Mike Norman Economics

The French economist with a celebrated theory of inequality is back—this time with a theory of everything in 1,100 pages. But is he, Paul Krugman asks Prospect, sufficient a polymath to pull it off? But before long, Piketty was receiving—and rejecting—all sorts of highly-paying corporate invitations to speak: the Davos set sensed an argument it could not afford to ignore. Six years on, there is no closing down the discussion that he blasted open: the Democratic primaries in the US have seen...

Karl Polanyi’s masterpiece The Great Transformation was written during the Second World War and published in 1944, but the relevance and importance of this preeminent book has continued to grow. 75 year later, The Great Transformation — an admirable treatise debunking the false creed of economic determinism and market fundamentalism, and elaborating on their hazardous ramifications — remains fresh and enlightening, and it is indispensable for understanding the current phenomena of our...

In an important new book Keynes Against Capitalism: His Economic Case for Liberal Socialism (Routledge, 2019) James Crotty argues that Keynes was a socialist who advocated a much more radical economic agenda than most mainstream economists and political analysts realize. Based on a very close reading of Keynes’ work, Crotty argues that core Keynesian economic ideas should inform democratic socialism today.... Progressive Economics ForumWhy Keynes was a socialistAndrew Jackson

Last year, five Republican senators made a political move unprecedented in a formally democratic country like the United States: they introduced a resolution calling on the US Senate to condemn an economic theory the implementation of which would “pose a clear danger to the economy of the United States”. They were talking about Modern Monetary Theory, or MMT. But what was so outrageous about the incriminated economic theory that it deserved the rejection and anger of right-wing politicians...

China’s HL-2M nuclear fusion device burns with the power of 13 suns Chinese scientists are working on harvesting the energy of the Sun, but it's not solar energy. The country has developed its very own “artificial sun,” a nuclear fusion research device that is supposed to pave the way for clean energy -- similar to the real Sun.The completion of the reactor was announced on Tuesday, and it’s expected to start operation in 2020, Xinhua News reported. China’s completed ‘artificial...

Part 2. In a podcast discussion with Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor talks about how many famous neuroscientist became dualists—that is, they concluded that there is something about human beings that goes beyond matter—based on observations they made during their work [4:24 min]. PIONEER NEUROSCIENTISTS BELIEVED THE MIND IS MORE THAN THE BRAIN

It's not straightforward. David Swanson explains the nuance. CounterpunchBernie Finally Puts a Number on Cutting Military SpendingDavid Swanson

I had a mentor who emphasized the necessity to understand power. At first I didn't quite know what he was talking about. Subsequently, I discovered that he was correct. For example, C. Wright Mills's The Power Elite was a real eyeopener.Counterpunch How We Stay Blind to the Story of Power Jonathan Cook

According to its main authors, MMT is not “ultimately” about money. Money is just a prerequisite for addressing the more important issue of mobilizing domestic resources for the full employment of the labour force and other public endeavours.... Good introductory article.Brave New WorldNdongo Samba Sylla – What does MMT have to Offer Developing Nations? Ndongo Samba Sylla | Research and Programme Manager for the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation

Abstract The power to coin money is a fundamental constitutional power and central element of fiscal policymaking, along with spending, taxing, and borrowing. However, it remains neglected in constitutional and administrative law, despite the fact that money creation has been central to the United States’ fiscal capacities and constraints since at least1973, when it abandoned convertibility of the dollar into gold. This neglect is particularly prevalent in the context of debt...