In the chartalist view, taxes drive acceptance of state money. Through one channel, taxes induce labor services. The need to obtain state money to pay taxes ensures a willingness of some individuals to accept employment in the public sector in…
A diverse culture is best served by an economy that can cater to diverse needs and interests. In our societies, perspectives differ widely when it comes to (among other things) the following five areas: 1. Competition and cooperation. Some people…
There has been discussion in the economic blogosphere recently, from a left perspective, about the merits or otherwise of employing an understanding of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) in debates over policy and efforts to transform the economic system. One interesting…
Demands on time in the MMT community include (i) providing “simple as possible” explanations of “basic MMT” for public consumption and (ii) exploring theoretical and policy ideas informed by an understanding of those basics together with insights from related approaches…
In any society, there will be real output (real income) that is not produced solely by humans. Some real income is due to the contribution of nature – land, natural resources, beneficial weather patterns, animals and so on. Some real…
Technology has reached the point where nobody should be compelled to spend most of their waking hours working in dangerous, menial or otherwise unpleasant jobs (‘bad jobs’, for short). It is increasingly possible to mechanize most menial and repetitive tasks.…
The focus of recent posts has been on the possibility that fiat money, especially sovereign currency, offers a path to a better society. In considering what kind of path this might be, the thought occurs that it might actually be…
Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) sometimes receives criticism from the left. The following short online critique (link no longer available) is a case in point. It is in reaction to the idea that MMT, though in itself largely apolitical, suggests a…
While reading today, a couple of observations jumped off the page that relate to the social significance of sovereign currency (or ‘modern money’). One was contained in a passage of the The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi. The other was…
A recurring theme of the blog concerns the enhanced social possibilities opened up by ‘sovereign currency’ – also called ‘modern money’ – by which is meant fiat money issued by sovereign government. The social possibilities opened up by sovereign currency…
