A debate is set by the way it is framed, along with the parties acceptance or rejection of key assumptions of the framework. These initial conditions determine the course of the debate and the likely winner.
Accepting the assumptions of conventional political economy as the application of macroeconomics to policy issues all but guarantees defeat in policy debates since it is an uphill fight against entrenched forces to which one has needlessly and foolishly ceded the advantage.
Bill argues that progressives should beware of falling into this trap.
Progressive politicians are likely looking at the polling and concluding that the defenders of the status quo are in the position of having already convinced the public that their framework is the only correct one. Most progressive politicians seem to think that challenging widely held public views, even though erroneous, is a recipe for loss.
So far, few progressive politicians have been able to muster the courage to tackle the challenge even if they have the smarts to see through the false assumptions.
If it quacks!
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
