Posts about linguistics, framing and the way to present arguments

A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 7

This is Part 7 of the short series of briefing notes that arose out of discussions I recently had in London about how a progressive political party might want to break out of the shackles that the British Labour Party has bound itself in with its obsession with fiscal rules and an adherence to the fiscal fictions of mainstream macroeconomics. The thoughts, in my view, are relevant for all aspiring progressive political parties that might have fallen prey to the fictional world of mainstream economics and cannot find a way back. In the first part, I suggested a way forward was to shift the focus of what can be done with fiscal policy away from financial matters towards an emphasis on real resource constraints – that is, what productive resources are available for public use. In this sense, the discussion becomes focused on how much nominal spending growth is possible without sparking inflationary pressures as a result of nominal spending growth outstripping the productive capacity of the economy. In Part 2, I focused on aspects of the institutional structure that should be considered to support that shift in focus, including a planning network and a return to a public employment service. In Part 3, I began an examination of the long debate about economic planning, In Part 4, I continued that discussion. In Part 5, I discussed how the age of rapid, networked communication systems eliminate the basis of the pro-market, anti-planning critics. In Part 6, I provided a detailed case study of the role that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in Japan played after WW2 to ensure rapid development could occur within the available real resource envelope. Today, I reflect on industry policy and the way the arch neoliberals are silently conceding defeat.

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The Manosphere fills a void created by neoliberalism which has been largely ignored by progressives

Over the weekend just gone I took some time to watch the latest Louis Theroux documentary – Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere – which relates how far we have gone in reverse with attitudes that men hold towards women. This blog post is not intended to be a review of that film but rather my thoughts on where it sits in the history of neoliberalism. The proposition is that neoliberalism creates voids where individuals are left behind and constructed as miserable failures. It also promotes an idea that an individual’s prosperity is a function of their own diligence and that the state fails to advance our well-being. Increasingly, these ideas are then embedded in misinformation and conspiracy theories and movements emerge to give voice to the anxieties that we face. The manosphere serves that purpose and allows young men to gain a sense of purpose and worth – notwithstanding that it is the world of scammers and oppressors. But it is another way in which neoliberalism is driving our societies into system-failure.

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New Green-linked report in Britain avoids the critical issue

I read a new Report this morning – Waste Not – that was published by a new unit in Britain called Verdant, which seems to have links to the England and Wales Green Party. The work is interesting and raises several issues that bear on how government fiscal policy should be assessed. The issues I have with the Report were not canvassed by the author to its detriment. It relates to the impact of government spending and the employment effects of cutting expenditure, regardless of whether we classify that expenditure as ‘waste’ or not.

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A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 3

This is Part 3 of the short series of briefing notes that arose out of discussions I recently had in London about how a progressive political party might want to break out of the shackles that the Labour Party has bound itself in with its obsession with fiscal rules and an adherence to the fiscal fictions of mainstream macroeconomics. In the first part, I suggested a way forward was to shift the focus of what can be done with fiscal policy away from financial matters towards an emphasis on real resource constraints – that is, what productive resources are available for public use. In this sense, the discussion becomes focused on how much nominal spending growth is possible without sparking inflationary pressures as a result of nominal spending growth outstripping the productive capacity of the economy. In Part 2, I focused on aspects of the institutional structure that should be considered to support that shift in focus, including a planning network and a return to a public employment service. In Part 3, I examine the long debate about economic planning and demonstrate that most of the criticisms of it from free market advocates are no longer applicable in an age of rapid, networked communication systems.

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A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 2

This is the second part of a short series of briefing notes that arose out of discussions I had in London the week before last about how a progressive political party might want to break out of the shackles that the Labour Party has bound itself in with its obsession with fiscal rules and an adherence to the fiscal fictions of mainstream macroeconomics. In the first part, I suggested a way forward was to shift the focus of what can be done with fiscal policy away from financial matters towards an emphasis on real resource constraints – that is, what productive resources are available for public use. In this sense, the discussion becomes focused on how much nominal spending growth is possible without sparking inflationary pressures as a result of nominal spending growth outstripping the productive capacity of the economy. In Part 2, I will focus on aspects of the institutional structure that should be considered to support that shift in focus.

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A structured approach for progressive political ambitions – Part 1

I am stuck in London courtesy of the terrorist policies of Donald Trump and his Israeli gang mates. I arrived at Heathrow on Saturday expecting to be home by last evening only to learn that all flights via Doha were indefinitely suspended. Big problem. I was lucky to find a hotel room at the airport where I am bunkered down for a few days before a rebooked flight on another airline is possible. Luckily, I have been able to find a flight with another airline and will leave London on Tuesday (fingers crossed). Anyway, that was a bad end to a good week’s work in London. Apart from the public launch of the new policy research group, MMTUK, which was a good evening, catching up with MMT activists in the UK, I had several meetings with various people. Those discussions must remain confidential here. However, I decided to write up some ideas that are relevant to how I think a progressive ambition can be politicised in an acceptable manner. The challenge for such an ambition is to shift the population’s focus from an obsession with financial constraints to a recognition that it is the availability of resources that matters. There are several related aspects to this challenge. This is Part 1 of a two-part series on that topic.

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British Labour’s obsession with fiscal rules is untenable and ignores the reality of the situation

I have been a consistent critic of the way in which the British Labour Party, both in opposition and in government, is obsessed with rigid fiscal rules, thinking it is the only way that it can demonstrate fiscal credibility (whatever that is in their minds). The result is that they get cornered into situations that either lead them to make poor decisions which lose them votes and give the likes of Nigel Farage more fuel for his crusade or they are forced to admit they cannot achieve the (unachievable) fiscal rules. Either way it is a clusterf*)@. In the last week or so, we have witnessed the ludicrous situation of the British Office of Budget Responsibility failing to protect its own file systems and leaking information before the Chancellor presented her official fiscal statement. The leaked information just happened to contradict the messaging of the Chancellor which was a bit inconvenient. But the important issue that all this raises is not whether OBR can run a secure WordPress site (evidently it cannot), but that the information it generates is so inaccurate and systematically biased that it cannot realistically be used as the basis for assessing fiscal policy. Which means that the obsession with the fiscal rules leads to policy changes that damage things that matter – such as employment and services – but those policy changes are based on information (OBR forecasts) that subsequent revelations tell us would not justify those policy shifts. As I said – clusterf8x@.

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Panel of Japanese economists mired in erroneous mainstream constructions and logic

Last Friday, I met a journalist in Tokyo and we discussed among other things, the results of the latest Nikkei/JCER ‘Economics Panel’, which was conducted between November 13 and November 18, 2025. The panel involves “questionnaires” being “sent to approximately 50 economists to gather their evaluations of various economic policies. The aim is to promote deeper and more active discussions on economic policy by clearly conveying the consensus and differences of opinion among experts, along with presenting individual comments from each economist.” The results are quite striking and demonstrate that the Japanese academic economics profession is mired in destructive Groupthink that means the profession is failing to contribute in any effective and functional way to advancing the well-being of the Japanese population or providing insights into how the nation can meet its considerable and immediate challenges.

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My current number one candidate for the worst economics article of the year

Unfortunately, the so-called progressive UK Guardian has an Australian economics editor who is anything but if his economic analysis is anything to go by. The economic news for this week started with the release of the – Final Budget Outcome – (FBO) for the 2024-25 fiscal year for the Federal government (released September 29, 2025). It showed the actual fiscal deficit for the year just gone was slightly lower than had been predicted in earlier official statements. The government celebrated claiming a lower deficit was a sign not only of its good management but was also virtuous. The journalists, however, had a different spin, claiming that while the situation could have been worse, it was still bad. The discussion in the media and the official statement from the Treasurer seemed to omit one rather important fact. The context. This allows us to understand the distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fiscal deficits, a distinction that the commentariat seems unable to grasp. Anyway, this UK Guardian article is my current number one candidate for the worst economics article of the year. Why discuss it? Because it helps illustrate the essentials of macroeconomics that people need to understand.

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Some discussion about taxation

Over the weekend, I was a presenter at a Fabian’s Society meeting which sought input on ‘alternative taxation policies’ under the general tenet of the need for the Australian government to raise revenue to ensure a socially just society. The other presenter was John Quiggin and I think we provided a good complementarity for the relatively large audience (for a Saturday afternoon – with football finals in progress!). Of course, my opening salvo was to reject the fundamental premise of the workshop – which is a premise that progressive commentators and activists seem unable to shed to the detriment of their argument. I indicated to the audience at the outset that the aim of taxation is generally not to raise more revenue for government, but, instead, to ensure the non-government sector has less spending capacity. More is not less. That is a fundamentally different frame in which to discuss the topic and I closed the workshop by suggesting that one of the single most important things that progressives can learn is to stop using terms like ‘taxpayers’ money’ when discussing fiscal policy. Using those type of terms immediately frames the discussion against progressive goals.

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