Modern Monetary Theory - MMT - is a controversial way of describing the monetary system that gets attacked by conservatives and left-wingers alike. In this video I'll show you why it's a really good idea to learn the basic concepts of MMT, and how it has a ‘Copernican’ vibe which triggers many people.
I’ll also show you how to see through straw-man attacks on it. For example, many conservatives claim to hate MMT, yet use the very system it describes. When Trump funds ICE agents, or the border wall with Mexico, he’s ‘doing MMT’.
Conservatives despise MMT, not because it’s incorrect as a descriptive framework, but because it opens up the public imagination in ways that they feel are dangerous. They believe it to be safer to maintain inaccurate mythologies about money as a scarce commodity in order to keep the public imagination constrained.
In fact, many conservatives are joined by left-wingers in this regard, because many of the traditional battles between right and left are fights about what to do with the apparently constrained public purse. MMT is an irritant to both, because it messes with the traditional battle lines that both sides use to define themselves.
Themes covered here, include
1:05 The commodity theory of money vs. the state theory of money
2:49 MMT basics
3:58 The state as an oak tree
5:11 Tax as the foundation of money
6:49 Tax as a mechanism to reduce inflation
7:54 MMT as description vs. prescription
10:55 MMT and inflation
11:53 MMT as beyond left and right wing
12:33 Why all state spending is money creation
14:20 What does it mean to ‘do’ MMT?
16:52 Why do libertarians get triggered by MMT?
Enjoy, share, and please post your questions and comments below.
