There Are No Contradictions

Boosting Aaron Good here, in his chat with Steve G.

Just to insert some realism into this mix of analysis of decline of empire. I do not see any of it as “contradiction” (shmeghegelian brainrot jargon in my humble view) in any way shape or form. All the crud is entirely consistent with what you should fully expect to happen under thoroughly unjust and iniquitous macroeconomic policy systems and false paradigm frameworks, and when diseased plutocrats have the lever controls. The greed and corruption is not a contradiction of anything. It is baked-in to state-sponsored capitalism. Neoliberalism is just the highest more refined form.

A Mucky Interlude

For the n00bs and rubes: even (otherwise excellent muckracker) journo Greg Palast (here) spews right-wing Thatcherite myths. So I had to comment on his latest chat with Thom Hartmann — (Thom Hartmann huh? Nice radio voice, goldfish memory for MMT.)

(I’ll get back to Aaron below.)

@5:30 it's not “tax payer money.” That’s a gross reich-wing Thatcherite myth. Stop parroting it. The reality is far worse than that too. The US government issues the tax credits (aka. USD, aka. I.O.U. of the US government) by fiat, and cannot ever run out of their own IOU. If it was “tax payer dollars” someone somewhere has a trillion dollar counterfeit operation going in their garage or basement someplace.

There’s two sides to all this. All net government spending is funding the tax payer. (The exact opposite of what Larry-the-Perv would say. And will you believe Summers-the-sicko or me (a dirtbag poor leftie)?) You’ll believe me ahead of a worse-than-sex-offender monster of course, unless you want to live like a fool.

So when Congress spends to fuel war, it puts money in worker pockets. But when Congress spends on fictional free public (non-insurance) healthcare, it'd also put money in workers pockets. These “tax payers” are only ever funding the PRIVATE SECTOR, when we buy groceries or pay rent etc. This should put things in perspective for you. Do we want military armaments workers to have chock full bank accounts, or do we want teachers and nurses and construction workers to have chock full bank accounts? That’s the only relevant moral calculus for anyone in Congress with a non-ꕒꗍꖀ𐝥ꗍꘝꕯꖡ conscience to weigh. Not “where to find the money.” The USD comes from a spreadsheet operation, not from any “tax payer.” Tax receipts delete currency, it does not fund the issuer of the tax credits for heavens sake. So stop repeating those right-wing talking points, it’s dumb-dumb leftist fake-populist brainrot, and part of why we always lose.

The government debt is dollar-for-dollar the non-government sector savings (by accounting identity). But it all trickles up to the top Ten Percenters, the rentiers and financial parasites. They are not wealth creators, they are blood suckers. Never accept the Obama lies that, “We've run out of our own scorepoints.” It is an inapplicable concept. Public healthcare, education and housing can always be fully funded, up to the available number of teachers, nurses and builders. You cannot ever run out of your own IOU. More importantly, if the only thing you promise as redemption is to extinguish tax liabilities, then you also cannot generate any inflation with your net spending of IOU’s (if the spending is only to fully employ available unemployed resources). The private sector bid for unemployed labour being by definition ZERO.

Those are your Talking Points Mrs & Mr Dirtbag Leftipol and Mr & Mrs Slightly-More-Perfumed-Elegant Liberal-Progressive. Don’t like my fonts and my tone? Well then, heck, make it your own. Show some creative backbone.

Back to Revolutionary Damp Cloth Aaron

Aaron talks about how particularly the USA is not in a pre-revolutionary configuration, and never has been. (The American revolution was not a revolution. See the episode to hear why, I need not repeat Aaron’s analysis, he has things spot-on I reckon. Just you try arguing with him!) The USA population is in an anti-revolutionary state. (Jan-6 was about entrenching the oligarchy/plutocracy. Errr... yes it 𝔣𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔤𝔦𝔫 was.)

There is however more to an “anti-revolutionary population” than Aaron says. There is more to just “material conditions.” You also have to appreciate normal dumb 𝕒𝕗 people are thoroughly sick of the ruling “elites.” While that’s not a revolutionary mass living in material poverty, it is a mass of people thinking more or less in solidarity. Solidarity without Solidarity.

So there is something to leverage and work with. It’s maybe harder to craft and structure, but who knows, in some ways it might be easier, since those “fat ꗇꕷꕷꗍꕒ” (Gumbine’s, not mine, in this instance) but still mentally sickened people, will do a few odd things to avoid feeling so mentally ill.

A revolutionary is not bred by material poverty alone.

The old Marxist–Leninist methodology just completely fails though in this context, for exactly the “anti-revolutionary foment” reasons Aaron lays out (he is totally correct imho). So we need to all think in more expansive, more creative terms, and devise ways to gain an uncommon revolution for our current civilization context. It’s hard, since there is no precedent, no map for it, no one knows the tools. However, I believe they exist. Not to be found in MamSocialism I’d wager. But that misses the point. The fact Mamdani got elected shows you where the energy can be found. I believe Aaron thought so too. It may have been a manufactured controlled opposition fake democratic socialism mam-moment, but the reason people supported Mamdani is the point, not the guy Mamdani.

You absolutely must not ever blame ordinary working people for not wanting a violent revolution. You must work with them.

Once they learn MMT though, I’d be not surprised if they start realizing a non-violent revolution is possible, since the paradigm of realpolitik can so easily be switched into complete reverse. I’ve not known any dumb accounting understanding or the like to have ever been able to switch people’s imaginations into complete reverse. It’s damn remarkable, almost ꕷꖡꖹꘝꕯꕒꝆꔇ so. (It is not “MMT” per se that excites such radicalism, it is the good honest person who sees injustice can be overcome — without conjuring up the Inflaton Boogeyman — that is the spark.)

What Are Some Seeds?

I’d feel dopey without giving some hints at what my feeble mind imagines a non-violent revolution in our times might look like or where it might come from.

First is, consider what happens when a vast majority of people realize what they all deep down knew all along (but were afraid to admit it) that the State creates Its own currency? Then no billionaires ever need to be taxed, because no billionaires need ever exist. It’s not the billionaires own currency in those bank accounts, it’s government scorepoints. They’re not the job creators either.

Politicians will then appreciate they do not need to be on phone calls soliciting donations nor listening to lobbyists, all that crud can go away (by public funding of elections, plus no election advertising in the first place, no campaigns, the Internet gives people all they need to make informed decisions about the representational side of a semblance of democracy). Aaron is correct that we have never had a democracy. But you need to give people a vision of how they could have a democracy.

A very simple almost mindless, but good, step is to vote for whoever has the least donations but is short of being a ꖀ𐝥ꗍꖡꕯꖦ, (so, aside from the McGillicuddy Serious Party I guess. Hey, but why not that guy? Anyone who appreciates Monty Python can’t be all that bad.) Let the system know what you think of donor money in politics. (I’m not a “throw away our vote” guy, so this sort of action is no good unless mass organized.) It’s a fundamental issue though, since private donations distort democracy. The State itself can always provide matching-funds for any campaign, which is one way Mamdani got PR funding (which arguably was vital given that NY’s system is otherwise just as corrupt and rigged as anywhere else). Demand that on all websites where the local/state authority announces eligible candidates that their funding is fully disclosed. It’s not your responsibility to research on where the dirty politicians are getting their filthy money from, but it is your right to know. FOIA requests?

Secondly, continue the muckraking in your own way. Share what the muckraker’s like Greg Palast uncover, but while you’re at it don’t let them parrot the right-wing Thatcherite talking points either!

Thirdly, what about “machine automation”? Bring it on, I say. Machine automation is not an unemployment story, it is a productivity gain story. The workers are now free to do better things, like look after kids, or run community gardens, or whatever your public imagination can ... imagine. The issue with the machine algorithm slop is all the energy waste and pollution on computational output that has no social value whatsoever. If a machine displaces a “vital” worker but is using more raw energy, then it makes sense to “fire” — for being lazy and inefficient — the machine, if the worker would freely choose to do the work, ... but why would they? The issue is not the wage. The government can always pay the wage, or subsidize a private firm if it is in the public interest to do so.

But on balance, for most things people do that a machine could do about as well, albeit maybe consuming a little more electricity, it is probably a good thing to put the machine towards this stuff. No workers should be begging to work for a ꕷꖾꕯꖡꖡꔇ boss. The real issue is all the slop and ᲇ⋓ǁǁ𝕤ꖲⅈ╬ work, not the machines. Also, the ꕷꖾꕯꖡꖡꔇ bosses who control the production systems of course, and the software are rentiers a big ꘝꖾ𐝥ꗍꗇꗣꕯꖦꗱ problem. I’ve written a lot about how to make that all go away, so will not repeat it today, the seeds have been planted. Don’t be a ꕒꕯꖀꗣ and trample on them.

So plant seeds too by not complaining when you are made redundant by automation. Say “good riddance to that rubbish job.” But know that you must demand a decent dignified work or art or craft engagement from the government sector, because they are who are responsible for all state unemployment and underemployment (defined as people seeking to exchange their labour for state tax credits).

If you do not demand a decent job with a decent wage, then you’re a scab, you are not helping your fellow workers.