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Fiat Socialism
At the launch of my book Fiat Socialism, three great intellects and good friends made valuable observations. Manolo Monereo's intervention was of special relevance because of his familiar depth and brilliance.
Monereo framed fiat socialism within normative socialism and counterposed this perspective to historical socialism. He related fiat socialism to the Austromarxism of Max Adler and Rudolf Hilferding, but also to another way of approaching socialism, which is "more Marxian".
I would like to take the opportunity offered by Manuel Monereo's words to assert that socialism must be based on normative assumptions and that the left made a mistake by opting for Hegel instead of Kant.
Instead of renouncing historical socialism, we should renounce socialism built on propositions. This will eliminate the mystification of ad hoc approaches and allow us to move away from the continuous shores of experience, which we cannot leave without risking a shore-less ocean.
Modern monetary theory appears in fiat socialism as a means to achieve full employment of real resources without creating inflation, not as a panacea. It is fundamental that the left undertakes this exercise of entering the arena of propositions to fight in it against neoliberalism.
Two conclusions can be drawn from what has been said above: fiat socialism is interested in modern monetary theory to achieve the ends of socialism, and not in eradicating contradictions.
Fiat socialism is interested in modern monetary theory as a method of directing full employment without inflation to further the ends of socialism, but the struggle for socialism is only justified because socialism is a political and economic system in which the abuses inherent in the capitalist system of production are combated.
Manuel Monereo is right that this conception of socialism does not take into account power conflicts, but monetary sovereignty allows the state to buy whatever is for sale in its own currency, so the size of the public sector can be decided democratically.
There is a Francoist oligarchy in Spain that would oppose fiat socialism by all means, but I believe that a great social majority could gather behind it and create splits within the oligarchy. Likewise, fiat socialism should not be understood as a project restricted only to Spain.
Monereo framed fiat socialism within normative socialism and counterposed this perspective to historical socialism. He related fiat socialism to the Austromarxism of Max Adler and Rudolf Hilferding, but also to another way of approaching socialism, which is "more Marxian".
I would like to take the opportunity offered by Manuel Monereo's words to assert that socialism must be based on normative assumptions and that the left made a mistake by opting for Hegel instead of Kant.
Instead of renouncing historical socialism, we should renounce socialism built on propositions. This will eliminate the mystification of ad hoc approaches and allow us to move away from the continuous shores of experience, which we cannot leave without risking a shore-less ocean.
Modern monetary theory appears in fiat socialism as a means to achieve full employment of real resources without creating inflation, not as a panacea. It is fundamental that the left undertakes this exercise of entering the arena of propositions to fight in it against neoliberalism.
Two conclusions can be drawn from what has been said above: fiat socialism is interested in modern monetary theory to achieve the ends of socialism, and not in eradicating contradictions.
Fiat socialism is interested in modern monetary theory as a method of directing full employment without inflation to further the ends of socialism, but the struggle for socialism is only justified because socialism is a political and economic system in which the abuses inherent in the capitalist system of production are combated.
Manuel Monereo is right that this conception of socialism does not take into account power conflicts, but monetary sovereignty allows the state to buy whatever is for sale in its own currency, so the size of the public sector can be decided democratically.
There is a Francoist oligarchy in Spain that would oppose fiat socialism by all means, but I believe that a great social majority could gather behind it and create splits within the oligarchy. Likewise, fiat socialism should not be understood as a project restricted only to Spain.
360 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2023
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