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Tuesday, June 16, 2020
The deficit myth — Michael Roberts
Marxian Michael Roberts, financial economist working in the City of London (recalls Michael Hudson, Marxian Wall Street economist) criticizes MMT as presented in Stephanie Kelton's The Deficit Myth. As such, it is a criticism of a particular (American) popular presentation of MMT rather than MMT as an economic theory, so it more a criticism of the presentation than MMT as presented in academic and professional literature. Roberts has critiqued MMT as a theory previously at his blog. To his credit, he recognizes that Bill Mitchell does get Marx, but complains that MMT presentation in general submerges this.
Anyway, if you are into Marx, Marxian economics, or history of economics, it's an interesting take with the above qualification. It would be interesting to hear economists that are well-versed in MMT and Marx debate this.
Michael Roberts Blog — blogging from a marxist economist
The deficit myth
Michael Roberts
I agree that Bill Mitchell gets Marx and it is good that Michael Roberts recognizes this. But does Michael Roberts get Marx? He most certainly doesn't get MMT, with a constant stream of assertions that MMT doesn't do or write about X - when it certainly does. Wray's recent invisible book would be a good place for him to start to repair his ignorance.
ReplyDeleteMarx was inconsistent and sometimes wrong on money (overthinking of it as a commodity, means of exchange, gold etc.). Roberts and far too many others (a majority of Western Marxism) rigidly, even obsessive-compulsively follow Marx's errors rather than his insights. MMT follows the insights and is more consistent with the rest of Marx than Marx is himself! And the historical and anthropological etc evidence is clear. Money is fundamentally credit, not a commodity. MMT right, Marx wrong here (e.g. in polemics with MMT ancestor McLeod. Anitra Nelson - who follows Marx, but the valuable stuff, not the errors is good on this)
Much like the situation with Marx's teacher, Hegel. The comparison of logic, biology and history - that Hegel, Darwin and Marx were saying very similar things - was once famous - made e.g by Lenin. That being said, Hegel in fact supported the fixity of species and opposed biological evolution. Well, he was just plain wrong. Biological evolution is far more consistent with Hegel's philosophy than what Hegel actually happened to say, which is best forgotten (and is).
Even Homer, Hegel -- & Marx sometimes nod.
This sort of opposition from "Marxists" - opposing deficit spending when it is obviously necessary -has had real world consequences - all bad. Wrecked left wing governments in Britain and France before WWII, was part of the colossal mess in Germany - with Marxists like Hilferding obsessing about hard money. The upshot was that the USA under FDR was more leftist, more socialist, more Marxist than the western Marxist parties - then and now!
Who cares...
ReplyDeleteOld Marxists care.
ReplyDelete