Thread by @rohangrey

@katiecannon2 @adam_tooze @DavidpStein @DanielaGabor @M_C_Klein @edwardnh @shawnsebastian @StevenAttewell @SandyDarity @FadhelKaboub @GChamedes I'd add, from my vantage point as someone who came into this space with no prior allegiance to MMT or the MMT 'high priests', that it was clear to me early on that MMT was fighting for big stakes - if they ended up achieving their goals, it would mean nothing less than a 1/x

@katiecannon2 @adam_tooze @DavidpStein @DanielaGabor @M_C_Klein @edwardnh @shawnsebastian @StevenAttewell @SandyDarity @FadhelKaboub @GChamedes reorientation of entire field of macro and providing a social narrative to explain/justify necessary anti-austerity policies as well as other important policies to achieve social justice (ie the Job Guarantee). So when confronted with critics or ostensible 'fellow travelers' 2/x

@katiecannon2 @adam_tooze @DavidpStein @DanielaGabor @M_C_Klein @edwardnh @shawnsebastian @StevenAttewell @SandyDarity @FadhelKaboub @GChamedes who, rather than supporting that ambitious goal and supporting the developing of MMT from within, chose instead to dismiss, undermine, nitpick, delegitimize, and/or try and divert/reduce MMT to something more aligned with their more narrow/minor goals, it was clear to me why 3/x

@katiecannon2 @adam_tooze @DavidpStein @DanielaGabor @M_C_Klein @edwardnh @shawnsebastian @StevenAttewell @SandyDarity @FadhelKaboub @GChamedes the appropriate/necessary response from MMT would come across as sanctimonious. Because many of the criticisms came from people who adopted what Joan Robinson called the 'why does an egg cost more than a cup of tea' economics - focusing on trees 4/x

jacobinmag.com/2011/07/joan-r…

@katiecannon2 @adam_tooze @DavidpStein @DanielaGabor @M_C_Klein @edwardnh @shawnsebastian @StevenAttewell @SandyDarity @FadhelKaboub @GChamedes at the expense of the forest, decontextualizing the framing of economic ideas from the social and political context required to turn them into real-world impact, etc. MMT was never interested in thinking small, or merely interpreting the world. The goal was to change it. That 5/x

@katiecannon2 @adam_tooze @DavidpStein @DanielaGabor @M_C_Klein @edwardnh @shawnsebastian @StevenAttewell @SandyDarity @FadhelKaboub @GChamedes inherently put them at odds with everyone who wanted "pleasant, civil theoretical debates", or to treat MMT as simply another interesting model or analytical point to be taught alongside a bunch of other heterodox ideas in an aimless/depoliticized way. I honestly dont think 6/x

@katiecannon2 @adam_tooze @DavidpStein @DanielaGabor @M_C_Klein @edwardnh @shawnsebastian @StevenAttewell @SandyDarity @FadhelKaboub @GChamedes MMT would be where it is at today, or would have had the intellectual and political impact it did, if it had presumed the goal was to entertain and validate those kinds of critics/interlocutors. Power and legitimacy comes from popular movements and understand material forces 7/x

@katiecannon2 @adam_tooze @DavidpStein @DanielaGabor @M_C_Klein @edwardnh @shawnsebastian @StevenAttewell @SandyDarity @FadhelKaboub @GChamedes in the real world, and MMT's approach was always to prioritize those considerations over what kept other heterodox or orthodox economists happy. It was never about playing their game right, and rightly so. 8/8.