Oct 27, 2019
Economists and others assume good faith of our leaders. "If only they knew better." It is likely, however, that some of our leaders (and those behind them) are not acting in good faith. They are using a pretend misunderstanding to prevent us from getting what they need. In some contexts, it is simply necessary to assume good faith, such as when refuting their assertions in an academic paper. In other contexts, it is entirely appropriate to call our leaders out. Most importantly, believing that our leaders are working in good faith could make citizens complacent and NOT rise up. So the question is not just curiosity, especially with our existential climate crisis, it's a matter of life and death. We must get these people out.
In contexts where calling out our leaders is appropriate, how can we do it in a way that is respectful yet more truthful? I ask this question to MMTers Sam Levey, Andrés Bernal, Stephane Kelton, and Scott Fullwiler, and journalist Kate Aranoff.
The first part of this audio segment comes from episode two of my podcast, Activist #MMT, starting at around the 10 minute mark. This is my interview with Sam Levey of Deficit Owls on his paper, "Modern Money and the War Treasury." The second half of this segment comes from the "Building the MMT Movement" panel (livestream: https://youtu.be/T3ObGnUmd14) on Sunday afternoon, September 29th, 2019, at the Third Annual International MMT Conference in Long Island NY. The livestream video link can be found in the description. My question begins at around the one hour, 19 minute mark.
With thanks to Andy Kennedy of Real Progressives for the much improved audio of the conference panelists.