The Progressive

Rethinking Economics is all about questioning the core foundations of economics. This series questions economic orthodoxy to better understand the forces and shifts shaping our society and the world. Together, we’ll interrogate things like the efficacy of economic models, if mainstream assumptions are always correct, and why the ideas and concepts you learn about in textbooks may lead you astray.

For our inaugural discussion of the series, we will be talking to our returning guest, and one of my favorite economists, Dr. Steve Keen. Our talk was recorded in March of 2024, and is hosted by me, Nathan Greene, a researcher here at the Henry George School.

Many people, including myself, don’t fully understand monetary theory or monetary economics. Admittedly, it’s quite confusing. There are a lot of dynamics at play from banks, to households, money, and central banks, just to name a few. If you ever learned the terms money multiplier, monetary base, or reserve requirement ratio, but are not really sure what it means, you’re not alone. 

Dr. Keen is an expert on the dynamics of monetary economics and macroeconomics. We’ll explore his critiques of the efficient market hypothesis to his more recent analyses of debt dynamics and financial instability. Together, we talked about the shortcomings of conventional economic thinking, and why it’s so damaging not just to the economy, but the planet as well. By questioning fundamental assumptions, he invites us to reconsider our approach to economic policy and reshape our vision of a more equitable and sustainable future. At a time when the world is largely ignoring calls to abandon fossil fuels and the green transition feels painstakingly slow, his ideas and critiques feel more important now than ever before. 

Dr. Keen received his bachelor's degree from the University of Sydney and went on to complete his master's and Ph.D. in Economics and Economic History from the University of New South Wales. He is the author of several books on economics, of which the two most famous are "Debunking Economics" and "The New Economics: A Manifesto." Both critique conventional economic theory. We were even lucky enough to hear about his upcoming book, "Rebuilding Economics from the Top Down." Dr. Keen has taught at the University of Western Sydney and Kingston University in London. He is currently leading the development of a software package called Minsky, a dynamics-based visualization tool for macroeconomic modeling.

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Scott Ferguson and Billy Saas speak with New Yorker writer Nick Romeo about his exciting new book, The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy, released in January 2024 with Public Affairs. Romeo’s The Alternative rebukes Margaret Thatcher’s infamous axiom that “there is no alternative” to neoliberal capitalism. In doing so, the book inventories the most promising experiments in radical economic democracy underway across the world today. Such experiments include, but are not limited to: a publicly-owned and -run gig work platform in Long Beach, California; a True Price system in Amsterdam; a public budgeting project in Cascais, Portugal; and a public Job Guarantee in Gramatneusiedl, Austria. (See our previous episode on the Austrian Job Guarantee for a deeper dive into that topic) Taken together, these and other initiatives profiled in the book “share a vision of the economy as a place of moral action and accountability,” as Romeo puts it, while modeling the kind of radical political economic imagination that is so utterly and urgently needed to meet our dire ecological moment. For Romeo, then, it remains insufficient to simply deny Thatcher’s quip that there is no alternative. The crucial task is to actively imagine and create the alternative.

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**To discuss this episode among friends, come to our listening party, Macro ‘n Chill, on Tuesday February 27th at 8pm ET/5pm PT. For the link go to our Events Calendar https://realprogressives.org/rp-events-calendar

Steve invited Stephen Maher for this interview to talk about some of the basic lessons of Marxism. While you may not agree with everything you hear in this episode, certain fundamentals of capitalism are beyond refute.

The discussion explores the relationship between capital and the working class, and the concept of class struggle as the key to understanding US history of the past century, especially the postwar period and the development of neoliberalism. To truly make sense of it all we must look at some fundamental truths about capital. It is very fluid and dynamic. Capital is capable of continuously evolving and restructuring. In doing so, our social conditions change as well.

They also discuss the challenges and obstacles in achieving socialism, the history of anti-communist sentiment in the US, the importance of class struggle unionism, and the need for grassroots organizing and building solidarity within the working class.

Stephen Maher is an Assistant Professor of Economics at SUNY Cortland, and co-editor of The Socialist Register. He is the co-author of The Fall and Rise of American Finance: From J.P. Morgan to BlackRock with Scott Aquanno, and the author of Corporate Capitalism and the Integral State: General Electric and a Century of American Power.

@SteveMaher18 on Twitter

Nicholas Shaxson, author and expert on the global economic system, looks at the intricate web of global finance, exploring the unseen forces shaping our economies and societies and exposing the hidden impacts of tax deregulation and monopolistic market practices. From the United Kingdom's economic struggles to the pervasiveness of big tech firms, this episode unveils the hidden mechanisms of monopolistic power, particularly in the energy and financial sectors, and shows how their immense power affects everything from income inequality to climate action. Nicholas sheds light on the profound effects on workers, consumers, and democracy, and the emerging global movement challenging these monopolies as well as the detrimental effects these have on societal wellbeing and long-term growth. As we navigate a world shaped by recent economic shifts, Nicholas explores the complexities of regulatory challenges, offering a pathway towards a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable economy. Join us in uncovering the intricacies of monopolistic power and learn how addressing these economic forces can pave the way for a wellbeing economy that caters to the needs of society and the planet.

SystemShift comes from Greenpeace Nordic and is hosted by Greenpeace Sweden campaigner, Carl Schlyter, and produced by Alexia Fridén, with additional support from Zane Ford, Christian Aslund and Attila Kulcsár.

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In this terrific Sources and Methods episode of Guerrilla History, we are joined by Torkil Lauesen, Nemanja Lukić from the Anti-Imperialist Network, Immanuel Ness, and Joseph Mullen (whom you may remember from our episode with The Cadre Journal, which has since merged with Anti-Imperialist Network), who are members of the newly formed Arghiri Emmanuel Association! We discuss the life of the legendary theorist of Unequal Exchange, his theory, as well as the Association's efforts to archive his works. A fantastic conversation on some incredibly important work being done! Be sure to check out the Arghiri Emmanuel Digital Archive.

Torkil Lauesen is a longtime anti-imperialist activist and writer living in Denmark. From 1970 to 1989, he was a full-time member of a communist anti-imperialist group, supporting Third World liberation movements by both legal and illegal means. He has been a multiple time guest on Rev Left and Guerrilla History discussing his books The Principle Contradiction and Riding the Wave: Sweden's Integration into the Imperialist World Order.

Nemanja Lukić is a Yugoslav anti-imperialist activist who runs the Anti-Imperialist Network website. You can also follow Anti-Imp Net on twitter @antiimpnet.

Immanuel Ness is Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College, City University of New York and Visiting Professor of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg. He is the author or editor of numerous works including Organizing Insurgency: Workers' Movements in the Global South, Southern Insurgency: The Coming of the Global Working Class, and The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism. You can follow Manny on twitter @ImmanuelNess.

Joseph Mullen is a student activist who was a member of the Cadre Journal, which has since been merged with Anti-Imperialist Network. He runs unequalexchange.org/. You can follow Anti-Imperialist Network - North America on twitter @antiimpnetna.

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Featuring Luke Messac on Your Money or Your Life: Debt Collection in American Medicine. An estimated 100 million people in the US are in debt because they sought medical treatment. Medical debt exacerbates poor and working-class people’s physical and psychological suffering while undermining their financial well-being and freedom.

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The attacks by Houthi militants on cargo ships in and around the Red Sea is posing a serious threat to global trade—serious enough to prompt American-led air strikes on the group in Yemen. Thirty percent of all global containers pass through the Red Sea Strait. Adam and Cameron discuss the economic implications.

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It's been nearly 16 years since the federal government bailed out Wall Street to the tune of $700 billion in response to the financial crisis that precipitated the Great Recession. The idea that the public must guarantee critical financial institutions that are “too big to fail” was controversial then, but does it still remain an issue? Stanford finance professor Anat Admati, whom the New York Times profiled in an article titled "When She Talks, Banks Shudder," argues it’s become worse.

Admati joins Bethany and Luigi to discuss the updated edition of her and Martin Hellwig’s book, The Bankers' New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do About It. Dissecting new financial developments, including the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, the crypto industry, and shadow banking, Admati lays bare how the current financial system is rigged for the benefit of the few. She also prescribes how we can build and regulate a fairer and more accountable financial system and, thus, a more stable and equitable capitalist economy.

Show Notes:

• Read the 2024 preface of The Bankers' New Clothes on ProMarket.
• Revisit our 2019 conversation with Anat and Chicago Booth Professor Guy Rolnik, exploring the reasons why market and policy may fail in finance and technology and what we must do to address such failures.
• Read Anat's contributions to our e-books on George Stigler and Milton Friedman.

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Donald and Luke talk with Bruno Leipold about his forthcoming book, Citizen Marx: Republicanism and the Formation of Karl Marx's Social and Political Thought. Bruno touches on several topics including English Chartism, democratic republicanism, national constitutions, and the political development Marx and Engels's over the years. Bruno emphasizes the democratic republican foundation of Marxism and why it needs to be rediscovered.

Before the 1980s, mass layoffs were often tied to economic recessions. Today, they are shrewd corporate strategy. Modern mass layoffs are connected to leveraged buyouts or stock buybacks. Steve’s guest, Les Leopold, explains how the process works and how it came to be through the maneuverings of Wall Street and the two political parties.

Les is the author of Wall Street’s War on Workers. He and Steve talk about the very real impact on people’s lives, from the coal miners of Mingo County, West Virginia, to Steve’s personal struggles after Verizon’s 2009 lay-offs. They discuss organizing, the value of a job guarantee, and intersectionality within a class analysis.

Les Leopold is executive director of the Labor Institute, which he co-founded in 1976. He has written several books on the finance sector’s looting of America. His upcoming book, Wall Street’s War on Workers, is being published by Chelsea Green Publishing. Follow his substack: https://substack.com/@lesleopold1

@les_leopold on Twitter