Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), a heterodox school of macroeconomic thought asks:

• To what degree is a country monetarily sovereign?
• How does that impact the economic policies that country is able to pursue?

A monetarily sovereign nation is one whose government issues its own currency, does not peg the value of that currency to any other currency or to any precious metal, and does not take on debt in any currency other than its own.

It turns out that whether a country is monetarily sovereign or not has tremendous importance in determining the economic policies it can pursue in response to crises, be they economic, political, medical or ecological. MMT explains, for example, why the U.S. federal government can create hundreds of billions of dollars to spend in response to a pandemic, while state and local governments (not to mention individual households) cannot.

In this course, participants will learn about MMT by reading Stephanie Kelton’s 2020 bestseller, “The Deficit Myth.” The course will be conducted in a seminar style in six weekly sessions. In each of these sessions, participants will be expected to have read one or two chapters in Kelton’s book and worked through discussion questions. At the conclusion of the course, participants should be able to explain and use MMT-based insights to understand the current political economy of the U.S. and other countries.

The instructor, James Keenan is the founder of the Lerner – Minsky Society and an instructor at the Henry George School.

Note: We recommend reading at least the introduction to Prof. Kelton’s Deficit Myth before session 1 of the course.

Dates: Mondays: 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 4/29, 5/6

Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET

Location: Online via Zoom

This course explains the fundamental relations between the factors of production utilized in the process of wealth creation and the natural laws that govern its distribution. We will use the interdisciplinary approach employed by Henry George in his writings to provide cohesive, evidence-based insights into why economies experience cycles of boom and bust. Additionally, the course will explain why societies continue to experience generational poverty and what measures can be adopted to bring these problems to an end.

The instructor, Edward J. Dodson is a retired banker, former director and long time faculty member of the Henry George School of Social Science.

Dates: Part II – Wednesdays – 5/8, 5/15, 5/22, 5/29

Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET

Location: Online via Zoom

This course is intended to call attention to the flaws of mainstream economics. It will be a comprehensive exploration of the field, expanding and deepening the treatment of the subject of political economy in George’s earlier books. We will cover a broad range of topics, including but not limited to money and credit, forms of cooperation, the law of diminishing return as well as the nature of trade.

The instructor, Dr. Marty Rowland is a trustee at the Henry George School and a long time faculty member of the School.

Dates and Time: Part 1 : 5/20, 6/3, 6/10, 6/17, 6/24 – From 6:30PM to 7:30PM ET

Part 2: 7/1, 7/8, 7/15, 7/22, 7/29 – From 6:30PM to 7:30PM ET

Location: Online via Zoom