An earlier post discusses the way in which Modern Monetary Theorists conceptualize the value of the currency. In this context, ‘value of the currency’ refers to the currency’s domestic value, not its exchange rate. This value is defined in MMT…

Kalecki’s profit equation famously shows realized gross profit, prior to its distribution into various parts (retained earnings, interest, rent, etc.), as a function of aggregate demand. In a simplified model of a closed economy with only capitalists and workers, in…

In thinking about the relationship between Marx and Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), one point of entry appears to be the ‘monetary expression of labor time’ (MELT), introduced by Alejandro Ramos Martinez in chapter 5 of The New Value Controversy, in…

Federal systems, in a similar way to a common currency zone, seem tailor made for neoliberalism. By starving currency-using state governments of funds, a currency-issuing federal government is able artificially to create a need for the states to find private…

The previous post discussed a short paper by Paul Krugman on the “invisible bond vigilantes” and noted convergence, on the issue, to the position of Modern Monetary Theorists. Briefly, the bond vigilantes, in the view of both Krugman and Modern…

Paul Krugman, in “The Simple Analytics of Invisible Bond Vigilantes (Wonkish)”, has lent his support to the view, emphasized by Modern Monetary Theorists, that bond vigilantes cannot impede a sovereign currency issuer. Krugman has made this important observation in the…

In a recent post, Tom Hickey (courtesy of Clonal Antibody) drew attention to a talk from a few years ago by Bernard Lietaer. The talk sheds light on what an uphill battle it is to take on entrenched, deeply flawed…

Marxists, in contrast to reformers, call for an end to the capitalist system rather than a preservation of it. This can predispose them to dismissing Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) on the supposed grounds that the theory is in some way…

What follows is an introduction, in very broad brush strokes, to some basic aspects of Marx’s approach to economic analysis. It is on a similar introductory level to an earlier treatment of classical political economy. The present post serves both…

In an economic slump, it is misguided to cut public expenditure on services such as libraries, education, health care, and so on, as well as to remove welfare protections for the most vulnerable. In a modern monetary system – one…