Take Keynes to the market for the many as well as the few

 I argue an updated form of Keynesian economics is the way to democratic socialism. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) adds a workable dimension to Keynesian economics. 

This is where I come from and it's on the right of Labour. With a strapline 'take Keynes to market for the many as well as the few'.

https://www.investopedia.com/modern-monetary-theory-mmt-4588060

Any further to the right of me is not in Labour. 

Starmer and Reeves have moved out of Labour into the grasp-and-grab economics of Friedman and Hayek.

Starmer and Reeves will bring the Labour party to an end over the next four years. I don't want this to happen.

But Starmer got himself elected and consolidated his position, he won't go until the British economy collapses or when he loses the next election so badly that he has to go. (like Sunak)

During this time I would like to work to build a decent broad church Labour party like the one I used to know. To continue when the Starmer disaster era ends.

I did a brief study of the backgrounds of Labour MPs before the election. 

Most Labour MPS are middle class graduates. The parliamentary Labour party does not represent working class people like me. I would like to see Labour MPs more representative of the demographic make up of Britain. So Labour MPs ought to be mainly from working class roots. 

Private school and Oxbridge ought to be a hindrance to becoming a Labour MP.

I want to persuade Labour to be a world peacemaker instead of a warmonger. This doesn't mean an end to the arms industry because as a Keynesian I see the economic value of this sector. Somehow the arms industry has to exist without war and it can.

The arms industry can build ships to keep the oceans safe from piracy for example. The Americans occupied this role from the end of WW2 to the end of the Soviet Union.

I want an end to the Ukraine war and a removal of sanctions against Russia because these are hurting Europe far more than Russia. This means NATO must stop prodding Russia.

At the moment I am working as an individual Labour party member and Trade Unionist.

I would be happy to be part of a group working within the Trade Union movement and Labour party to 'reinvigorate' Labour.

I am building skills in using X (Twitter) as a campaigning tool and this is my main campaigning channel.

Corbyn's few are a global elite, no government can beat them, especially a British Labour government. But could the elite be educated to understand that Keynesian type economics that boosts demand also boosts the few? Harod McMillon said in the 1950s/60s we never had it so good. And we didn't because Western governments operated a system that was based on increasing consumer demand. Economies are built on consumer demand and individual consumers like you and me are the building blocks of an economy. Look after consumers and the few benefit too just like they did in the 50s and 60s.

Things went wrong when Thatcher took up the grasp and grab, dog eat dog ideology of Friedman and Hayek. This needs to be consigned to the past.

for the many as well as the few

I don't care how many billionaires there are, the more the merrier.

I just want a decent life - nothing special. If 'the few' 

run things for me as a consumer they'll benefit even more.

If they run things so that consumers like me can't afford to live, the current few will be the 

first to die out but the many (consumers) will survive for a 'new few' to emerge and thrive.

The fringe economists, Friedman and Hayek should have known this. 

Both Karl Marx and Adam Smith did and both warned of it!

how to x connect with thought leaders and influencers

 

 How to x connect with influencers and thought leaders

X is a powerful tool to connect with thought leaders and influencers.

It allows you to influence influencers and in turn influence decision makers.

Follow your channel, segment or industry conversations and...

• Join in

• Connect

With thought leaders and influencers.

Show that you are up to date

Are an active participant in events

Contribute

Influence and change

Method

Identify thought leaders and influencers in your area of interest and follow them.

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I like to keep the ratio of followers and following high on the followers side so I make an Excel file of the thought leaders and influencers I might follow if I had a bigger x following. Then use the x search function to track them. I also set Google alerts for the thought leaders and influencers I follow. In this way I follow them but not on x. It’s a bit long-winded, but it is my preferred method and it works.

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• Don’t post about yourself

• Keep it professional

• Respond to their xtweets.

• Join in and share ideas

• Add something useful to the conversation

• Become part of your area of interest on x

• Build relationships

• Influence thought leaders and influencers

Is a good education sytem bad for an economy

 

The shadow education secretary Brigit Phillipson is going to try and give more opportunities for kids at school.

Can this work?

I frequently see workers plodding to a night shift. To a dead end low paid job. Dressed in orange, heads bowed and depressed. The shift only relieved by banter. Others trudging hopelessly to call centres. Low paid jobs, no real hope no real future. Low paid, dead end jobs are the norm. What is the point of an education that prepares them for opportunities when there are none for the majority of school leavers?

There are only a finite number of opportunities in the economy. Most jobs are relatively dead end. Most kids realise they have few if any opportunities and they are giving school a miss.

Most kids only need the basics from education.

Could an education that prepares and stimulates children to seek limited opportunities be counterproductive. Could such an education system cause social unrest as most school leaves don't find the finite number of opportunities?

Government Deficits

 "(government) Deficits can be used for good or evil.

They can enrich a small segment of the population, lifting the yachts of the rich and powerful to new heights, while leaving millions behind.

They can fund unjust wars that destabilise the world and cost millions their lives.

Or they can be used to sustain life and build a more just economy that works

for the many and not just the few."

The Deficit Myth Stephanie Kelton

and supported by Mariana Mazzucato the woman who gave Starmer his five missions.

What is modern monetary theory MMT

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is a macroeconomic theory that argues that governments with sovereign currency have the ability to spend without limit, provided they are able to raise sufficient taxes or sell enough bonds to prevent inflation.

MMT economists believe that the government's ability to create money gives it a unique advantage in the economy. This advantage allows the government to spend money on public programs without having to worry about running out of money. In fact, MMT economists argue that the government should use its spending power to stimulate the economy and create jobs.

How does MMT work?

MMT is based on the idea that the government's currency is a public monopoly. This means that the government is the only entity that can create and issue currency. As a result, the government has complete control over the supply of money in the economy.

When the government spends money, it does not need to raise taxes or sell bonds to finance that spending. Instead, the government can simply create new money. This new money enters the economy and increases the amount of spending power available.

If the government's spending increases too much, it can lead to inflation. However, MMT economists argue that inflation can be prevented by raising taxes or selling bonds. These actions will remove money from the economy and prevent inflation from rising.

What are the implications of MMT?

MMT has a number of implications for government policy. First, it suggests that governments should not be constrained by their budget deficits. Instead, governments should focus on using their spending power to stimulate the economy and create jobs.

Second, MMT suggests that governments should not be afraid to run budget deficits. In fact, MMT economists argue that budget deficits can be a good thing, as they can help to stimulate the economy.

Third, MMT suggests that governments should not rely on interest rates to control the economy. Instead, governments should use their spending power and taxation policies to control inflation.

Criticisms of MMT

MMT is a controversial theory, and it has been criticized by many economists. Some critics argue that MMT is based on unrealistic assumptions about the way the economy works. Others argue that MMT would lead to inflation and financial instability.

However, MMT also has its supporters. Some supporters argue that MMT is a more realistic and effective way to manage the economy. They argue that MMT would allow governments to use their spending power to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2023/04/18/modern-monetary-theory-an-explanation/

The liberal democratic consensus has been broken

Writing from prison the neo Marxist Antonio Gramsci argued that the western Liberal elites (capitalists) use ideology rather than violence to maintain a hegemony (control) over the population.

The ideology we follow, and generally it's not a bad one, is Liberal Democracy. Where you have political parties vying for votes. The parties act within the boundaries of the ideology. This would be, social democracy or democratic socialism, not quite socialism, and Labour's normal (but not current) position on the spectrum. On the other side is 'free market' liberalism, traditionally this would be the Liberals, but the Tories have usurped this position since Thatcher.

Since 2016 two things have happened, one has broken the ideology of liberal democracy in Britain and the other has removed the choice that must be present for it to work.

Some factors of liberal democracy are

1. Fair play

2. Rule of law

3. Free and democratic elections

4. Free open and fair society

Cummings along with AIQ used artificial intelligence (ai) to win the Brexit referendum. This alone breaks every rule in the liberal democratic handbook. But it's worse than this. They used ai to trawl Facebook for 'gullible' people, find out exactly what they were saying and then spend £/$millions to buy BILLIONS of targeted adverts made to look like posts. Most of these ads were misleading and some were outright lies.

Just so happened that the 7 million or so mainly gullible men were located in what is known as the red wall constituencies

Then Johnson and Cummings used the residual data and ai again to target these gullible (mainly) men in the red wall and win a Tory landslide. Again they used £/$ millions to buy misleading Facebook ads that looked like posts and many of which stirred up ethnic feelings and many of which were outright lies.

Both the Brexit referendum and the 2019 election need to be declared void and strict regulations regarding the use of ai in elections are put in place.

It doesn't matter where you are on the liberal democratic spectrum, the referendum and the 2019 elections must be declared void to return to the established hegemony. Because it requires (reasonably) honest elections. Otherwise, it's just not cricket!

The second factor that is disturbing the liberal democratic hegemony in Britain is the Labour party!

The leader of the Labour party lied to the members in his election campaign. He pretended to be a social democrat/democratic socialist - solid labour you might say.

Once elected he jumped the traditional labour ship and boarded the free market vessel captained by Mark Littlewood and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) (which incidentally exists to remove the Labour party from Britain).

So there is at this time no difference between the three main parties.

The liberal elite must alter this to restore the liberal democratic choice. The elite(s) do exercise hegemonic control, they run the show.

They can...

1. Restore Labour to the Keynesian/social democratic - democratic socialist spectrum. Persuade Starmer to return to his 10 labour points position and dump his Mazzucato dreams. Or remove him!

Or alternatively

2. Promote the Green party to the position of the main opposition party. This would make sense in the current climate but the grassroots members of the Green party are not to the taste of the Liberal elite. But they could arrange for cash to pour into the Green party and for it to market itself to those more acceptable to the elite. Initially, possibly Labour party members disillusioned with Starmer and Reeves?

The odd thing is, for Britain to survive as an economy a democratic socialist government might be needed.

A democratic socialist government would benefit the many as well as the few.

So I end with the question, why isn't the Western liberal elite promoting a left wing Labour leader?

letter to labour mps arguing for keynes

 I am writing to you today to express my concern about the Labour Party's leadership's current neoliberal position. I believe that the Labour Party is now the same as the Conservative party, and that Labour is following the ideology of the Institute of Economic Affairs.

I am a lifelong Labour supporter, and I am deeply disappointed in the party's current direction. I believe that Labour should adopt a Keynesian economic approach, with the slogan "take Keynes to the market."

John Maynard Keynes is considered one of the most important economists. The Insititute of Economic Affairs and proponents of free market economics attack Keynesian theory. 

Keynesian economics is a theory of macroeconomics that argues that government intervention in the economy is necessary to prevent or mitigate recessions and depressions.

Keynesian economics is based on the idea that aggregate demand is the driving force of economic growth. Aggregate demand is the total amount of goods and services that consumers, businesses, and governments want to buy at current prices. When aggregate demand is low, the economy will go into recession.

Keynesian economists argue that the government can increase aggregate demand by spending money on public works projects, providing tax cuts, and lowering interest rates. These measures will stimulate the economy and lead to economic growth.

I believe that Labour should adopt a Keynesian economic approach because it is the best way to create jobs, grow the economy, and reduce inequality. 

Keynesian economics has been proven to work, and it is the only economic theory that has the potential to solve the problems that we are facing today.

Unfortunately, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are following a supply side approach that cannot work

I urge you to support a Keynesian economic approach for the Labour Party. I believe that this is the best way to move the country forward and to create a better future for all.