Returning Economics to Reality

As I mentioned recently in the Quote of the Week, Hyman Minsky’s work on financial instability continues to play a major role in my own thinking and in several strands of heterodox economics. A dissertation advisee of Minsky’s, Randall Wray, partially founded Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) which falls within a similar realm of economic thinking. When I began exploring economic blogs nearly two years ago, MMT offered an escape from mainstream (neo-classical synthesis) thinking and provided a better fit with my perception of reality. Diving deeper into the theory, I continued to learn a great deal from the descriptive aspects but felt there lay an inconsistency with the prescriptive, political policy recommendations. Luckily Cullen Roche of Pragmatic Capitalism (who has played an invaluable role in my learning) has helped create a solution.

Just over one week ago, Modern Monetary Realism: Economics Without Politics... was launched. Attempting to remove the prescriptive aspects from MMT and basic economic thinking, “Modern Monetary Realism (MMR) is a description of the monetary system within a nation operating a fiat currency which involves an autonomous monetary system, monopoly supply of currency and floating exchange rates.” Only days after posting a primer, Understanding Modern Monetary Realism, a fascinating discussion broke out in the comments section involving Cullen and JKH, among others. Although I recommend reading through the entirety of the page, the general conclusion is that MMT relies upon a federal Job Guarantee program and corresponding nationalization of the financial sector. As with any grouping of individuals, there will certainly be some MMTers whom only align with certain aspects (myself included). Regardless, these policy positions are clearly at the heart of my concern in accepting the prescriptive measures of MMT. (I hope to elaborate on both the positive and negative aspects of MMT in a future post.)

The Great Recession has exposed many ways in which mainstream economic theories are devoid of any realistic application to our current social (human) environment. Modern Monetary Realism, in its limited time, has already made a significant impact in bringing economics back to reality. My hunch is that MMR will ultimately play an important role in defining the future direction of economics. Understanding the operational aspects of our monetary system is a critical first step in grounding policy discussions. Hopefully more widespread recognition of these descriptive factors will lead to better, more informed policy decisions in the future.    

Quote of the Week

...from A JOB GUARANTEE IS NOT A “PRICE ANCHOR”, IT’S A “PRICE BUOY” by Cullen Roche, of Pragmatic Capitalism:

“Modern day economists seek the holy grail of macroeconomics which has come to be price stability and full employment.  These two features of modern macro are held up on pedestals as if giving a person a job and a steady wage is all one needs to live a happy and prosperous life.  I say these goals entirely miss the point and steal the potential lives that future generations can live.  What we should seek is the way in which we maximize our living standards.  In doing so we reach the true holy grail of macroeconomics – the thing that every human seeks – the fountain of youth, hence, more TIME.  After all, it is only through increased productivity, innovation, creativity and ultimately higher living standards that we are able to attain this (see here for more).”


Over the past few weeks, a heated debate has been raging among individuals either subscribing to or interested in MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) economics. The discussion is related to the notion of a federal Job Guarantee (JG) to promote full employment, and in theory, price stability. As Cullen points out, while these are noble goals, full employment and price stability alone do not guarantee any sort of prosperity. Democratic and Socialist governments at different points in history have attempted and, for short-periods, even achieved full employment with generally disappointing results in economic growth and public support.

Peter Cooper at heteconomist.com expands on Cullen’s view in Opposing Visions of the Future. Apart from the JG, Peter considers a Basic Income Guarantee as a means “to undermine capitalism, particularly the wage labor relation.”

Points of Public Interest

1. What’s MMT About Anyway and is the Job Guarantee Crucial to the Project? - Pavlina Tcherneva discusses the subjective policy recommendations that necessarily give Modern Monetary Theory value and offers her view on the recent debate among MMTers about the importance of a Job Guarantee.
2. How Egalitarianism Increases Inequality - Bryan Caplan makes an argument for praising the 1%.
3. The Right Kind of Hope - John Hussman highlights the poor prospects for long-run returns across asset classes and provides an update on the continually worsening European crisis.
4. Does the free market corrode moral character? - Michael Walzer compares the effects of competition on moral character within politics and markets.
5. Bastiat's Insight on Government Inaction - David Henderson explains why disapproving of government subsidies for an action is not the same as disapproving of the action itself.
6. A Challenge for Libertarians Against Federal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage - Steve Horwitz offers his view on why supporting same-sex marriage “is fundamental to classic liberalism.”

Update (1): Responses to Two Objections to My Challenge - Steve Horwitz responds to a couple comments on the above post.

Update (2): The Job Guarantee, Kleptocracy and Blogging - Edward Harrison posts a follow-up to Pavlina Tcherneva’s comments on the Job Guarantee.