The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton - Modern Monetary Theory - Paperback - John Murray Press - Economics & Public Policy Book

Details Condition: BRAND NEW Format: Paperback ISBN: 9781529352566 Publisher: John Murray Age Range: Adult Overview The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton is a bold, accessible rethink of how modern economies actually work. Drawing on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), Kelton challenges the conventional wisdom that government deficits are inherently dangerous, arguing instead that they can be powerful tools for funding healthcare, education, infrastructure and climate action. This brand-new paperback edition is essential reading for anyone curious about public finance, economic policy, or the politics shaping our shared future. About the Book For decades, politicians and pundits have warned that government deficits are a looming disaster — a debt to be feared and urgently reduced. In The Deficit Myth, economist Stephanie Kelton dismantles this orthodoxy, showing that for countries which issue their own sovereign currency, the true constraint on spending is not a shortage of money but a shortage of real resources: labour, materials, and productive capacity. Kelton reframes the national conversation around deficits, asking not "how do we pay for it?" but "do we have the real resources to do it?" Through clear explanations, historical case studies, and analysis of crises from the 2008 financial crash to the Covid-19 pandemic, she demonstrates how governments have already used large-scale spending to respond to emergencies — and argues this same thinking could be applied to funding universal healthcare, a federal job guarantee, and an ambitious response to climate change. Rather than dry economic theory, the book is written in a warm, persuasive, and often folksy style that makes complex monetary concepts genuinely understandable to non-specialists. Kelton draws on her own experience advising policymakers to show how deficit fears have shaped — and often stalled — progressive policy for generations, and offers a hopeful, practical roadmap for rethinking what governments can ac