Mike Norman Economics

Getting the word out.Favorite line: Gar Alperovitz: Let me just say one thing. I’m from Racine, Wisconsin. I had an aunt who ran a little tiny Jewish bakery. She used to say, “You know, during the Depression there wasn’t any money around. Then they decided to run a war, and there was all kinds of money around. Why can’t we do that when we want to do that?” real economicsHow are you going to pay for it? Why Understanding Monetary Theory and Policy Is Critical For the Left Tony WikrentSee...

Read to the end — Kurowsawa's memo to his assistants, who didn't get what Rashomon was about at first  If you haven't seen Roshomon, it's the story of a trial in which the participants relate their versions of the same event from their respective points of view. It's a great elucidation of "perspectivism" aka "standpoint" epistemology. In this sense, the work is "philosophical"in addition to being a cinematic tour de force. All of Kurosawa's films are monuments in cinematic art, and many...

Batwoman and Dreamer join a recent spate of comic book adaptations for cinema and television that has wised up to the fact that today’s most culturally dominant genre has to mirror modern society better. In February, Marvel’s Black Panther film became a landmark event. It was the US’s third highest-grossing film, not only breaking a ceiling for black cinema, but riding on the back of a nuanced understanding of African-American history to become the series’ best yet. Pop art as leading...

British policy was to depend upon alliances with others, rather than to maintain a large standing army itself. So it was important to be able to draw upon a force of colonial troops when needed, including for the policing of the British Raj. Important though they were for British power, Indian troops commonly faced racial discrimination, were looked down upon by white officers and were often used as cannon fodder, while also being given worse grade arms and equipment than regular British...

Lots of things happening in the markets and Zombies running in every direction.

I have written about the concept of dynamic efficiency before. The most recent blog post on this theme was – The ‘truth sandwich’ and the impacts of neoliberalism (June 19, 2018) – which examined how social mobility across generations has been declining as a result of the decades of entrenched unemployment driven by neoliberal austerity biases. I also outlined the proposition in this blog post – US labour market reality debunks mainstream view about structural impediments (January 15,...

It's not just China which has massive state ownership of key industries, the Scandinavian counties do too, which works very well for the common good. China is leaving the West behind with its massive investment in public infrastructure which our private sector can never match. KV Neal Meyer has a piece at Jacobin where he seeks to define the phrase “democratic socialism.” I had a similar post in late June here at People’s Policy Project. Overall, Meyer’s piece is fine as far as these things...

The whole world has gone mads, it's like the invasion of the body snatchers where everyone has been taken over, including some my family and friends. Some even get angry with me. Gee! I saw a Twitter thread between two journalists the other day which completely summarized my experience of debating the establishment Russia narrative on online forums lately. Aaron Maté‏, who is in my opinion one of the clearest voices out there on American Russia hysteria, was approached with an argument by a...

Geopolitics Alert Israel Bombs 60 Targets in Gaza in Just 24 Hours Julia "Samar" Kassem Fort Russ Israeli planes attack western Syria Paul Antonopoulos NEO Tel-Aviv Decided to Make Israel an Exclusively Jewish Deal Martine Berger ReutersIsrael launches U.S.-backed missile shield on Syria frontier, Russia sends envoys Jeffrey Heller WSWSIsrael intervenes to extract US-UK-backed White Helmets from Syria Bill Van Auken Sputnik International Damascus Calls White Helmets'...

Russia has reportedly commenced sea trials of its ultimate doomsday weapon, a nuclear-capable underwater vehicle (UUV), dubbed ‘Poseidon,’ purportedly designed to deliver a 2-megaton nuclear warhead to destroy naval bases, carrier strike groups, and entire coastal cities by triggering a radioactive Tsunami wave. The sea trials of the “Poseidon” began last week and are primarily focused on the UUVs guidance system and underwater operations in autonomous mode. Work on the “Poseidon” is...