Monday, September 30, 2024

Class origins matter – but who are the agents of change? — Bill Mitchell

Not MMT or economics as such but it is interesting in that Bill is an MMT founder so his stance on economic sociology is relevant. 

There was an interesting article in the UK Guardian the other day September 26, 2024) – Take it from me (and Keir Starmer) – you should never pretend to be more working class than you are. I don’t usually agree with the journalist but this article made me reflect on a lot of things.…

 Aside:

The scrutiny arises because many of these “Labour people” appear to have accumulated wealth (real estate etc), have come from well-paid jobs and network with the elites in society.

For that they are referred to, in a pejorative way, as ‘champagne socialists’.
In the US, they (affected Democrats) are called "limousine liberals" and "latté liberals." A lot of the formerly faithful are fed up with this posturing, but even more so with the corruption that flows from it.

The way the system works is when a person from an ordinary background gains celebrity of whatever sort and can afford a more bountiful lifestyle, then they enter "the bubble." Gradually or swiftly, they lose touch with their humbler roots among "the little people" as characterized by former Sen. Allen Simpson. It's also very American to pretend to a humble background after achieving status when that is not the case. 

In the age of the Internet that hypocrisy is usually quickly exposed.

William Mitchell — Modern Monetary Theory 
Class origins matter – but who are the agents of change?
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

1 comment:

Peter Pan said...

A union president receiving a six figure salary can claim to be working class, but common sense says otherwise. Their interests no longer align with the interests of wage earners.
Marxist intellectuals lack common sense, and believe themselves to be the agents of change. Clinging to a definition of 'working class' that includes salaried managers and professional athletes with multi-million dollar contracts, is not a winning strategy.
Time to shed these historical definitions, which hold very little relevance for working class people in 2024.