Monday , December 23 2024
Home / Mike Norman Economics / British Chancellor fails the basic test – language is meant to impart meaning — Bill Mitchell

British Chancellor fails the basic test – language is meant to impart meaning — Bill Mitchell

Summary:
Language is meant to bring meaning to discourse. That means we want to use terms that convey information that is of use to us in making our way in the world. The problem is that economists have perverted that process and introduced a metaphorical language that is intended to persuade the reader/listener to accept a particular view of the world but which undermines their ability to actually understand the phenomenon in question. Marx knew long ago how language could be constructed to advance the interests of the ruling class. The mainstream economics commentary that is also used by politicians falls into this category. Terms are used that have no meaning in an elemental sense but provide support for ideological agendas. We, the public, allow that to happen because we are ignorant about the

Topics:
Mike Norman considers the following as important:

This could be interesting, too:

Lars Pålsson Syll writes Andreas Cervenka och den svenska bostadsbubblan

Mike Norman writes Trade deficit

Merijn T. Knibbe writes Christmas thoughts about counting the dead in zones of armed conflict.

Lars Pålsson Syll writes Debunking the balanced budget superstition

Language is meant to bring meaning to discourse. That means we want to use terms that convey information that is of use to us in making our way in the world. The problem is that economists have perverted that process and introduced a metaphorical language that is intended to persuade the reader/listener to accept a particular view of the world but which undermines their ability to actually understand the phenomenon in question. Marx knew long ago how language could be constructed to advance the interests of the ruling class. The mainstream economics commentary that is also used by politicians falls into this category. Terms are used that have no meaning in an elemental sense but provide support for ideological agendas. We, the public, allow that to happen because we are ignorant about the context. It becomes a vicious cycle of lies and fictions which undermine human and environmental sustainability but certainly transfer income to the top-end-of-town. A recent path setting address to the House of Commons by the new Chancellor is a classic example of this reality denial....
William Mitchell — Modern Monetary Theory
British Chancellor fails the basic test – language is meant to impart meaning
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Mike Norman
Mike Norman is an economist and veteran trader whose career has spanned over 30 years on Wall Street. He is a former member and trader on the CME, NYMEX, COMEX and NYFE and he managed money for one of the largest hedge funds and ran a prop trading desk for Credit Suisse.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *