Fadhel Kaboub, a seasoned economist and Under-Secretary-General, dives into the complex relationship between colonialism and climate action. He discusses how economic structures exploit the global South, draining $2 trillion annually. Kaboub advocates for decarbonization intertwined with decolonization, emphasizing monetary sovereignty and the need for cooperative strategies among southern nations. He critiques the fossil fuel industry’s impact on climate justice while promoting degrowth and equitable resource sharing as pathways to sustainable development.
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insights INSIGHT
How to Pay for It
Affordability is a key question regarding transformative programs like decarbonization.
Thinking differently about funding, without inflation or bankruptcy, is crucial.
insights INSIGHT
Spending Capacity and Inflation
A nation's spending capacity isn't unlimited, it's constrained by inflation risk.
Spending beyond productive capacity, including resources and labor, fuels inflation.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Managing Fiscal Policy
Build productive capacity sustainably, considering skilled workers and green infrastructure.
Address abusive market power through taxes and updated antitrust laws to control inflation.
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Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy
Stephanie Kelton
In this book, Stephanie Kelton challenges conventional economic wisdom by arguing that government deficits are not inherently bad and can actually strengthen economies. She dispels six key myths about deficits, such as the idea that governments should budget like households, that deficits harm future generations, crowd out private investment, and undermine long-term growth. Kelton explains that in a fiat currency system, governments are not constrained by the same budgetary rules as households or businesses. Instead, the real constraints are the limits of real resources and the threat of inflation. The book advocates for using MMT to address critical social issues like poverty, inequality, unemployment, healthcare, and climate change by shifting the focus from narrow budgetary questions to broader economic and social benefits.
Fadhel Kaboub is a former Associate Professor of Economics at Denison University where he researched political economy, decarbonisation, colonialism, and the financial and agricultural policies necessary to facilitate a global—and just—green transition. Since recording, Fadhel has been appointed Under-Secretary-General for Financing for Development at the international intergovernmental organisation, Organisation of Educational Cooperation.
This episode is thrilling. Fadhel explains the traps of inflation, debt, globalisation, and the financial and agricultural policies weaponised by the global north to exploit the global south. He walks us through the three structural traps which keep wealth pouring out of the global south into the global north, amounting to modern colonialism. And he explains why we can afford a just transition, revealing the exciting mechanisms of Modern Monetary Theory by exploring the solutions global south countries can implement to ensure their sustainable development.
"You can't decarbonise a system that hasn't been decolonized yet, economically speaking. Similarly, you can't democratise a system that hasn't been decolonised yet.
Because you can't meet the aspirations of your people and meet their needs in terms of food or housing or quality of life if your economic paralyses you and prevents you from serving those needs, and requires of you to serve the needs of the global supply chains in manufacturing or energy and so on."
Planet: Critical investigates why the world is in crisis—and what to do about it.
Planet: Critical 