Macro N Cheese

According to Wikipedia, “Enshittification, also known as platform decay, is the pattern of decreasing quality of online platforms that act as two-sided markets. Enshittification can be seen as a form of rent-seeking. Examples of alleged enshittification have included Amazon, Bandcamp, Facebook, Google Search, Quora, Reddit, and Twitter.” Wikipedia also tells us the term was coined by today’s guest Cory Doctorow.Steve and Cory discuss his new fiction book, The Lost Cause, which explores truth and reconciliation in a polarized future and then delve into his nonfiction work, particularly The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation, which focuses on the power and abuses of major corporations, especially in the tech industry. They talk about the concept of "platform decay" (enshittification) and how platforms have become the dominant life form on the internet.Cory explains another term, "acidification," which describes the pathology of this decay and the inevitable outcome when platforms are not regula

**If you’ve been enjoying – and learning from – this podcast for the past five years, you’ll want to know about the end of the year fundraiser for Real Progressives. For the rest of 2023, your donation will be fully matched by a generous supporter. If you donate $100 or more, you get a free t-shirt. We count on our community to help us pay for the equipment and platforms to bring you this important content.Donate here or go to our website, realprogressives.orgFadhel Kaboub is back for his lucky 13th episode. He talks with Steve about the concept of climate reparations and its significance in tackling the climate crisis. True reparations go beyond financial compensation; they must include transferring technology, repairing our ecosystem, and restructuring the global financial and trade systems.The global North must not shirk its historic responsibility and disproportionate impact of climate change on the Global South. Fadhel and Steve discuss the need for truth and reconciliation as a starting point for repara

** Come Chill with us! Every Tuesday at 8pm ET/5pm PT, we gather on Zoom for a listening party and discussion of the recent episode of this podcast. Look on our Events Calendar for the new Macro ‘n Chill registration link each week. https://realprogressives.org/rp-events-calendar/ The consequences of income inequality extend far beyond economic disparities. Stephen Bezruchka focuses on its effect on health. Stephen is on the faculty of the School of Public Health at University of Washington and is author of Inequality Kills Us All. Much of this interview looks at these issues in the US.Stephen directly ties inequality to mortality rates, disease, and early childhood development. It’s interesting to hear a physician who doesn’t blame our individual choices and habits; he lays our health problems squarely at the feet of the political and economic system.The profit-driven nature of healthcare in the US prioritizes financial gain over the health of individuals. Stephen describes the role of the lobbying industry

Charles Derber, author of "Dying for Capitalism", talks with Steve about the intersectionality between capitalism, environmental destruction, and militarism. He argues that the capitalist system, particularly in its neoliberal form, is inherently connected to the threats of environmental catastrophe and war. He emphasizes the historical context of these connections, tracing the shift from water-powered capitalism to coal and then oil as a means to maintain control and avoid public opposition. He highlights the role of the military in perpetuating climate change and the destructive consequences of war on the environment.Charles addresses the skepticism and cynicism often associated with the idea of changing capitalism but he believes change is possible through diverse strategies and alliances. He draws lessons from historical movements, such as the abolitionist movement, the Bolshevik revolution, and the reinvigorated labor movement. He touches on social media, which can be used to control and manipulate, but

David Fields talks to Steve about “Economists for Palestine,” the statement released by the Union for Radical Political Economics (URPE). They emphasize economists’ responsibility to take a stand against the genocide being perpetrated against the Palestinians. They look at the connection between Zionism and the global capitalist system, debunking misinformation while highlighting the difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism.We at Macro N Cheese urge our listeners to circulate the statement. https://urpe.org/2023/11/08/economists-for-palestine/Economists for PalestineWe stand in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people. Since October 7th, 2023, over two million people have faced a brutal onslaught by the Israeli military and state. They have been forced to flee with nowhere to go as homes, shelters, evacuation routes, border crossings, hospitals, places of worship and entire neighborhoods have been bombed.We mourn civilian deaths in both Israel and Palestine. Israel’s retaliation for the Octob

**Welcome to Episode #250! This represents 250 straight weeks of work on this podcast. We couldn’t have managed without our diligent team: Steve Grumbine, host and head honcho, Andy Kennedy, audio engineer, editor and producer, Virginia Cotts, Julie Alberding, Jonathan Kadmon, Commie John Siener, and Tim O’Neill, who create show notes, art, transcripts, and a whole section of extra information and links to resources.We have now added a bonus event, Macro ‘n Chill, a weekly Zoom meeting where the community can gather, listen, and discuss the episode. To find us, go to the RP Events Calendar on Real Progressives’ website, realprogressives.org/rp-events-calendar. Click the upcoming Tuesday where you’ll find information and the registration link. The event is usually posted on Saturday after the newest episode is released. If it's not there, check back later. See you next Tuesday!**This week’s episode is the second half of Steve’s interview with Hamza Hamouchene about his book, Dismantling Green Colonialism: Ener

When we talk about the climate crisis, common wisdom says we’re all in it together. That implies that everyone is responsible, and everyone needs to do something about it. Our guest, Dr. Hamza Hamouchene, attacks this notion unequivocally: “The historical responsibility, of course, in the climate crisis lies within the industrialized capitalist West.” Most of the impacts are felt by communities in the global South, in countries that have been impoverished since colonial times. As developing nations they are additionally burdened by international financial institutions when, in fact, they are owed climate reparations.Hamza is co-editor of Dismantling Green Colonialism: Energy and Climate Justice in the Arab Region. He talks with Steve about the urgent need for climate justice and decolonization, while suggesting what a just transition would entail.They emphasize the critical need for support of the Palestinians, whose cause must be included in discussions of colonialism, climate justice, global trade, and ener

This week’s episode is another webinar from our RP Live series: Inside a Failed State, with Michael Hudson.Michael prefers a Q&A format. Attendee questions revolved around US political economy, domestic and global. He discusses topics such as healthcare, de-dollarization, and the impact of economic policies on the working class. He emphasizes the need for a change in economic philosophy and highlights the government's ability to create money for social programs.A common Hudson theme is the difference between the production and consumption economy, or what he calls the real economy, and the financial sector of assets and liabilities, of loans and debts, which is superimposed on the real economy.“Money is spent in the real economy, but bank credit is spent really just to increase the debt overhead in the economy — the overhead of mortgage debt, of corporate debt, and speculative debt.”A Michael Hudson episode always sparks lively, sometimes contentious, comments. His insights on finance, politics, and class

**Tuesday, October 24th, join us for an informal Zoom meeting where we will be listening and discussing this episode. 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Find the registration link at https://realprogressives.org/event/macro-n-chill-247/ As a society we are conditioned to believe we can f*ck with nature, with the living world, but the economy is immutable. We dare not try to change it. As MMTers we say: hahahahaha... *sob* These two assumptions explain why we’re hurtling towards ecological catastrophe and why austerity has become a way of life. Steve’s guests this week are Colleen Schneider and Christopher Olk. They are co-authors, with Jason Hickel, of the paper, How to Pay for Saving the World: Modern Monetary Theory for a Degrowth Transition. Any listeners who have paid attention to Real Progressives’ journey over the past couple of years will be excited to add Colleen and Christopher’s insights to their intellectual arsenal. They are those rare scholars who manage to be both realistic and optimistic. (They are not suggestin

**Don’t forget to register for Macro ‘n Chill. Come listen to the episode together and discuss it on Tuesday evening at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. This week’s registration link is at https://realprogressives.org/event/macro-n-chill-246/Carlos García Hernández is the author of Fiat Socialism: Achieving the Goals of Socialism through Modern Monetary Theory. He lays out the five goals of fiat socialism:Full employmentFull and prudent use of material resourcesThe guarantee of the five essentials to every citizen: food, housing, clothing, health services, and educationSocial security at all major exposed points in the social structure (eg, old age, sickness, accident, temporary unemployment, and childbearing)Labor standards, to be assured by labor unionsCarlos maintains that any society achieving these five goals at the same time and permanently should be called socialist, no matter the size of the private sector.Steve and Carlos discuss the philosophical foundations of both fiat socialism and Marxism. They also look at the

**Tuesday evenings, Real Progressives and friends gather on Zoom for a listening party and discussion of Macro N Cheese. To register, go to the events calendar on our website and look for the upcoming Tuesday: https://realprogressives.org/rp-events-calendar/ This week’s episode welcomes back Fadhel Kaboub, a valued friend of this podcast. He and Steve discuss the concept of just transition and the problems with carbon markets as a solution to climate change. They stress the injustice of historic polluters buying carbon credits to continue polluting while displacing vulnerable communities in developing countries. It is yet another capitalist solution. The current global financial architecture, established during colonial times, is neither designed to address the climate crisis nor to promote sustainable prosperity.They emphasize the need for systemic change and a new vision for Africa and the global South that prioritizes food sovereignty, energy sovereignty, and industrial policy. They talk about the power dy

A head of state whose economic policies promote austerity and fiscal responsibility is:ConservativeProgressiveN/A (not applicable)Daniel Conceição is with us for his third visit to Macro N Cheese. He and Steve discuss the failures of both right and left governments. Some broad strokes of Brazil’s historical patterns are not so different from those in the US. The last left(ish) president, Dilma Rousseff, abandoned her Leninist roots and hopped aboard the privatization train. It wasn’t enough to protect her from impeachment, however.It’s easy to see parallels between Bolsonaro and Trump as well as the lesser evilism we’re facing in both our countries today. Despite President Lula's progressive rhetoric, his economic policies prioritize deficit reduction. His administration is committed to delivering fiscal results to financial markets over public investment in education, healthcare, and other social services.Daniel touches on the “dollarizing” of Argentina's economy and explains that it can only exacerbate inst

“The impossibility of economic catch-up does not imply that the citizens of the global South are condemned to suffer from poverty and inequality. It only implies that capitalism has nothing to offer as a prospect of a decent life for the vast majority of humanity...”In this webinar from our popular RP Live series, Ndongo Samba Sylla tells us of the challenges facing Africa through the story of Thomas Sankara and breaks down what Sankara meant when he told the people to "live as African.” Ndongo suggests that the way forward combines the insights provided by MMT with Sankara’s plans for African liberation and development. He calls it MMT-ing Sankara or Sankara-ing MMT. Since some see MMT as apolitical, Ndongo is making a crucial point. He also goes into detail as to why cancelling international debt, though necessary, is not enough.After his presentation, Ndongo takes questions from attendees on the role of BRICS and potential benefits for Africa in a multi-polar world. He touches on the CFA franc and explains

**If you’d like to discuss this episode with friends and comrades, join our Macro ‘n Chill listening party on Tuesday evening at 8 ET/5 PT. For the Zoom registration link, go to realprogressives.org/rp-events-calendar/Understanding how monetary sovereign governments create and spend money means looking at the Treasury department and the central bank or, in the US, the Federal Reserve.Economist Eric Tymoigne explains two approaches to understanding the relationship: the consolidated and the collaborative, or cooperative, version of the Treasury and the Fed.The consolidated approach merges the Fed and the Treasury into one entity and analyzes the implications of this merger on public finance. It emphasizes that taxes and government securities don’t fund the government, but rather, the government spends by crediting accounts. (This comes as no surprise to MMTers.)The consolidated approach also highlights the importance of injecting reserves into the economy before taxes can be collected or government securities

**On Tuesday evenings, Real Progressives hosts Macro ‘n Chill, an informal listening party for members of the community to discuss an episode of this podcast. For the Zoom registration link go to realprogressives.org/rp-events-calendar/When someone associates Modern Monetary Theory with left or right wing politics, they’re signaling they know nothing of MMT and are simply associating it with some of its proponents. MMTers are political, MMT is not. Regarding degrowth, this week’s guest, Bill Mitchell, explains:“The way I think about it is that MMT is compatible with deep, hard industry pollution and massive growth if you want it to be. And it is also compatible with a highly sustainable strategy to reduce our reliance on mass consumption and to divert our economic activity, which we normally think is gross domestic product, to divert that into sustainable products. In other words, radically change the composition of our output.”In other words, MMT neither supports nor opposes the degrowth agenda. In this epis

“I think within every labor struggle is a kernel of a broader transformation of society. So, it's interesting because Harry Bridges, who was the longtime leader of the longshore workers on the West Coast from the 1930s to the 1960s, when he talked about strike, he said every strike is a mini-revolution.”On the eve of the strike authorization vote by American Airlines flight attendants, Joe Burns spoke with Steve about the labor movement, unions, and class struggle. Joe, a labor lawyer and negotiator, has been a guest on Macro N Cheese twice before. His focus, then and now, is on the importance of class struggle unionism and the need for union leadership that is willing to engage in the broader fight, confronting power at its core.“When you think about it, every labor struggle has inherent in it the struggle over control and power. And who's running society … For that reason, it tends to inherently have this radicalism buried within it. And I think our task as class struggle unionists is to help uncover and fu

Activists and organizers know that effective communication depends on connecting with people’s real needs. But we’re often baffled when people don’t act in their own interests or don’t identify others’ interests as intersecting with their own.To grapple with some of these questions, Steve turns to Stephanie Preston, Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan and author of The Altruistic Urge: Why We’re Driven to Help Others. They delve into in-group versus out-group dynamics and the challenges of creating altruistic urges within different socioeconomic groups.The conversation explores structural solutions to address societal issues, such as universal basic needs and improved access to healthcare. Stephanie argues that eradicating precarity and providing basic survival needs would shift the mindset towards seeing individuals as deserving of support and compassion.Of course, there’s still the question of achieving these solutions. That’s where our activism comes in. For some of us, this episode may r

RP Book Club spent four weeks on The Case for a Job Guarantee, by Pavlina R. Tcherneva. Each week featured a different guest expert who led the discussion and answered questions. Listeners to this podcast will recognize their names, including Pavlina herself, Fadhel Kaboub, Ben Wilson, and Rohan Grey. We were also honored to have Bill Black and June Carbone join in.For this episode, Macro N Cheese is releasing the audio recording of all four sessions. Since it is unusually long, the time codes for each segment are included below.[00:03:09 - 01:55:41] Session OneGuest: Fadhel KaboubIntroductionChapter 1, “A Public Option for Good Jobs”Chapter 2, “A Steep Price for a Broken Status Quo”[01:55:41 - 03:17:41] Session TwoGuest: Pavlina TchernevaChapter 3, “The Job Guarantee, a New Social Contract and Macroeconomic Model”Chapter 4, “But How Will You Pay for It?”[03:18:44 - 04:41:57] Session ThreeGuest: Ben WilsonChapter 5, “What, Where, and How: Jobs, Design, and Implementation”[04:41:57 - 06:29:43] Session FourGues

“...Because we recognize that taxes are not a funding operation, there's this myth that people who support MMT don't want to use fiscal policy to promote equity. Of course, taxes are redistribution … Things have gotten way out of hand, so taxation is also intended to promote equity, to affect distribution and allocation. Resource allocation.”Mat Forstater was on this podcast four years ago (episode 21!) recounting the history of MMT. He described his early days at Levy Institute and UMKC, his relationship with Warren Mosler and Pavlina Tcherneva, and how they established MMT as interdisciplinary, expanding into law and humanities. If you haven’t listened to that episode, we urge you to check it out.This week, Mat talks to Steve about the role of taxation in the economy and its relation to government spending. It’s not enough to understand how taxes create a demand for the nation’s currency and give it value. Mat always reminds us to consider the total impact of any policy — from using taxation to encourage or

The title of this week’s episode is taken from an article to be published in September’s Monthly Review. The author, Jason Hickel, talks to Steve about the topic in his third visit to the podcast.Before we look at the double objective of ecosocialism we must analyze the double crisis we’re facing – ecological and social. Both are caused by the same underlying issue: the capitalist mode of production.Capitalism creates an almost perfect circuit that begins and ends with commodification and enclosure. Well, actually, it ends with massive profits... and that double crisis we mentioned. With essential goods and services outside our control, we have no bargaining power when it comes to the cost of living. We are helpless in the face of artificial scarcity and price-gouging. Faced with the high price of necessities we are forced to work longer and harder in order to simply survive. And of course, the more we need to work, the less control we have over our wages. The capitalist class makes out at both ends.There are