If eco-socialism is the bank heist, then MMT is the blueprints of the bank, showing vaults, ventilation shafts, exits, etc. Then why do some eco-socialists appear so disinterested in MMT?
Maybe the blueprints don't matter when what you really want to do is blow up the bank.
What does MMT have to offer radicals? Can MMT offer itself as a tool for system change, or can it only tinker around the edges? What's the point of economic reforms that will eventually get rolled back anyway? With attendees of Melbourne's Eco-Socialism 2023 conference, and in a follow up conversation with Jacob Andrewartha of 3CR's Green Left Radio, we take a look at these vexing questions.
conference: Ecosocialism 2023
sponsored by 3CR, Socialist Alliance and others
Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism by Kohei Saito (2023), Japanese philosopher and associate professor at the University of Tokyo
the book that was written by the keynote speaker of the Melbourne ecosocialism conference. Saito's other book, Capital in the Anthropocene, published in 2020, became an unexpected bestseller in Japan, selling over half a million copies.
You could also try episode 236, The Double Objective of Democratic Ecosocialism, at Macro N Cheese with Steve Grumbine, who has a really inspiring conversation with one of our favourite commentators on eco-socialism, Jason Hickel
Episode 246, Fiat Socialism - the Convergence with Carlos García Hernández, on Macro N Cheese with Steve Grumbine is also a fascinating discussion on the convergence between MMT and socialism.
Pleading Ignorance, by Ed Kuepper, from the album Starstruck.
Additional Audio
Too Many Things, by Ed Kuepper, from the album Starstruck.
Anne Maxwell & Kevin Gaynor