Marxism and MMT :  How Modern Monetary Theory Can Enrich the Debate among Marxists

Anastasi, Anthony William Donald

doi:10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.12.4.0541

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World Review of Political Economy

Volume 12, Issue 4

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Marxism and MMT : How Modern Monetary Theory Can Enrich the Debate among Marxists

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Author(s): Anthony William Donald Anastasi ^* ^,

Publication date (Electronic preprint): 01 December 2021

Journal: World Review of Political Economy

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: Modern Monetary Theory, Marxism, Job Guarantee, publicly funded elections, non-reformist reforms

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Abstract

As of now, there has been a relatively insufficient amount of scholarship tying Marxist theory to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). This article argues that Marxists should take a closer look at the economic theory. MMT is a normative theory and could be used to promote any worldview or theory. Marxists should use it to argue for and, if implemented, manage non-reformist reforms such as a Job Guarantee and publicly funded elections. These reforms could raise the material and working conditions of the working class, strengthen class consciousness, and condition society for a post-capitalist economic system.

Content

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169/worlrevipoliecon

Title: World Review of Political Economy

Abbreviated Title: WRPE

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Electronic): 2042-8928

Publication date (Electronic preprint): 01 December 2021

Volume: 12

Issue: 4

Pages: 541-557

Author notes

[* ] Correspondence: Anthony William Donald Anastasi ( anthonywdanastasi@ 123456gmail.com )

Article

DOI: 10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.12.4.0541

SO-VID: 6864c831-0f9d-4da9-a1f2-1fca4df73e67

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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Pages: 17

References

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Comments

Comment on this article

[1] A. Balcerzak 2018. “Study: Most Americans Want to Kill ‘Citizens United’ with Constitutional Amendment.” The World from PRX. Accessed September 1, 2021 . https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-05-10/study-most-americans-want-kill-citizens-united-constitutional-amendment.

[2] S. Bell, and R. L. Wray. 2002. “Fiscal Effects on Reserves and the Independence of the Fed.” Journal of Post Keynesian Economics 25 (2): 263–271.

[3] C. Cillizza 2020. “Analysis: The Absolutely Stunning Price Tag of the 2020 Election.” CNN. Accessed July 1, 2021 . https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/29/politics/2020-election-cost-money-trump-biden/index.html.

[4] C. Cramer 2011. “Unemployment and Participation in Violence.” World Development Report 2011. Accessed September 1, 2021 . http://web.worldbank.org/archive/website01306/web/pdf/wdr%20background%20paper%20-%20cramer.pdf.

[5] N. Evertsson 2013. “Political Corruption and Electoral Funding.” International Criminal Justice Review 23 (1): 75–94.

[6] L. Farré, F. Fasani, and H. Mueller. 2018. “Feeling Useless: The Effect of Unemployment on Mental Health in the Great Recession.” IZA Journal of Labor Economics 7 (1): 1–34.

[7] M. Forstater, and W. Mosler. 2005. “The Natural Rate of Interest Is Zero.” Journal of Economic Issues 39 (2): 535–542.

[8] S. T. Fullwiler, S. A. Bell, and L. R. Wray. 2012. “Modern Money Theory: A Response to Critics.” SSRN Electronic Journal. Accessed September 1, 2021 . https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2008542.

[9] Gallup. 2021. “Federal Budget Deficit.” Gallup.com. Accessed September 1, 2021 . https://news.gallup.com/poll/147626/federal-budget-deficit.aspx.

[10] M. Gilens, and B. I. Page. 2014. “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.” Perspectives on Politics 12 (3): 564–581.

[11] J. Green 2001. “Clean Money in Maine.” The American Prospect, December 19. Accessed July 1, 2021 . https://prospect.org/features/clean-money-maine/.

[12] P. Gregg, and E. Tominey. 2005. “The Wage Scar from Male Youth Unemployment.” Labour Economics 12 (4): 487–509.

[13] D. Henwood 2021. “Modern Monetary Theory Isn’t Helping.” Jacobin Magazine. Accessed May 11, 2021 . https://jacobinmag.com/2019/02/modern-monetary-theory-isnt-helping.

[14] G. C. Ho, M. Shih, D. J. Walters, and T. L. Pittinsky. 2012. “Psychological Stigma of Unemployment: When Joblessness Leads to Being Jobless.” PsycEXTRA Dataset. Accessed September 1, 2021 . https://doi.org/10.1037/e518332013-695.

[15] S. Kelton 1998. “Can Taxes and Bonds Finance Government Spending?” SSRN Electronic Journal. Accessed June 16, 2021 . doi:[Cross Ref].

[16] S. Kelton 2020. The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy. New York: PublicAffairs, Hatchette Book Group.

[17] G. F. Knapp 1924. The State Theory of Money. London: Royal Economic Society.

[18] M. Lavoie 2013. “The Monetary and Fiscal Nexus of Neo-chartalism: A Friendly Critique.” Journal of Economic Issues 47 (1): 1–32.

[19] M. Lavoie 2019. “Modern Monetary Theory and Post-Keynesian Economics.” Real-World Economics Review, no. 89: 97–108 .

[20] S. M. Levin 2006. “Keeping It Clean: Public Financing in American Elections.” National Civic Review 95 (4): 8–27.

[21] J. G. Mahoney 2021. “A Marxist Perspective: Surplus Value and Jobs in the Public Sector.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 28, 2021 . https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/marxist-perspective-surplus-value-jobs-public-sector-mahoney/.

[22] N. Malhotra 2008. “The Impact of Public Financing on Electoral Competition: Evidence from Arizona and Maine.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 8 (3): 263–281.

[23] K. R. Mayer, T. Werner, and A. Williams. 2007. “The Marketplace of Democracy: Electoral Competition and American Politics.” Choice Reviews Online 44 (7). Accessed July 1, 2021 . https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.44-4132.

[24] A. McClelland 2000. “Effects of Unemployment on the Family.” The Economic and Labour Relations Review 11 (2): 198–212.

[25] A.-M. Meulendyke 1998. U.S. Monetary Policy and Financial Markets. New York: Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

[26] B. Mitchell 2010. “What Causes Mass Unemployment?” Accessed September 1, 2021 . http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=7261.

[27] W. F. Mitchell 1998. “The Buffer Stock Employment Model and the NAIRU: The Path to Full Employment.” Journal of Economic Issues 32 (2): 547–555.

[28] W. Mosler 1995. Soft Currency Economics. West Palm Beach, FL: Adams, Viner and Mosler.

[29] R. Nunn, J. O’Donnell, and J. Shambaugh. 2018. “Labor Market Considerations for a National Job Guarantee.” The Hamilton Project. Accessed September 1, 2021 . https://www.hamiltonproject.org/assets/files/JobGuarantee_FP_web_120318.pdf.

[30] M. Paul, W. Darity Jr., D. Hamilton, and Z. Khaing. 2018. “A Path to Ending Poverty by Way of Ending Unemployment: A Federal Job Guarantee.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 4 (3): 44.

[31] D. F. Peck, and M. A. Plant. 1986. “Unemployment and Illegal Drug Use: Concordant Evidence from a Prospective Study and National Trends.” BMJ 293 (6552): 929–932.

[32] T. Ramsay 2003. “The Jobs Guarantee: A Post Keynesian Analysis.” Journal of Post Keynesian Economics 25 (2): 273–291.

[33] Reflective Democracy Campaign. 2021. “System Failure: What the 2020 Primary Elections Reveal about Our Democracy.” Accessed July 6, 2021 . https://wholeads.us/research/system-failure-2020-primary-elections/.

[34] M. Roberts 2019. “Modern Monetary Theory: A Marxist Critique.” Class, Race and Corporate Power 7 (1): 1–17.

[35] L. Saad 2021. “Half in U.S. Support Publicly Financed Federal Campaigns.” Gallup.com, May 7. Accessed September 1, 2021 . https://news.gallup.com/poll/163208/half-support-publicly-financed-federal-campaigns.aspx.

[36] N. M. Sultan 2017. “Election 2016: Trump’s Free Media Helped Keep Cost Down.” OpenSecrets News, April 13. Accessed July 1, 2021 . https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2017/04/election-2016-trump-fewer-donors-provided-more-of-the-cash/.

[37] P. R. Tcherneva 2018. “The Job Guarantee: Design, Jobs, and Implementation.” SSRN Electronic Journal. Accessed September 1, 2021 . https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3155289.

[38] U.S. Congressional Budget Office. 2021. “Noncyclical Rate of Unemployment.” FRED, February 1. Accessed September 1, 2021 . https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NROU.

[39] M. Voss, L. Nylén, B. Floderus, F. Diderichsen, and P. D. Terry. 2004. “Unemployment and Early Cause-Specific Mortality: A Study Based on the Swedish Twin Registry.” American Journal of Public Health 94 (12): 2155–2161.

[40] L. R. Wray 1998. Understanding Modern Money: The Key to Full Employment and Price Stability. Cheltenham: Elgar.

[41] R. Wray 2006. “Lessons from Argentina’s Employment Guarantee.” Economic and Political Weekly 41 (23): 2293–2296.