When it comes to making sense of The Economy, most commentators implore us to leave the job of understanding the mythical powers of the market to the experts. Of late, these so-called experts have been shouting from the hills about the supposed dangers of wage increases driving up inflation, and have taken to muttering arcane incantations about supply chains. Meanwhile, everyone from Ja Rule to the Wall Street Journal seems to have become convinced that investing in glorified .jpegs is the surest route to escaping poverty.

What in the world is going on? Will inflation tank global markets, and are ‘greedy workers’ actually to blame? Should you care about bored apes, cryptopunks, or the value of bitcoin?

In the Haymarket Economics Hour, socialist economists Hadas Thier and Rob Larson will use their archaic powers for the forces of good by answering all the questions audience members have about the state of the global economy. If they can help exorcise the ghost of Paul Volcker in the process, all the better.

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Speakers:

Hadas Thier is a regular contributor to Jacobin Magazine and is the author of A People’s Guide to Capitalism.

Rob Larson is a professor of economics at Tacoma Community College and author of Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley, and Capitalism vs. Freedom. He writes for Jacobin, In These Times, Current Affairs and Dollars & Sense.