Mike Norman Economics

Our national divide is usually cast in terms of ideology, race, climate, and gender. But it might be more accurate to see our national conflict as regional and riven by economic function. The schism is between two ways of making a living, one based in the incorporeal world of media and digital transactions, the other in the tangible world of making, growing, and using real things.Birth pangs of the transition from the chiefly industrial age, when even agriculture was industrialized, to the...

Cooperation is not cowardice, as American conservatives repeatedly claim. Both the US and China have much to gain from it: peace, expanded markets, accelerated technological progress, the avoidance of a new arms race, progress against COVID-19, a robust global jobs recovery, and a shared effort against climate change.Like no-brainer. Except the US would have to forego "full-spectrum dominance," which is a step too far, it seems.And Jeffrey Sachs appears to be under some illusions about...

Got an evidence-based argument? Maybe forget about it. Decision making is rational but there are more factors than evidence-based argument. This is an issue in the dialectic between liberalism and traditionalism. The liberal view of economics is that rationality trumps and rationality is based on economic maximization. Traditionalists may see it otherwise — which is a reason that many votes against their economic interests in favor of other factors they value more.The panels supported...

The road to corporate totalitarianism.Naked CapitalismThis Obscure Energy Treaty Is the Greatest Threat to the Planet You’ve Never Heard OfFabian Flues, an adviser on trade and investment policy at Berlin-based PowerShift, Cecilia Olivet, project coordinator with the Economic Justice Programme at the Transnational Institute, and Pia Eberhardt, a researcher and campaigner with the Brussels-based campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory. Originally published at openDemocracy

Advocates of capitalism would argue that this analysis overlooks the role of individual incentive in socio-economic motivation, productivity, innovation, and risk-taking. On the other hand, there are also good arguments for creating socio-economic systems that integrate individual and social, and competition and cooperation. In addition, "human nature" tends to ignore or deny diversity, among individuals, groups, and societies and their cultures.The former communist countries are now forced...

I noted yesterday that I was appearing at a Seminar via Zoom with my MMT colleague, Pavlina Tcherneva, where we will discuss the concept of a social contract and where Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) fits into that, especially in the context of our idea of employment guarantees. The seminar – MMT and the new social contract: Lessons from Covid-19 – will be held on Saturday, February 27, 2021, from 10:00 Australian Eastern Daylight time and you can find details of how you can participate – HERE....

Modern Monetary Theory and the Recovery is in its final formatting stages. It is an introduction to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), but directed at a particular subject: why has growth been sub-par in recent decades, and what could be done differently?In addition to covering policy discussions, there is an overview of what MMT says, and what it does not. It also discusses many good faith critiques of MMT. There is a great deal of misinformation floating around with respect to MMT, and so the...

This year has started with another frenzy in cryptocurrencies with Bitcoin prices crossing $50,000. Some countries such as China are close to starting their central bank digital currencies (CBDC). In India, the government is planning to issue a Bill that defines digital cryptocurrencies more clearly and the Reserve Bank of India is studying the scope of a CBDC. To better understand these developments, a look back at history and the evolution of money is warranted — ideas, they say, go around...

 A professor of economic history critiques MMT. MMT doesn't go far enough. It remains embedded in the present system, which itself is the root of the socio-economic problem the world faces. While Trevor Jackson agrees that MMT is descriptive of the present system, it remains too faithful to it to address emergent challenges. I have been saying this for some time but for other reasons having to do with the world system. It's past time to start thinking seriously about economic and political...

Articulate defense of MMT against debt phobia and deficit hysteria based on The Deficit Myth.Charleston Gazette-Mail | OpinionRenate Pore: Deficit is not democracy's 'Achilles' heel' (Opinion)