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Palgrave Macmillan

Modern Monetary Theory and Distributive Justice

  • Book
  • © 2023

Overview

  • Provides an introduction to modern money theory

  • Argues that state spending can improve persons’ well-being without redistribution via taxation

  • Uses modern money theory to re-frame traditional distributive justice approaches to macroeconomics

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

Keywords

About this book

Modern Monetary Theory and Distributive Justice shows how the macroeconomic framework called modern money theory (MMT) is relevant to the field of political philosophy called distributive justice. Many of the macroeconomic assumptions of distributive justice are unstated and unexamined. The framework of MMT illuminates these assumptions and provides an alternative vision of distributive justice analysis and prescriptions. In particular, MMT holds that modern money is a nominal state issued token (fiat), there is a distinction between nominal assets and real assets, that state money as a nominal token can cause changes in real terms, and that the macroeconomy has historically not operated at capacity. The upshot of these assumptions held by MMT is that state spending can bring about changes in persons’ well-being without traditional redistributive measures via taxation. This is in contradistinction to standard assumptions in the distributive justice literature, which holds that the macroeconomy is at capacity and, thus, redistribution is the necessary mechanism for enacting improvements in well-being. This is a fundamental shift in how distributive justice can be conceived.


Authors and Affiliations

  • Chicago, USA

    Justin P. Holt

About the author

Justin P. Holt taught political philosophy at New York University, Eugene Lang College, The City University of New York, and Wright College. He completed his Ph.D. in philosophy at the New School for Social Research. Holt has published several articles and books on political philosophy, sociology, distributive justice, economics, just economic regimes, G.A. Cohen, and John Rawls. Currently, he works as an economist at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Modern Monetary Theory and Distributive Justice

  • Authors: Justin P. Holt

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43304-7

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-43303-0Published: 14 October 2023

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-43306-1Due: 28 October 2024

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-43304-7Published: 13 October 2023

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: V, 104

  • Topics: Philosophy, general, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of the Social Sciences

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