by Summary:
Wednesday brings music and not much blog posting activity. But I have been following the debate in the UK and Europe about the likelihood of some sort trade deal or not with some interest and amusement. There are several facets to the discussion: (a) the on-going hypocrisy of the European Union elites; (b) the necessity for major state intervention in Britain (and everywhere) and the possibility that the Tories will abandon Margaret Thatcher’s EU single market legacy is another sign that the paradigm shift in macroeconomics is well under way. (c) the way in which the Labour party are being wedged on the issue and refusing to come out in support of further state aid. Instead, inasmuch as they are saying anything, they are just repeating the mindless, neoliberal dogma about ‘free trade’.
Topics:
Mike Norman considers the following as important:
This could be interesting, too:
Wednesday brings music and not much blog posting activity. But I have been following the debate in the UK and Europe about the likelihood of some sort trade deal or not with some interest and amusement. There are several facets to the discussion: (a) the on-going hypocrisy of the European Union elites; (b) the necessity for major state intervention in Britain (and everywhere) and the possibility that the Tories will abandon Margaret Thatcher’s EU single market legacy is another sign that the paradigm shift in macroeconomics is well under way. (c) the way in which the Labour party are being wedged on the issue and refusing to come out in support of further state aid. Instead, inasmuch as they are saying anything, they are just repeating the mindless, neoliberal dogma about ‘free trade’.
Topics:
Mike Norman considers the following as important:
This could be interesting, too:
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Wednesday brings music and not much blog posting activity. But I have been following the debate in the UK and Europe about the likelihood of some sort trade deal or not with some interest and amusement. There are several facets to the discussion: (a) the on-going hypocrisy of the European Union elites; (b) the necessity for major state intervention in Britain (and everywhere) and the possibility that the Tories will abandon Margaret Thatcher’s EU single market legacy is another sign that the paradigm shift in macroeconomics is well under way. (c) the way in which the Labour party are being wedged on the issue and refusing to come out in support of further state aid. Instead, inasmuch as they are saying anything, they are just repeating the mindless, neoliberal dogma about ‘free trade’. They will lose on that one, one thinks. All round it is interesting to follow as an external observer.
The major problem for the "left" (NOT) politically is cluelessness about practicality and how systems actually function. They are not alone in this, of course, since the "Right" is also clueless about this, but they presently control the narrative, and to unseat them the "Left" is going to have to come up with something more promising than a lite version of the Right.
Margaret Thatcher is remembered for several statements that have shaped the narrative since.
1. "There is no such thing as society." This is the denial of complex adaptive biological and social systems. Assuming there is no such thing as society and acting on this assumption destroys society and its functionality. Ronald Reagan's "government is the problem" is a corollary of this.
2. "There is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers' money." This is contradicted by institutional analysis that shows how the currency issuer finances itself if it is sovereign in its currency (which the US and UK are). Progressives undermine their own cause by buying into this false narrative.
3. "There is no alternative" to neoliberalism. Keynes and the Post Keynesians and MMT have brought to light how there is not only an alternative to neoliberalism but also this path resolves the issues associated with neoliberalism. The sooner the fundamental falsity of this narrative is exposed so that it just disappears, the better.
Bill Mitchell – billy blog
British-EU disputes suggest the Tories are set to break away from the sordid Thatcher legacy
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia