Why I Teach Modern Monetary Theory and What I’m Trying to Do

On this Substack, I teach a fairly niche — but rapidly growing — area of economics called Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), which has the potential to save the world. Literally — because the current approach assumes unlimited growth and the consumption of unlimited resources. But the Earth's resources are finite, and we’re paying the price for not realising that.

Anyway, my point is this: when I opened my computer this morning (I’m updating this on Tuesday, 13th May, 2025), I wrote down the following sentence:

"When we learn, we change ourselves. But when we learn together, we can change the world."

It sounds trite when I read it back, but it sums up what I'm trying to achieve with my MMT Substack.

At its core, MMT tells us that it’s not finances that are scarce — it's the world's real resources: people, knowledge, raw materials, hospitals, factories, and so on.

Many people don’t know this, but the fact is that countries like the US and the UK issue their own currency — they can't run out. Finances are not scarce. That doesn’t mean they can spend without constraint — if you try to buy up scarce resources, you'll push up prices (i.e., cause inflation).

But what it does mean is that we can choose to spend on the things that will save our planet and ourselves. We can invest in the things that allow us to live our best lives, make the most of our talents, and create space to think and be creative.

We can have a wellbeing economy, if we want one.

This knowledge helps you hold your politicians to account. They’re telling you there’s no money left, but that’s a lie. They probably don’t know it’s a lie — because they don’t understand how government spending really works — but still, it’s a lie.

It’s up to you to enlighten them. It’s up to you to push them onto the right path.

When we learn, we change ourselves. When we learn together, we can change the world.

About MMT101.ORG

MMT101.ORG is a place to learn the fundamentals of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT): a school of economic thought that describes and explains how the monetary system works and how governments can use that understanding to manage the economy.

About Jim Byrne

As a university student in the 1980s, I studied politics and economics in my social science honours year. And in 2021, I completed the master’s-level Foundations of Modern Money, Institutions and Markets module, run by Steven Hail and his colleagues at Torrens University Australia.

The Torrens University course convinced me that the principles of MMT are a ‘game-changer’. There can be no doubt that we are at a point in history where currency-issuing governments uttering the phrase, ‘we can’t afford it’ is a death sentence for many people and a danger to the health of our planet. We urgently need a change of approach. Neoliberal economics has been the dominant school of thought since the 1980s, MMT represents that change.

I have a desire to pass on what I’ve learned to others. I know I can’t change the world myself, but what I can do is help build a community of like-minded people who can.

I’m currently developing an MMT foundation course aimed at beginners and intermediate learners, as well as people who already know about economics but are curious about Modern Monetary Theory. Subscribe to be the first to hear about it when I launch.

In my quest to spread the message, I’ve written about MMT for Bylines Scotland and The National. In 2023, I provided an introduction to MMT at the Scotonomics Conference.

I believe in the benefits of living in a more equitable world. One that does not damage our environment. For the last 30 years, I’ve been working to ensure digital equality for disabled people—first running the not-for-profit Making Connections Unit within Glasgow Caledonian University (where I was a lecturer in the Social Science Department)—and then, from 2003, running my own accessible website design and accessibility auditing business. I’ve seen huge changes in the area of online accessibility since I started in the 1990s. I know change is possible.

I’d like to live in a world that makes the best of all talents and enables people to make the best of themselves, no matter the circumstances they were born into. MMT puts the focus on “what can be done” not on “what can’t be done”. It exposes the simple message that it is not finance that is scarce, it is the world’s resources. The world’s resources are finite but knowledge isn’t.

I’m also a musician and songwriter, which I have to mention because it’s and important part of who I am as a person. I am principally a songwriter but I have also been a signed artist and have toured both with bands and as a solo artist.

Jim Byrne

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