The Scourge of Male Economists

The Scourge of Male Economists

Over the weekend, the New York Times ran a profile of economist Stephanie Kelton, known for her work on Modern Monetary Theory, or MMT.

Larry Summers tweeted this in response:
“I am sorry to see the @nytimes taking MMT seriously as an intellectual movement. It is the equivalent of publicizing fad diets, quack cancer cures or creationist theories.”

This is the beginning of an article in Axios, commenting on the exchange:
"A handful of prominent male economists, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, are freaking out — mostly on Twitter — about a weekend New York Times profile of economist Stephanie Kelton, known for her work on Modern Monetary Theory, or MMT....
And the gender dynamics — male economists piling on against a female economist and a female journalist, Times' reporter Jeanna Smialek, in ways distinctive from typical academic arguments — look terrible here."

Before people start to criticize the press for their opinions, they will need a period of decompression where they can relearn to take the press seriously.