Chapo Trap House radicalized

How LinkedIn turned this “Failmom” into a socialist by Lori Barrett

Annie Lowrey has new UBI book

Give People Money Q & A

J.W. Mason on Neoliberalism

The Market Police by J.W. Mason

Obama — Just Too Good for Us - Dowd

Obama — Just Too Good for Us by Maureen Dowd

Populism

Democracy Without the People by THEA RIOFRANCOS

Stereolab - Mountain

central bank accounts for everyone

Central banks should consider offering accounts to everyone

h/t Steve Randy Waldman

Neil Irwin on the Marx ratio

Is Capital or Labor Winning at Your Favorite Company? Introducing the Marx Ratio by Neil Irwin

America’s Version of Capitalism Is Incompatible With Democracy

America’s Version of Capitalism Is Incompatible With Democracy by Eric Levitz

Stereolab - Les Yper Sound

Normcore

Normcore by Jedediah Purdy

Italy's new government

Italy’s Biggest Problem: The Euro by Matthew C. Klein

Clinton campaign

From the Jaws of Victory by BRANKO MARCETIC

the religious and the rich

Marx on the opiate of the masses was more complex and sympathetic than the New Atheists or their reputation anyways:

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

Should religion be taxed away? Should the rich? I've had social media discussions with ardent MMTers and they believe JG will somehow be a better vehicle than a UBI against the rich and against capitalist logic.

John Quiggin says of MMT: 

Unfortunately #MMT is a restatement of standard Keynesianism that readily morphs into pernicious nonsense - no need to tax the rich, just run whatever deficit you feel like. In my experience, "no need to tax the rich" is the big selling point.

The JG advocates go on about how everyone needs to chip in and produce and do "socially necessary" labor.

I lean more towards Keynes who did advocate euthanizing the rentier but also allowed for people to save up money and be competitive over accumulation:

Moreover, dangerous human proclivities can be canalised into comparatively harmless channels by the existence of opportunities for money-making and private wealth, which, if they cannot be satisfied in this way, may find their outlet in cruelty, the reckless pursuit of personal power and authority, and other forms of self-aggrandisement. It is better that a man should tyrannise over his bank balance than over his fellow-citizens; and whilst the former is sometimes denounced as being but a means to the latter, sometimes at least it is an alternative. But it is not necessary for the stimulation of these activities and the satisfaction of these proclivities that the game should be played for such high stakes as at present. Much lower stakes will serve the purpose equally well, as soon as the players are accustomed to them....

Ice Cube - You Can Do It

Shame and platforms

Josh Denny who has a Food Network show "Ginormous Eats" has been tweeting some racist stuff.

Is it okay to tweet at Food Network and try to get him fired? What if it was sexist stuff? Homophobic stuff? Where do you draw the line?

I don't think it's a good idea to try to get people fired b/c if the world lives by eye-for-eye then everyone is blind. I don't think it's worthwhile to doxx pathetic, poor alt right Nazis from their job at the hot dog stand. Yes call them out and fight them.

But there are stories of ex-Nazis "deprogramming" other poor Nazis like from a cult or from a gang. I'm not talking about the suburban Nazis, but the more working class, poor ones. Give them something else to live for, don't just write them off.

But people higher up the scale like the racist lawyer in NYC and Denny? I'm starting to think it's okay. Trump has made it more permissible for these people to speak out and spread their hate. It's worthwhile to push back and don't let them build momentum especially via platforms. I'm very pro-Antifa.

But still I think the focus on getting people fired is overdone, like who cares if Joy Reid or Neera Tanden is fired? They'll just be replaced. It's funny to point out their faux pas and hypocrisies.

The focus should be on what sort of platform they have and how much power.

Better to try to convert people rather than shame them as Briahna Joy Gray and Steve Randy Waldman emphasize within the context of Trump voters and deplorables. Paul Krugman has finally admitted that the rise in populism in Europe can have something to do with economic anxiety rather than just being a matter of racist deplorables.

This means - as some European researchers sugget:

The policy implication and take-home message that stems from our results is clear: if one wants to defeat populism, one must defeat first economic insecurity.

Chris Dillow is also very good on this.

(not the clearest blog, maybe contradictory, but I'm working out my ideas on this. It's difficult to generalize. Better to punch up than punch down. Better to try to make allies than enemies. Cut people some slack and be generous even if they aren't with you.)

populism backlash in Europe

The populism backlash: An economically driven backlash

The cultural backlash against globalisation, traditional politics and institutions, immigration, and automation cannot be an exogenous occurrence, it is driven by economic woes. In fact, as we show, in regions where globalisation was present but have benefited economically there is no such cultural backlash at all and the populist message has retreated. The policy implication and take-home message that stems from our results is clear: if one wants to defeat populism, one must defeat first economic insecurity. 

Can consensus towards populist forces persist even after economic insecurity has been reabsorbed? This is the key question today. While the documented culture backlash cannot be the root cause of populist success as it is itself borne out of economic insecurity, it may play a crucial role looking forward. If the new identity politics succeeds in reshaping peoples' beliefs and attitudes, sentiments can acquire an autonomous role and may continue to exert an effect even when their economic cause is gone.

Krugman on economic anxiety and populism

Krugman:

In Italy, it really is economic anxiety driving populism

6:43 AM - 18 May 2018

Corbynomics

Corbynomics would change Britain—but not in the way most people think

hashtag Basicincome