Learn 50+ Years of Economics in Only 7 Weeks, by applying here: https://www.stevekeen.com

(Plus get Ravel — the economic visualization software we reference in this episode — as a bonus if you’re accepted and join.)

Top Economist Steve Keen sits down with Richard J. Murphy for an insightful conversation about why textbook economics so often fail in the real world and what to do instead. From the “theory of the second best” to the Cambridge Capital Controversies, from double-entry bookkeeping to sectoral balances, they unpack how bad assumptions create bad policy, and where Steve agrees with MMT on government money creation and where he pushes back on trade.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

✅ “Textbooks are teaching a lie”: how clean curves hide messy realities

✅ Why equilibrium thinking and perfect-competition myths mislead students and policymakers

✅ The second-best insight: removing one “distortion” can make outcomes worse

✅ Cambridge Capital Controversies and Samuelson’s quiet concession — and why it never reached textbooks

✅ Double-entry as first principles for money and macro, not supply–demand parables

✅ Where Steve aligns with MMT on deficits and money creation — and why he disputes “exports are a cost, imports a benefit”

✅ Climate economics under fire: why trivializing risk derails the response we need

✅ What Ravel brings to monetary and macro modeling (and what’s coming next)

Key insights:

• Start from accounting and definitions, not analogies.

• Sectoral balances are conservation laws: one sector’s surplus is another’s deficit.

• You can’t fix macro with micro parables; you need dynamic, accounting-consistent models.

• Honest economics welcomes critique — even of our own side — when the data and logic demand it.

What should Steve and Richard tackle next — deep dive on double-entry and Ravel, or a full episode on climate economics? Tell us below.

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Steve Keen — Website: https://stevekeen.com

Who are the guests?

Dr. Steve Keen is an economist known for accounting-consistent, dynamic models of money and debt, and the creator of the Minsky and Ravel tools. He challenges textbook myths with operational mechanics.

Prof. Richard Murphy, a political economist, author of the Funding the Future blog, and a long-time critic of the failed ideas driving our economy, known for clear explanations of how real-world accounts should shape economic debate.

Learn 50+ Years of Economics in Only 7 Weeks, by applying here: https://www.stevekeen.com

(Plus get Ravel — the software discussed in this podcast — as a bonus if you’re accepted and join.)

#SteveKeen #Economics #DoubleEntry #RichardJMurphy #MMT #Ravel #CambridgeControversies #SecondBest #economicpolicy #economicrecovery #economicimpact

Learn 50+ Years of Economics in Only 7 Weeks, by applying here: https://www.stevekeen.com

(Plus get Ravel — the economic visualization software used in this video — as a bonus if you’re accepted and join.)

Top Economist Steve Keen reveals how high-cost debt is crushing Americans and why current U.S. policies are steering the economy toward crisis. He explains, with clear double-entry accounting and Ravel visualizations, how private bank lending still creates most of the money in circulation, why government deficits actually increase deposits and reserves, and how open-market operations simply shuffle assets without generating real wealth. Keen argues that the true solution isn’t austerity but a Modern Debt Jubilee—a bold reset that cancels unpayable debts, restores balance sheets, and revives real economic growth without relying on the illusion of “printing money.”

In this breakdown, you’ll discover:

✅ Government Spending & Taxes: How deposits rise and taxes fall—what actually impacts Americans’ wallets.

✅ Bank Reserves 101: What banks can—and can’t—do with reserves, and why it doesn’t relieve high-cost debt.

✅ Deficit Mechanics: Why deficits create money and reserves, and why surpluses can worsen economic stress.

✅ Eight Key Entries: How government money creation works behind the scenes beyond basic double-entry.

✅ Borrowing from the Private Sector: The accounting myth that misleads policymakers and the public.

✅ OMOs & QE Explained: When these tools create real money—and when they fail to.

✅ Money Data Since 2000: Most new money has been private credit, fueling debt pressures.

✅ Government Negative Financial Equity: Why it’s necessary, but why Americans still feel the squeeze from high-cost debt.

Key insights:

• Deficit is not a bug — it’s the feature that creates net financial assets for the private sector.

• Reserves are bank-to-central-bank balances; they support payments and bond settlement, not your latte.

• Open-market operations with non-banks can create money; purchases from banks swap assets inside the banking system.

• Loanable-funds thinking explodes government debt in theory because it excludes money creation in the first place.

• Accounting done properly shows government negative financial equity mirrors private positive equity.

-----

What did you think of the eight-entry walkthrough and the OMO/QE distinctions? Share your thoughts below.

Subscribe for reality-based economics

Like if this clarified how deficits, reserves, and QE actually work

Share to help others move beyond textbook myths

-----

Who is Dr. Steve Keen?

Dr. Steve Keen is an influential economist who has dedicated over 50 years to challenging mainstream economic theories. Since his days as a university student, he has been engaged in a David vs. Goliath battle against conventional economic models. Holding a Ph.D. in economics, Dr. Keen is well-known for his critical analysis and advocacy for more realistic economic approaches. His work emphasizes the importance of accounting for financial instability and incorporates elements of complex systems theory.

Curious Minds, Engineers, and Finance Professionals will appreciate his methodical breakdown of economic phenomena and his development of the Minsky software, which models financial crises. Dr. Keen's contributions are crucial for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of how economic systems can impact technological and financial environments. His teachings offer valuable insights into the economic forces shaping our world. By following his analysis, professionals can gain a better grasp of economic dynamics that influence their fields.

Learn 50+ Years of Economics in Only 7 Weeks, by applying here:...

Learn 50+ Years of Economics in Only 7 Weeks, by applying here: https://www.stevekeen.com

(Plus get Ravel — the economic visualization software used in this video — as a bonus if you’re accepted and join.)

Top Economist Steve Keen reveals how high-cost debt is crushing Americans and why current U.S. policies are steering the economy toward crisis. He explains, with clear double-entry accounting and Ravel visualizations, how private bank lending still creates most of the money in circulation, why government deficits actually increase deposits and reserves, and how open-market operations simply shuffle assets without generating real wealth. Keen argues that the true solution isn’t austerity but a Modern Debt Jubilee—a bold reset that cancels unpayable debts, restores balance sheets, and revives real economic growth without relying on the illusion of “printing money.”

In this breakdown, you’ll discover:

✅ Government Spending & Taxes: How deposits rise and taxes fall—what actually impacts Americans’ wallets.

✅ Bank Reserves 101: What banks can—and can’t—do with reserves, and why it doesn’t relieve high-cost debt.

✅ Deficit Mechanics: Why deficits create money and reserves, and why surpluses can worsen economic stress.

✅ Eight Key Entries: How government money creation works behind the scenes beyond basic double-entry.

✅ Borrowing from the Private Sector: The accounting myth that misleads policymakers and the public.

✅ OMOs & QE Explained: When these tools create real money—and when they fail to.

✅ Money Data Since 2000: Most new money has been private credit, fueling debt pressures.

✅ Government Negative Financial Equity: Why it’s necessary, but why Americans still feel the squeeze from high-cost debt.

Key insights:

• Deficit is not a bug — it’s the feature that creates net financial assets for the private sector.

• Reserves are bank-to-central-bank balances; they support payments and bond settlement, not your latte.

• Open-market operations with non-banks can create money; purchases from banks swap assets inside the banking system.

• Loanable-funds thinking explodes government debt in theory because it excludes money creation in the first place.

• Accounting done properly shows government negative financial equity mirrors private positive equity.

-----

What did you think of the eight-entry walkthrough and the OMO/QE distinctions? Share your thoughts below.

Subscribe for reality-based economics

Like if this clarified how deficits, reserves, and QE actually work

Share to help others move beyond textbook myths

-----

Who is Dr. Steve Keen?

Dr. Steve Keen is an influential economist who has dedicated over 50 years to challenging mainstream economic theories. Since his days as a university student, he has been engaged in a David vs. Goliath battle against conventional economic models. Holding a Ph.D. in economics, Dr. Keen is well-known for his critical analysis and advocacy for more realistic economic approaches. His work emphasizes the importance of accounting for financial instability and incorporates elements of complex systems theory.

Curious Minds, Engineers, and Finance Professionals will appreciate his methodical breakdown of economic phenomena and his development of the Minsky software, which models financial crises. Dr. Keen's contributions are crucial for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of how economic systems can impact technological and financial environments. His teachings offer valuable insights into the economic forces shaping our world. By following his analysis, professionals can gain a better grasp of economic dynamics that influence their fields.

Learn 50+ Years of Economics in Only 7 Weeks, by applying here:...