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"Heterodox" is a term of art in economics, it doesn't mean what "heterodox" means in English. And the justifications given for most social policies come from M

"Heterodox" is a term of art in economics, it doesn't mean what "heterodox" means in English. And the justifications given for most social policies come from MMT. Policy makers love MMT, especially progressive ones and ones who want to give out helicopter money. Economists seem cooler on the idea, but it's a mainstream theory among people making economic decisions. MMT is mostly just Keynseanism taken to a sort of unintuitive but logical conclusion. It's not nearly as heterodox (using the English word) as something like Austrian economics.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> "Heterodox" is a term of art in economics, it doesn't mean what "heterodox" means in English Seriously, where are you getting this? The first consequential word in the article! It’s literally a link to an article about heterodox economics [1]! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterodox_economics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterodox_economics
- pclmulqdq 2y ago
  I don't understand how you can come to the understanding that "heterodox" isn't a term of art when there's an entire wikipedia page devoted to explaining the meaning of "heterodox" (and another one about "mainstream") in the context of economics... An economic theory described as part of "heterodox economics" can, in fact, be relatively mainstream given enough exposure and enough followers (which is where MMT is today). Conversely, parts of "mainstream economics" are relatively controversial and are thus heterodox ways of thinking. If you think about "orthodox Christianity," the word "orthodox" says nothing about its popularity. The same goes for "heterodox economics." Pretty much all monetary theories are parts of heterodox economics.
  - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
    > An economic theory described as part of "heterodox economics" can, in fact, be relatively mainstream No. It cannot. This time I cite the literal first sentence of the Wikipedia definition of heterodox economics. > all monetary theories are parts of heterodox economics Not what heterodox or mainstream mean.
notahacker 2y ago
The core of MMT economic policy is the abolition of government bond markets and the state replacing existing unemployment benefits with a "job guarantee" intended to act as an alternative endogenous economic stabiliser, both policies which precisely zero countries have adopted. Policymakers are largely oblivious to MMT and certainly don't use it to justify their social policies, and "helicopter money" came from the opposite side of the political/economic spectrum decades earlier. In that respect it's exactly as heterodox as Mises-style Austrian economics, which has similarly failed to persuade mainstream conservatives who share similar ideas about small states of its core ideas about gold standards and the futility of economic modelling...

JumpCrisscross 2y ago

> "Heterodox" is a term of art in economics, it doesn't mean what "heterodox" means in English Seriously, where are you getting this? The first consequential word in the article! It’s literally a link to an article about heterodox economics [1]! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterodox_economics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterodox_economics

pclmulqdq 2y ago
I don't understand how you can come to the understanding that "heterodox" isn't a term of art when there's an entire wikipedia page devoted to explaining the meaning of "heterodox" (and another one about "mainstream") in the context of economics... An economic theory described as part of "heterodox economics" can, in fact, be relatively mainstream given enough exposure and enough followers (which is where MMT is today). Conversely, parts of "mainstream economics" are relatively controversial and are thus heterodox ways of thinking. If you think about "orthodox Christianity," the word "orthodox" says nothing about its popularity. The same goes for "heterodox economics." Pretty much all monetary theories are parts of heterodox economics.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > An economic theory described as part of "heterodox economics" can, in fact, be relatively mainstream No. It cannot. This time I cite the literal first sentence of the Wikipedia definition of heterodox economics. > all monetary theories are parts of heterodox economics Not what heterodox or mainstream mean.

notahacker 2y ago

The core of MMT economic policy is the abolition of government bond markets and the state replacing existing unemployment benefits with a "job guarantee" intended to act as an alternative endogenous economic stabiliser, both policies which precisely zero countries have adopted. Policymakers are largely oblivious to MMT and certainly don't use it to justify their social policies, and "helicopter money" came from the opposite side of the political/economic spectrum decades earlier. In that respect it's exactly as heterodox as Mises-style Austrian economics, which has similarly failed to persuade mainstream conservatives who share similar ideas about small states of its core ideas about gold standards and the futility of economic modelling...