Which Deficits Really Matter?
Session 3

2024-04-15 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Henry George School of Social Science
Phone:(212) 889-8020
Address: 149 East 38th Street, New York, NY 10016

Which Deficits Really Matter?

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

Note: This is an online event. After registration, the Zoom link, along with the Meeting ID and Passcode, will be provided via email the day of each session.

REGISTER NOW

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    REGISTER NOW

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    REGISTER NOW

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    REGISTER NOW

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    Note: This is an online event. After registration, the Zoom link, along with the Meeting ID and Passcode, will be provided via email the day of each session.

    REGISTER NOW

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    Note: This is an online event. After registration, the Zoom link, along with the Meeting ID and Passcode, will be provided via email the day of each session.

    REGISTER NOW

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    Note: This is an online event. After registration, the Zoom link, along with the Meeting ID and Passcode, will be provided via email the day of each session.

    REGISTER NOW

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    From an Aristocratic to a Democratic Worldview: The Potential Transformation of Environmental Economics by Georgism

    The environmental perspective arose in Europe out of an aristocratic background, and it continues to be swayed by that history. From Thomas Malthus, economics inherited a very strong sense of the scarcity of nature. Since common lands in England were under the control of aristocrats, they considered it their mission to preserve nature for the enjoyment of future generations of aristocratic families. Almost every nature program on television promotes this worldview of pristine nature being damaged by the activities of common people and being preserved by the nobility. The story of Robin Hood emerged as a counter-narrative, but the economics profession turned it into a morality lesson that celebrates the sheriff of Nottingham.

    This 10-session course will examine how the aristocratic perspective persists as the shadow side of environmental economics in its treatment of common property, the valuation of natural goods, the treatment of people as costs or sources of destruction, an urban bias that denigrates rural life, an indifference to both equity and efficiency, and the critique of economic growth. The course will also analyze how Georgism can serve as the antidote by democratizing claims to nature. The course will further highlight the work of early thinkers like Aldo Leopold and their perception of nature as something of intrinsic value that transcends human ambitions.

    The instructor, Clifford Cobb is the thematic editor of the American Journal of Economics and Sociology. He is best known as the developer of the Genuine Progress Indicator, published by the San Francisco organization, Redefining Progress.

    Dates: Mondays – 3/03, 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, 3/31, 4/07, 4/14, 4/28, 5/12, 5/19

    Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET

    Location: Online via Zoom

    Note: This is an online event. After registration, the Zoom link, along with the Meeting ID and Passcode, will be provided via email the day of each session.

    REGISTER NOW

  • 2025-05-19 6:30 pm - 2025-05-19 8:00 pm

    From an Aristocratic to a Democratic Worldview: The Potential Transformation of Environmental Economics by Georgism

    The environmental perspective arose in Europe out of an aristocratic background, and it continues to be swayed by that history. From Thomas Malthus, economics inherited a very strong sense of the scarcity of nature. Since common lands in England were under the control of aristocrats, they considered it their mission to preserve nature for the enjoyment of future generations of aristocratic families. Almost every nature program on television promotes this worldview of pristine nature being damaged by the activities of common people and being preserved by the nobility. The story of Robin Hood emerged as a counter-narrative, but the economics profession turned it into a morality lesson that celebrates the sheriff of Nottingham.

    This 10-session course will examine how the aristocratic perspective persists as the shadow side of environmental economics in its treatment of common property, the valuation of natural goods, the treatment of people as costs or sources of destruction, an urban bias that denigrates rural life, an indifference to both equity and efficiency, and the critique of economic growth. The course will also analyze how Georgism can serve as the antidote by democratizing claims to nature. The course will further highlight the work of early thinkers like Aldo Leopold and their perception of nature as something of intrinsic value that transcends human ambitions.

    The instructor, Clifford Cobb is the thematic editor of the American Journal of Economics and Sociology. He is best known as the developer of the Genuine Progress Indicator, published by the San Francisco organization, Redefining Progress.

    Dates: Mondays – 3/03, 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, 3/31, 4/07, 4/14, 4/28, 5/12, 5/19

    Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET

    Location: Online via Zoom

    Note: This is an online event. After registration, the Zoom link, along with the Meeting ID and Passcode, will be provided via email the day of each session.

    REGISTER NOW