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@ProfSteveKeen’s talk at @Graeber_social yesterday began with a discussion of how mainstream economics perceives reality. I found it difficult to follow his mathematical arguments—perhaps as difficult as trying to follow a medieval monk’s proof of God’s existence—but the takeaway was clear: economists portray the state budget as a household that can go bankrupt if debts aren’t paid and that the government must impose austerity in times of “excessive spending.”

The worldview of modern economists has little to do with reality, but it works perfectly as a system for consolidating power, where financial elites control everything and justify cutting social spending as “saving the budget.”

Steve’s explanation of how an economy of abundance could actually work was much easier to understand for laypeople like me. He explained what money really is (debt and social relationships) and how the state creates it.

None of this is taught in universities. On the contrary, educational institutions churn out “economics specialists” with misguided ideas about how the world works—like insisting the Earth is flat.

Today’s global arms race and economic crisis are happening precisely because the ruling class has no ideas—none at all—except to fuel the war machine: military Keynesianism.

We need more Steve Keen lectures!

Let knowledge prevail over ignorance!