Thursday, December 13, 2012

Randy Wray — An Alternative Meme for Money: Conclusion

The monetary system is a wonderful creation. It allows for individual choice while giving government access to resources needed to allow it work for us to achieve a just society.
The monetary system spurs entrepreneurial initiative. It finances, organizes, and distributes much of the nation’s output. It is one of the primary mechanisms used by government to accomplish the public purpose.
There could be a better way to organize production and distribution. There could be a better way to allocate resources between public and private. There could be a better way to induce the private to serve not only its own interest but also the public interest. But if so, we have not yet seen it—at least not since the end of tribal society, and I’m not sure I want to go back there.
Until that better system comes along, we need a progressive meme for the monetary system we’ve got. Progressives have been in retreat for the past three or four decades. Yes, they’ve won some battles—mostly in the social sphere. They’ve lost almost all economic battles, however. At least some of those losses are due to adoption of the wrong meme for money.
New Economic Perspectives
An Alternative Meme for Money: Conclusion
L. Randall Wray | Professor of Economics, UMKC

2 comments:

mike norman said...

Now that Wray's series on money is finished, I just want to say this...the word "meme" is getting waaaaaay too much use. Stop already, please! Most people don't even know what the word means. I even had to look it up. Let's start talking like regular folks, okay? What's wrong with "idea," or, "concept?"

John Zelnicker said...

Yes, please get rid of "meme".