Mike Norman Economics

Marxian economist Michael Roberts reviews Branco Milanovic's Global Inequality. And finds it wanting. It's the assumptions, stupid.In my view, the problem is the same as it is with almost economists with whom I am familiar. They don't read widely out of their field in relevant fields like sociology, political science, and history and anthropology. They look through an economic lens that is colored by their ill-informed assumptions regarding context. Used to mathematical modeling, they are...

The secretary-general of the Venezuelan Communist Party calls for “unity within diversity” in the Chavista movement. VenezuelanalysisThe Crisis of Rentier Capitalism in Venezuela: A Conversation with Oscar Figuera

A reasonably accurate view of MMT applied to the Chinese economy. Michael Pettis sees little evidence that Chinese economists are aware of MMT, let alone using it to formulate policy. As for China, money or debt can no longer be used to fund infrastructure because the resulting increases (in money or debt) will not be matched by increases in real GDP. Beijing should, however, be able to create money or debt with no ill effects if the proceeds were used to reverse income inequality by...

I don't think that Branco Milanovic has this quite right. First, he conflates capitalism with a market economy. Markets are ancient and can hardly be represented as evidence of capitalism.  Secondly, he notes, correctly, that capitalism as vastly extended marketization by commodifying as much as it can, thereby capitalizing it. But this is not necessarily the expansion of capitalism. It is more properly viewed as the expansion of privatization, which he notes.  Recalling the enclosure...

Not too long ago, ushering in a societal shift toward clean, renewable energy seemed impossible, given the costs and level of government intervention required. But that has all changed: far from being boondoggles, green-energy options are beating out the fossil-fuel competition where it counts: the bottom line... Project SyndicateThe Energy Revolution Is Here Jules Kortenhorst | CEO of Rocky Mountain Institute

Kurds (Kurdish: کورد‎, Kurd) are an Iranian ethnic group native to a mountainous region of Western Asia known as Kurdistan, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria.[27][28] There are also exclaves of Kurds in central Anatolia and Khorasan. Additionally, there are significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey, in particular Istanbul, while a Kurdish diaspora has developed in Western Europe, primarily in Germany....

With the onset of climate change, water (hence food also) will become the new oil as the most vital resource, control of which will be hotly contested, just as oil is presently.Red FlagUnder capitalism, even water is a tool of oppressionMeg Hill

No mention of MMT though, and a reliance on central banks to combine fiscal policy with monetary policy under the rubric of "helicopter money," a term that Milton Friedman coined. They still can't pry loose from his influence, apparently.  Democracy? Meh. Go with technocracy that the elite control.AxiosMainstream economists are getting radical Dion Rabouin

Makes the same point as the MMT economists do. The way the government chooses to book its accounts is irrelevant to its financial position as the currency issuer instead of being a currency user. The reality remains the same even though the institutional arrangements may look different.The CornerA technical view of helicopter money and the monetisation of debt Hans-Jörg Naumer | Allianz

Moon of Alabama"Top Secret" Russian Unit That "Destabilizes Europe" Is A Well Known Small Arms Training Base OilpriceDefying Sanctions, India Will Resume Oil Imports From Venezuela Julianne Geiger People's DispatchDefying repression, tens of thousands of Ecuadorians take part in national strike People's DispatchWhy are millions of Indian workers preparing for a national strike on January 8? Ray McGovernBarr & Durham travel to Rome, as walls close in on [Russia-gate’s] mysterious...