State intervention into the economy is back on the political agenda. What might economic planning look like in the 21st century? What is the appropriate balance between democratic, technocratic, and market power in shaping economic life and responding to social and political challenges? Could economic planning help solve some of our most pressing problems, including global warming, economic stagnation, and the crisis of care? Or would a turn to planning today merely repeat the errors and tragedies of the 20th century?

This series of talks, sponsored by the Economic Planning and Democratic Politics research project at the Neubauer Collegium, aims to foster a deeper understanding of various theoretical stances on economic planning. Our speakers will draw on insights from Austrian economics, neoclassical economics, Keynesian, and democratic socialist perspectives.

About the Speaker

J. W. Mason is Associate Professor of Economics at John Jay College, City University of New York. He helped establish the college’s master’s program, one of a handful of graduate programs in the country focused on the heterodox tradition in economics. His scholarly work focuses on macroeconomic policy, finance, and economic history. His writing has appeared in a wide variety of scholarly, business, and general-interest publications, including a monthly column for Barron’s. He is the author, with Arjun Jayadev, of Money and Things, forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press.

Other Events in the Series

Peter J. Boettke on the Austrian Perspective

Fikret Adaman and Pat Devine on Participatory Democratic Eco-Socialist Planning

Suresh Naidu on the Evidence-Based Policy Path to Socialism