but small-scale capitalists. They were farmers, artisans, and professionals. Private enterprise was central to their values, and they wanted to preserve it for ordinary citizens like themselves. The ideal was to own your own business, not to work for a corporation. Populists fought to...

Today’s fakeout morning selloff says a lot.

Economists have long been fascinated by a 1930 essay written by John Maynard Keynes called "Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren" (available various places like here and here). Writing in the opening storms of what would become the Great Depression, Keynes maintained that the main issues facing the economy in the long run was an adjustment to ongoing technological progress. He wrote: "We are suffering, not from the rheumatics of old age, but from the growing-pains of over-rapid...

As long as you're good, do as you're told, and believe narrative they tell you and not question anything, then you are safe in our society.Be careful, Julian!                           [embedded content]

An absolutely superb video.I always thought that investing in green energy should be very profitable in the long run, so why were so many conservatives against it?America could have been a world leader in green technology, and the West not so reliant on ME oil, but all squandered by the oil lobby. But surely green energy opens new and exciting investments for capitalists?So, what about those people who say that there is nowhere to store green energy for times when it isn't sunny, or windy,...

While China is not about to recapture double-digit GDP growth, that does not imply economic catastrophe. After four decades of rapid growth, a slowdown was inevitable, and if China readjusts its macroeconomic policy stance, it can prevent that slowdown from being excessively sharp.… This post is important because of who wrote it. Yu Yongding is considered to be one of the most knowledgeable Chinese economists and his views are watched and widely quoted. Project SyndicateA Makeover for...

According to the Western narrative, the "Iranian people" are opposing "the Islamic dictatorship." This article tells a different story.The Western media will not tell you, but the workers' protests in Iran are similar to the Yellow Vests in France, which is spreading internationally. Workers are getting fed up with capitalism as usual and are demanding socio-economic justice.Longish, but it tells the story in some detail. Nothing about this being a political protest against the Islamic...

Of the various criticisms leveled at a combined ‘job or income guarantee‘, ones appealing to fairness usually go along the lines that it would be unfair for healthy individuals outside the workforce to receive an income while others are occupied in jobs. In considering this objection, a number of points come to mind: heteconomistFairness and a ‘Job or Income Guarantee’Peter Cooper

It is Wednesday and I am going to stick to my decision to ‘not publish a blog post’ on Wednesdays unless there is some new data (such as the quarterly release of the Australian National Accounts). I want to use this time to attend to other writing obligations. But a few snippets won’t hurt, will they? The first, looks at some extraordinary denial from the European Union bosses. The second, looks at evidence that the Brexit environment is already providing positive dynamics for British...

Imagine a Sci -fi film about an alien planet that has an economic system where 3% of its inhabitants die each year. It is said that there is no alternative because if the system is changed then even more people will die.There has to be competition to bring wages down to make goods more affordable, they say - even if that means that 3% of the population have no work and may starve.  And so it is accepted that some people will die so that others can live. Fortunately, it's a horror film....