The MMT Podcast with Patricia Pino & Christian Reilly
#182 Warren Mosler & Cory Doctorow In Conversation
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Science fiction encourages creative thinking and offers alternatives for a better world.
- Bold solutions should be considered to achieve desired outcomes, even if they initially face shock and dismissal.
- Storytelling and narratives play a powerful role in shaping political beliefs and public opinion.
Deep dives
The Power of Science Fiction in Imagining a Better World
Science fiction serves as a way to imagine a better world and explore how to achieve it. It provides alternatives to the notion that there is no alternative, encouraging readers to think creatively and consider different possibilities.
The Influence of Grover Nordquist and Pitching Tax Cut Ideas
The speaker recounts a meeting with Grover Nordquist where he pitched a large-scale payroll tax holiday. Despite the shock and dismissal from the attendees, the speaker highlights the importance of considering bold solutions to achieve desired outcomes.
The Role of Fiction in Shaping Political Beliefs
The podcast discusses how narratives can influence political beliefs. Reference is made to a science fiction novel about the Green New Deal, which shapes the viewpoint of individuals who are against the policy. This underlines the power of storytelling in shaping political ideology and its potential impact on public opinion.
The Challenges of Implementing a Job Guarantee
The conversation delves into the practical implementation of a job guarantee. While the commentator envisions a bank of job options, there is a concern that political factions could manipulate the system for their benefit. The need to ensure equity and prevent agenda-driven organizations from taking advantage of the job guarantee is emphasized.
Narrative Discrediting and the Defense Against Institutional Capture
The podcast explores the concept of institutional capture and how well-monied interests can co-opt and manipulate progressive movements. The discussion highlights the importance of defending against this capture and preventing the tactics and language of progressive movements from being adopted and used in an opposing manner. The idea of red teaming is introduced as a means to anticipate how adversaries might exploit narratives. Specific examples and organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation are mentioned to reinforce the point. The potential dangers and implications of state capture are emphasized.
Social Justice and Economic Justice in Progressives' Goals
The podcast delves into the relationship between social justice and economic justice, examining the dynamics of the Democratic Party and leftist coalition. It highlights a tendency for liberals in leadership positions to prioritize individual actions over systemic change. The concept of 'pay-go' and the difficulty in mobilizing support for muscular policies due to the constraints of funding is discussed. The podcast explores the need for broader electoral majorities and delivering programs that address economic and social justice to effectively challenge systemic issues. Ideas from Milton Friedman regarding ideas from the periphery moving to the center during crises are examined as a potential approach to bring about a non-dystopic and sustainable economy.
Christian talks to author Cory Doctorow and MMT founder Warren Mosler about Cory’s latest book “The Lost Cause” (set in a post-Green New Deal future), framing the MMT Job Guarantee, and more.
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All our patron-only episodes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57542767
LIVE EVENTS!
- Economics Of The Real World (Edinburgh, Scotland 21st March 2024): https://scotonomics.scot/live-events/
- Scotonomics Festival Of Economics (Dundee, Scotland 22-24th March 2024): https://scotonomics.scot/live-events/
STUDY THE ECONOMICS OF SUSTAINABILITY!
- Details of Modern Money Lab’s online graduate, postgraduate and standalone courses in economics are here: https://modernmoneylab.org.au/
Relevant to this episode:
- Buy “The Lost Cause” by Cory Doctorow: https://craphound.com/shop/
- “Moneylike” by Cory Doctorow (Cory applies MMT insights to crypto in this article): https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/16/nondiscretionary-liabilities/
- “Maximizing Price Stability in a Monetary Economy” by Warren Mosler & Damiano B. Silipo: https://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_864.pdf
For an intro to MMT:
- Our first three episodes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41742417
- Episode 126 - Dirk Ehnts: How Banks Create Money: https://www.patreon.com/posts/62603318
Quick MMT reads:
- Warren’s Mosler’s MMT white paper: http://moslereconomics.com/mmt-white-paper/
- Steven Hail’s quick MMT explainer: https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-modern-monetary-theory-72095
- Quick explanation of government debt and deficit: “Some Numbers Are Big. Let Me Help You Get Over It”: https://christreilly.com/2020/02/17/some-numbers-are-big-let-me-help-you-get-over-it/
For a short, non-technical, free ebook explaining MMT, download Warren Mosler’s “7 Deadly Innocent Frauds Of Economic Policy” here: http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/powerpoints/7DIF.pdf
Episodes on monetary operations:
- Episode 20 - Warren Mosler: The MMT Money Story (part 1): https://www.patreon.com/posts/28004824
- Episode 126 - Dirk Ehnts: How Banks Create Money: https://www.patreon.com/posts/62603318
- Episode 13 - Steven Hail: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Banking, But Were Afraid To Ask: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41790887
- Episode 43 - Sam Levey: Understanding Endogenous Money: https://www.patreon.com/posts/35073683
- Episode 84 - Andrew Berkeley, Richard Tye & Neil Wilson: An Accounting Model Of The UK Exchequer (Part 1): https://www.patreon.com/posts/46352183
- Episode 86 - Andrew Berkeley, Richard Tye & Neil Wilson: An Accounting Model Of The UK Exchequer (Part 2): https://www.patreon.com/posts/46865929
Episodes on inflation:
- Episode 7: Steven Hail: Inflation, Price Shocks and Other Misunderstandings: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41780508
- Episode 65 - Phil Armstrong: Understanding Inflation: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40672678
- Episode 104 - John T Harvey: Inflation, Stagflation & Healing The Nation: https://www.patreon.com/posts/52207835
- Episode 123 - Warren Mosler: Understanding The Price Level And Inflation: https://www.patreon.com/posts/59856379
- Episode 128 - L. Randall Wray & Yeva Nersisyan: What’s Causing Accelerating Inflation? Pandemic Or Policy Response?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/63776558
Our Job Guarantee episodes:
- Episode 4 - Fadhel Kaboub: What is the Job Guarantee?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41742701
- Episode 47 - Pavlina Tcherneva: Building Resilience - The Case For A Job Guarantee: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36034543
- Episode 148 - Pavlina Tcherneva: Why The Job Guarantee Is Core To Modern Monetary Theory: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-148-why-73211346
- Quick read: Pavlina Tcherneva’s Job Guarantee FAQ page: https://pavlina-tcherneva.net/job-guarantee-faq/
More on government bonds (and “vigilantes”):
- Episode 30 - Steven Hail: Understanding Government Bonds (Part 1):https://www.patreon.com/posts/29621245
- Episode 31 - Steven Hail: Understanding Government Bonds (Part 2): https://www.patreon.com/posts/29829500
- Episode 143 - Paul Sheard: What Is Quantitative Easing?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/71589989?pr=true
- Episode 147 - Dirk Ehnts: Do Markets Control Our Politics?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-147-dirk-72906421
- Episode 144 - Warren Mosler: The Natural Rate Of Interest Is Zero: https://www.patreon.com/posts/71966513
- Episode 145 - John T Harvey: What Determines Currency Prices?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/72283811?pr=true
More on bank runs:
- Episode 162 - Warren Mosler: Anatomy Of A Bank Run: https://www.patreon.com/posts/80157783?pr=true
- Episode 163 - L. Randall Wray: Breaking Banks - The Fed’s Magical Monetarist Thinking Strikes Again: https://www.patreon.com/posts/80479169?pr=true
- Episode 165 - Robert Hockett: Sparking An Industrial Renewal By Building Banks Better: https://www.patreon.com/posts/81084983?pr=true
- MMT founder Warren Mosler’s Proposals for the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the Banking System: https://neweconomicperspectives.org/2010/02/warren-moslers-proposals-for-treasury.html
MMT Events And Courses:
- More information about Professor Bill Mitchell’s MMTed project (free public online courses in MMT) here: http://www.mmted.org/
- Details of Modern Money Lab’s online graduate and postgraduate courses in MMT are here: https://modernmoneylab.org.au/
Order the Gower Initiative’s “Modern Monetary Theory - Key Insights, Leading Thinkers”: https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/modern-monetary-theory-9781802208085.html
MMT Academic Resources compiled by The Gower Initiative for Modern Money Studies: https://www.zotero.org/groups/2251544/mmt_academic_resources_-_compiled_by_the_gower_initiative_for_modern_money_studies
MMT scholarship compiled by New Economic Perspectives: http://neweconomicperspectives.org/mmt-scholarship
A list of MMT-informed campaigns and organisations worldwide: https://www.patreon.com/posts/47900757
We are working towards full transcripts, but in the meantime, closed captions for all episodes are available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEp_nGVTuMfBun2wiG-c0Ew/videos
Show notes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/95211955?pr=true
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