Mike Norman Economics

Getting ready for the next iteration in the culture war, which is heating up again. Sessions has the right idea. Promoting weed (cannabis legalization) is a "left-wing plot," you see. Plus, it is "anti-masculine."Alt-RightMarijuana Makes You a Leftist  Malcolm JaggersSee alsoThe war on drugs did not stop the cultural adoption of weed anymore than Prohibition stopped the cultural proclivity for alcohol. And it didn't stop the money interests then, and and it won't now.Business InsiderJeff...

Explaining MMT.Bond EconomicsMMT Is Not Just "Theory X" Brian Romanchuk

The question is becoming, "Who lost Europe?"Moon of AlabamaTrump Offloads Foreign Policy Problems - Lets EU Grow A Spine brelatedUne parole francheRex Tillerson in "The New York Times": Pride and PrejudiceGilbert Doctorow | European Coordinator of The American Committee for East West Accord Ltd.

Here, "society" is being used as a metaphor rather than a description. I would prefer to use "system" rather than "society," and to compare biological systems with social systems, since this is more descriptive and less evocative. At the same time, I agree that the use of "society" is legitimate and useful in biology and evolutionary theory.   There are three major types of systems, corresponding to the three major branches of science — physical, biological, and social. There are...

When David Vines asked me to contribute to a OXREP (Oxford Review of Economic Policy) issueon “Rebuilding Macroeconomic Theory”, I think what he hoped I would write on how the core macro model needed to change to reflect macro developments since the crisis with a particular eye to modelling the impact of fiscal policy. That would be an interesting paper to write, but I decided fairly quickly that I wanted to say something that I thought was much more important.In my view the biggest...

Not a bad article considering that Project Syndicate is an organ of the corporate elite. The author does recognize that the economic protest is the result of President Rouhani's neoliberal program to deliver the promised increase in prosperity that neoliberals assume to be widely distribute by trickle down. So, even though the article is written from the neoliberal point of view, it does admit the failure of neoliberal reformers to deliver on their promises to the country as a whole,...

China coming on strong. It still has a way to go though.The Unz ReviewChinese Science Anatoly Karlin

Since the outbreak of mass demonstrations and unrest in Iran last week, US media have mostly busied themselves with the question of not if we should “do something,” but what, exactly, that something should be. As usual, it’s simply taken for granted the United States has a divine right to intervene in the affairs of Iran, under the vague blanket of “human rights” and “democracy promotion.” (The rare exception, such as an op-ed by ex-Obama official Philip Gordon—New York Times,...

The US Central Intelligence Agency has, according to multiple investigative reports from both mainstream media outlets and human rights organizations, operated numerous “black sites” across the world. These locations, according to the reports, are secret prisons used to house “ghost prisoners.” Those sent to these places are held captive without being charged with any crime and are not allowed any form of legal defense. Ghost prisoners are subject to what the CIA calls “enhanced...

Rodriguez said the Petro is backed by the resources that the country already has, including energy and mineral reserves. Venezuela’s Vice President of Communication and Culture, Jorge Rodriguez, said that its new cryptocurrency will avoid financial attacks. At a meeting in Miraflores Thursday recapping presidential management in 2017, Rodriguez said the Petro is backed by the resources that the country already has, including energy and mineral reserves. Addressing the difference between...