A meltdown seems to be happening in the Italian economy. Steve Keen tells Phil Dobbie that it’s the failings of the Maastricht Treaty coming home to roost. Does this mean that Italy could be on the verge of pulling out of the Euro, if not the EU completely? Wouldn’t it make their country bankrupt? And what can the ECB do to try and resolve the situation. In this podcast we look through the potential outcomes in crisis evolving in Italy.

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Joh Madden sent us a message saying he wants to understand, in simple terms, why the interest payments on public debt are not a problem. He points out how it is used to justify austerity because it intuitively makes sense to waste less money on paying interest. He wants to know why this interest is not a problem, and what if the money which the public owes keeps rising?

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Joh Madden sent us a message saying he wants to understand, in simple terms, why the interest payments on public debt are not a problem. He points out how it is used to justify austerity because it intuitively makes sense to waste less money on paying interest – he wants to know why this interest is not a problem, and what if the money which the public owes keeps rising?

To hear the full version subscribe by picking a plan in the right column of the Debunking Economics website (not the mobile app). Or become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen

Economic theory is based on the blatantly false assumption that perfect competition can be achieved when everyone has access to perfect information. So, if we strive to get closer to that ideal can we assume that the economy will function better? That’s a question Phil Dobbie puts to Prof Steve Keen – and, without wishing to give away the entire answer – it would be correct if we were striving for a perfect view of the future. For that we need a time machine. Till then this basic concept of economics will forever be flawed.

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Economic theory is based on the blatantly false assumption that perfect competition can be achieved when everyone has access to perfect information. So, if we strive to get closer to that ideal can we assume that the economy will function better? That’s a question Phil Dobbie puts to Prof Steve Keen – and, without wishing to give away the entire answer – it would be correct if we were striving for a perfect view of the future. For that we need a time machine. Till then this basic concept of economics will forever be flawed.

To hear the full version subscribe by picking a plan in the right column of the Debunking Economics website (not the mobile app). Or become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen

Karl Marx got a lot right, but he was wrong about the need to a revolution. In this podcast Prof Steve Keen explains how, if Marx had followed his own theories, he would have realised that there wasn’t a need for a shift to socialism. In this free 36 minute podcast Phil Dobbie talks with Steve about the basis of Marx’s theory, from the Labour Theory of Value through to Use Value and Exchange Value. The conclusion, says Steve, is that “the increasing organic composition of capital (as Marx called it) has no implications for the rate of surplus, has no implications for the rate of profit”. So, no need for a revolution after all.

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Karl Marx got a lot right, but he was wrong about the need to a revolution. In this podcast Prof Steve Keen explains how, if Marx had followed his own theories, he would have realised that there wasn’t a need for a shift to socialism. In this free 36 minute podcast Phil Dobbie talks with Steve about the basis of Marx’s theory, from the Labour Theory of Value through to Use Value and Exchange Value. The conclusion, says Steve, is that “the increasing organic composition of capital (as Marx called it) has no implications for the rate of surplus, has no implications for the rate of profit”. So, no need for a revolution after all.

This podcast is free for everyone to enjoy, but if you want to hear more, and support the work of Steve Keen, pick a plan in the right column of the Debunking Economics website (not the mobile app). Or become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen

Central banks like to control inflation using monetary theory (managing the cost of borrowing) as their way to control inflation and unemployment and avoid recessions. Whereas Keynes argues that government spending is the way to avoid recessions – pump prime the economy and “she’ll be right mate”. In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen if monetary policies ever worked – and isn’t there a danger of fiscal policy racking up too much debt?

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Central banks like to control inflation using monetary theory (managing the cost of borrowing) as their way to control inflation and unemployment and avoid recessions. Whereas Keynes argues that government spending is the way to avoid recessions – pump prime the economy and “she’ll be right mate”. In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen if monetary policies ever worked – and isn’t there a danger of fiscal policy racking up too much debt?

To hear the full version subscribe by picking a plan in the right column of the Debunking Economics website (not the mobile app). Or become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen

With Mark Zuckerberg being probed by the US government recently, and similar hearings being held in the UK, there’s been a lot of discussion lately about whether the Internet giants wield too much power. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen why we don’t treat them as monopolies, and force their break-up into smaller, competing operators. Steve doesn’t agree. He says the problem is, such a move would force prices up, rather than down. But it’s not just a question of price, surely?

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