Most financial commentators are of the view that increases in the stock market translate to an increase in economic growth. The reason is because the increase in stock prices lifts consumer and business optimism, which, in turn, boosts consumer and business demand for goods and services. This, in turn, strengthens the economy. But is it valid to hold that what drives the economy is the demand for goods and services?

Nothing brings Republicans and Democrats together like using simplistic, heavy-handed government regulations to attempt to solve complex problems. Unfortunately, the promise of easy solutions blinds policymakers to much more effective alternatives.

Practically every student of Austrian economics is familiar, at least in passing, with the moment when Keynes said the proverbial quiet part out loud in the foreword to the German edition of his General Theory. One translation of that text reads,

Lysander Spooner is well known as an abolitionist who argued that slavery was a violation of natural law.

“The best way to destroy an enemy . . . is to make him your friend.”— Stanislav Petrov, The Man Who Saved the World

Humans—a problem-solving species—cannot solve its worst problem; not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Why is that the case? The solution’s in the hands of states that created it and they don’t want it solved.

Discussing socialism is difficult, not only because of the many different varieties that have been proposed, but also because its definition is highly malleable. In debates socialists often shift between different interpretations—sometimes emphasizing state control, other times focusing on worker cooperatives or social safety nets—depending on what best suits their argument at the time. Broadly, however, the various versions of socialism can be categorized as follows:

MMT poses two propositions: 1) that money originates according to the theory of chartalism, that is, money is essentially created and regulated by the state; and, 2) that only “monetary sovereigns” can employ MMT policies successfully.