The politics of MMT

I was prompted to remember some of my recent Macroeconomic reading as someone was asking about Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). I read Reclaiming the State (Gibson & Faizi) last year, and I picked it up again to re-read the section on International Trade. I have not yet finished it, but I remember thinking that while public finance may not be a constraint on the economy, the long term balance of trade may well be, even for a monetary sovereign.

Meanwhile this article “Brexit the slippery slope of left sovereigntism from modern monetary  theory to spiked” at https://tendancecoatesy.wordpress.com explores the political inertia that MMT’s exponents may be riding. Much of it is based on an interview with James Meadway, once John McDonnell’s economics adviser which is available, at the link below/overleaf. For Coatsey’s regular readers they will be unsurprised at his pugnacious attacks on Faizi’s endorsement of the Full Brexit and Spiked. Meadway’s musing are interesting in that he emphasises that MMT, like Keynesianism  says nothing about inequality and ownership of the means of production. The interview also addresses the moderation in Labour’s 2017 Manifesto. Below/Overleaf are links and excerpts for further reading of Meadway’s views … 

James Meadway Interview: “There are ways to end neoliberalism globally that are not progressive, and this will (increasingly) be the terrain the left is fighting on.”

The interview also points at “Against Modern Monetary Theory” also by Meadway.