Thursday, July 30, 2020

Slavery and the History of US Economic Growth — Timothy Taylor


Backgrounder.

Slavery was neither essential to US growth nor were plantation economy of the South even that helpful economically. It was a benefit to owners of slaves, however, and slaveowners were prominent among the Southern states' elites.

Conversable Economist
Slavery and the History of US Economic Growth
Timothy Taylor | Managing editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives, based at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota

3 comments:

Andrew Anderson said...

Neither are rent, debt, and wage slavery necessary for economic growth nor, per the Bible, the norm for citizens. Instead, they inhibit true growth.

Then where are the MMT plans to abolish the above?

Nowhere in sight.

Instead the MMT School seeks to accommodate our current fascist system rather than liberate its victims.

It seems the MMT School fears the rich more than they fear God or love their fellow man. And that's pathetic as well as doomed to failure.

Peter Pan said...

You expect too much from MMT.

Part of their prescription is a formal recognition of government deficit spending, and the other is a macroeconomic stabilizer in the form of a job guarantee. The former is used by the elites for their benefit, the latter will be resisted.

Andrew Anderson said...

You left out INCREASED* privileges for the banks and, by extension, for the rich, the most so-called "credit worthy."

And there'd be much less need for macroeconomic stabilization if we had ethical fiat creation and 100% private banks with 100% voluntary depositors.

*e.g. unlimited deposit guarantees FOR FREE.
*e.g. unlimited, unsecured loans from the Central Bank at ZERO interest.