Today is technically my last day in paid employment. At some point during its course, I hope that the University of Sheffield will be sending me my P45. Tomorrow morning I will become Emeritus Professor of Accounting. I have to say, that feels good and is the right thing for me to do at this moment.
Given that my employment at Sheffield has been primarily research focused, in some senses it may be a little difficult to work out what the change will be. The same will also be true of my relationship with Copenhagen Business School, which has also now come to an end on a formal basis.
The answer is that, except for the end of regular part-time salary payments, to be replaced by much lower pension payments in due course, the change to my mindset is what will matter. For example, over the last decade I accepted that I had people to whom I was directly responsible, and who required that I underwent annual appraisal to set targets for assessment, and now I don't have to do that. I am free from what I found to be the pettiness that went with university life.
That implication is only now beginning to dawn on me. For example, I was in discussion with my wife during the last few days and she pointed out to me that I no longer have to worry about what my academic CV looks like. It could, if I wanted, now be considered to be complete, and that would be just fine. As someone who has lived with the pressure to deliver for a while now, that really does feel very strange, especially as I (with colleagues) received provisional acceptance for an academic paper only yesterday.
So, what now? I know that I have talked about this before, and I suspect that I will do so again, because, as my old friend and Tax Justice Network colleague and co-founder John Christensen has put it, this is really the moment when I will begin my third career. It is only in the last week that I have really appreciated the freedom that this might provide.
For example, over the last few days I have, for the first time, had the opportunity to actually sit back and develop ideas for videos rather than rush in to sit in front of the camera and produce content with almost no time to do preparation, as has been commonplace in the past year.
In contrast, one day earlier this week I took the time to sit down and admire the view where I was, have a coffee, have some mind-map software open in front of me, and within a couple of hours sketch out a list of videos, the reasons why they were relevant, what the argument are, and most importantly, what the impact of considering the question I was addressing might be. This is a luxury that until literally the last week or so I did not have available to me, because there were so many other things to do.
In practical terms, what might this mean? One obvious answer is that I still do not know as yet, and one of the things that I'm going to do over the next week or so is spend time with friends with experience in the fields in which I am interested. When doing so, I hope that we will, between long walks and (in my case) moments of bird watching, also have the chance to discuss the best use for my energy, which I think to be as strong now as it was when I began campaigning more than 20 years ago.
I do, of course, have some ideas or I would not have gone down this route. The idea of doing nothing is completely alien to me. Let me, in that case, bounce a couple of these ideas off you as well, and seek your opinion on them.
When doing so, I stress that nothing that I am proposing will have any impact on the regular daily blog impact here (which is now so much part of my life that I do it even when I'm holiday, so that most people never notice when I am away) or our regular YouTube video production.
The first idea is to produce a long-running series on solutions to the current political crisis that we are in. I have been promising to do this, and I think it is time that I got on with it.
A current sketch plan for this suggests that it could be made as a video series that might be up to 60 episode long, involving about 10 hours of video as a result. These might come out at the rate of about two a week and replace commentary videos on the days when they are published. They would, of course, be transcribed and reproduced here.
The overarching aim of the series will be to explain why we are in crisis and how a people and solution focused approach to political problem-solving could create the alternative political narrative and actions that will address the crisis created by neoliberalism.
Inevitably, any such series would develop during the course of its production, so I am not sharing an outline at present but comments on the idea are welcome.
The other idea that I am working on, and they are most definitely not mutually exclusive, is to create a second YouTube channel that will have a strong education focus. This would mean that it would not produce explicitly political content, although I do, of course, look at the world through a particular lens, and it would be very very hard to entirely eliminate that from whatever is produced.
As with the previous idea, the intention would be to create the opportunity to focus in on particular issues and long-term thinking around them so that subjects can be explored in depth to explain:
- Why the subject is important
- What impact it has
- What the key ideas implicit in the current approach to the subject are and why they might be wrong
- The technical underpinning of current arguments, when that is relevant
- How the subject might develop if it is to meet the needs of society
- What technical developments might be necessary to achieve that goal
I am, as ever, full of ambition and as a result series on the following four themes are being considered:
- Economics from a macro economic perspective with a particular focus on modern monetary theory, but not to the exclusion of all other issues
- Political economy
- Taxation, with an emphasis upon its role in society and economic management rather than as a “how to do it“ manual
- Accounting, with an emphasis on its role as the ultimate source of data for decisions impacting the allocation of resources within society.
As with the previous idea, I have done some sketching out of ideas to include in the series. That on accounting might be the longest, and that on political economy the shortest, with the series on economics likely to be longer than that on taxation.
The overall approach will be to explore each of these topics in a way that explains to a layperson what its significance might be, before explaining the key philosophical, political and technical aspects that they might need to consider. The presentation style will combine my talking head, graphics and animations. There will be a lot more technical work involved than is required by existing videos.
In practical terms, the intention will be to focus on no more than one or two series at a time. Economics and accounting are the most likely starting points, but I am open to suggestions.
I am taking care to consider how this material can be accessed, and quite a lot of thinking will still need to go into this, but the intention is to make the materials free to anyone. There will always be transcripts as well as videos. There will be a separate website: the intention is to provide a long-term resource.
So, some quick questions:
Is a series of videos and related blogs on how to tackle the political crisis we are in likely to be of use to you?
- Yes (77%, 328 Votes)
- Yes, but only if there is an index of some sort (15%, 63 Votes)
- I am not sure (5%, 20 Votes)
- No (4%, 16 Votes)
Total Voters: 427
Loading ...And:
Are educational series of videos and related blogs likely to be of use to you
- Yes (68%, 279 Votes)
- Only if there is an accessible index of some sort (18%, 73 Votes)
- I am not sure (9%, 38 Votes)
- No (5%, 20 Votes)
Total Voters: 410
Loading ...Might you then consider this?
If such series would be of use, which subject would you like me to start on first?
- Political economy (52%, 210 Votes)
- Economics (33%, 135 Votes)
- Taxation (10%, 42 Votes)
- Accounting (4%, 16 Votes)
Total Voters: 403
Loading ...And finally this:
What would be your second choice?
- Political economy (35%, 139 Votes)
- Economics (34%, 137 Votes)
- Taxation (27%, 110 Votes)
- Accounting (4%, 16 Votes)
Total Voters: 402
Loading ...Thanks for answering. Comments are welcome, but let's ignore the retirement issue. That one's already been done, thank you.
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A good idea to have a purely educational series as well, my own view is that once people understand these subjects properly (especially MMT) there really is only one credible position which is somewhere on the left.
Interesting that I’m the only person so far who voted accounting no 1. After 47 years at this stuff I realise to gain a full understanding of this stuff you need to understand double-entry. Good luck.
Thanks
Having voted Economics, I feel the talk replies have persuaded me that I should have voted Accounting first. As it’s clearly the fundamental building block.
I think accounting is going to happen – it’s only when that is the question.
As an outsider, I do wonder why double accounting still gets the reverence it does? It hasn’t really changed since Phoenician times, and that to me suggests Accounting hasn’t had any new ideas since then.
In the meantime mathematics has embraced, Zero, Algebra (developed from market traders), calculus, imaginary numbers and polydimenional spaces.
So why is accounting stuck in pre-Roman methods?
NB it certainly is durable as Pliny refers to it, though Carthage had indeed been destroyed by then!
There is a simple, and very profound reason for accounting having stuck with double entry. It recognises a reality that is always true, which is that every action has a reaction. That is all that double entry records. Anything else cannot represent the truth. Only double entry can. That does not mean that we cannot use it to interpret it in new ways, And my academic work has sought to do that but, the essential truth of double entry is unavoidable. Seeking to do anything else would be like trying to reinvent the wheel. There is nothing better.
“every action has a reaction”
Precisely. As in Newton’s first (?) law (of physics/mechanics) which also remains true and unchallenged to this day : “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.
It is, literally, a law of nature.
I have been following your blog for a number of years, although only commenting a couple of times. I avidly read every post, usually over breakfast. What I admire most is your solution focus, followed by the wise and intelligent comments from your regular followers. As you have more time will you be able to meet with some of these people and maybe consult them or collaborate with them, maybe even doing a joint video or interview on their area of expertise?
There’s a thought….
It is an excellent thought!
Yes that’s the best bit about the blog: the solutions
There needs to be more open discussion about politics and economics
I think you are the perfect person to make the points which are often either not understood by politicians or they purposely avoid difficult issues by obfuscation.
Trust is difficult but truth is vital. Thank you.
I will try
My view is that you are setting up a body of work that will be accessible to others for years to come – unless of course it gets taken down.
All the posts will need indexing in my view.
I do not see that there is a choice between economics, political economy, taxation and accounting. They are all joined up. That is one of the most useful things I have learnt coming here. Each impacts on the other. To me, you cannot mention one without the other.
Thanks
That is why all will get covered, in the end.
I suspect you have always done things that you believe are worthwhile. In that sense nothing has changed. As someone retired a long time, my warning is that you will have more time to dither. Also, your memory and speed of working will steadily worsen.
Dithering is not my style.
I accept energy must fade eventually.
Experience shows my friends with passion have not suffered much of that until 80 or so. There’s plenty of time yet….
Good morning Richard, Thank you for inviting us to respond to your suggestions. May I add a couple of suggestions of my own for consideration?
Why does capitalism in its current form form fail to deliver economic and social benefits across the societies who have adopted it as a paradigm for success? Why do societies cling to it and what has to change within its theories, structures and applications in order to benefit society as a whole?
Others have attempted to describe sustainable alternatives such as the circular economy, or the doughnut model, and yet there is an in built inertia which maintains the status quo with all of its shortcomings.
Thank you,
Neil Costello
(Best wishes for the future wherever your road takes you.)
Thanks
Is banking regulation (including Basel 3,4 etc. ) one of your areas of expertise? I’d love to read more about how this affects the safety of retail banks (if it does) and the ability of banks to create money.
It isn’t…
No matter what material you produce, there is no guarantee that certain people you want to read it, will.
For example, most MPs are ignorant about political economics.
A corresponding project might be to actively engage MPs to learn some basic economics.
That could involved sending MPs a “brochure” summarising what they need to know, which may involving raising some funds to be able to do so.
Then there are the many social media influencers out there. It would be good engage Owen Jones, Gary Stevenson, Carol Vorderman, etc (all influential)
Noted….
Every Doctor (https://everydoctor.org.uk/) has had some success in educating MPs about the needs of the NHS. They have been running a series of meetings at which significant numbers of MPs attend. I wonder if there is scope for a similar initiative focused on economic education?
I will discuss that with Julia – we know each other.
I second that Ian and hope that Richard will have time to take this on. Perhaps we could all chip in towards the cost of brochures.
With two teenagers, three cats, a wife a decent sized garden & the urge to get back to building my model railway, the challenge is often to find the time to read and comment on your output.
I’m just under 5 years younger so perhaps I need to push for early retirement so I can keep up with what you are going to be producing
🙂
Content ideas are clearly shaping up. These videos two series seem to have different, but complimentary missions or purpose. So the framing will be essential to engagement. Are they purely explaining/educational, how far are they empowering (relating to everyday experience) or ‘campaigning’ in the most general sense. Who is the target audience (s)? Assumed knowledge? Balance between ‘why’ we are in the state we are in and ‘how’ to fix it.
Picking up on some posts a few weeks back, there is solid evidence that more and more people are relying upon social media for news – YouTube in particular. This now includes older folk. YouTube is the one social media channel people go to consume ‘long form’ content that can provide deeper understanding. OFCOM produce an annual report on the consumption of news in the UK. It’s a data rich dive into the habits of various cohorts and investigated the trends. You might find it provides some useful context and reassurance with regards the role YouTube is playing within the media mix.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/tv-radio-and-on-demand-research/tv-research/news/news-consumption-2024/news-consumption-in-the-uk-2024-report.pdf?v=379621
All noted
Thanks
Having greatly enjoyed your book ‘The Joy of Tax’ (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/430502/the-joy-of-tax-by-richard-murphy/9780552171618), as it transformed my thinking when it came out and brought me to read your blog ever since, I would like you to consider if there might be a possibility of assembling some of your research and writing (blog articles, inaccessible research publications, lecture materials, political work on the New Green Deal and in Scotland, etc.) into another accessible publication on political and environmental economics – for the sort of readable book one could discuss in groups (political, community, charity, activists, and church groups), have reviewed by newspapers and online news sites (like Novara Media), that one might send to one’s MP, and that might be used in HE courses for aspiring political journalists.
I note and understand your preference for the immediacy of media engaging with current events, but I think there’s lasting wisdom built from a lifetime’s work which would be worthy of another publication – with the influence of this engagement lasting for some years rather than some weeks.
This might be the oucome of a course, but initial discussions with others makes clear how hard it is to justify writing books now. This blog reaches 30,000 people a day now. The YouTube channel does much more, usually. Yesywerday was a poor day and it was 54,000. If I was lucky a book might do 10,000 or more copies, and most would be unread.
However, I don’t rule out an edited edition of transcripts and I will be working with that in mind.
Congratulations on surviving!
I’d love it if you could produce what might be called “interview” films. There are lots of really interesting people out there that we never see ‘in the flesh’. Like Charles Hugh Smith https://oftwominds.com/blog.html , the philosopher. Dr Tim Morgan of Surplus Energy Economics, and Tim Watkins of Consciousness of Sheep. One doesn’t need to agree with these people, of course, but they all write well in their own fashion.
Let me be egotistical in response to this suggestion.
This is the classic podcast format, of course, and it works for some.
But, it would require me to do a lot of background researchy before doiung the interview, and there i no gaurantee that trffic wouyld be good. So, I couold spend a lot of time doing these when – and this is the egotistical bit – I could be doing my own stuff, for which I have, at present, seemingly unlimited ideas.
So, what to do?
Anyone else got an opinion?
I get your point about interviewing others etc , but do seriously consider podcasts to present your own material. Someone else to interview/chat wirh you- they would be doing much of the heavy lifting in prep rather than you.
Many younger people especially seem to engage well with this form of communication.
Let me discuss this with friends.
As a Yank I can only say: “Do what the hell you want to do in the way you want to it!”
But the world doesn’t really work like that, does it?
@Richard
“But the world doesn’t really work like that, does it?”
Well it does for you as your Funding the Future blog and YouTube Channel are very successful so you must have good & correct judgement.
🙂
My view is stick to and focus on what you are good at and produce what, in my opinion, are video materials that are desperately needed, particularly the educational ones. (You never know they might get taken up and used by economics teachers!). My thinking is that rather than spending time researching for podcast interviews, producing the series you intend to produce, could possibly go viral’ish and get you invited on to others podcasts and possibly more mainstream media. Either way, I think it vital to establish clear objects and how they can best be met in consideration of time and resources available.
Thanks Simon
Heard loud and clear
The ideas you’ve outlined all sound interesting and I wish you well with them. Some of my friends who were academics have struggled with the transition into retirement and I’ve tried — without success — persuading them into doing occasional blogs, vlogs or podcasts with ex-colleagues where they could scratch their academic itch without the pressure of journal deadlines, stylebooks and the necessity to always arrive at a conclusion.
As one retiree to a soon-to-be retiree may I presume a suggestion: don’t plan too much and don’t replace work productivity pressure with retirement productivity pressure. You’ve already noticed that you’ve time to smell the daisies and take time to do things, please make sure to take advantage of slow time. I’m sure there’s lots of things in the past you’d have been interested in had you the time, don’t worry that you’re wasting time or “doing nothing” by pottering about aimlessly every so often. Some of the best memories of holidays are down to chance encounters and serendipity, retirement’s a bit like that, too.
All noted, Steven, buit let me be honest, it was the freedom to do my own work that I most wanted.
Doing YouTube has given me a massive boost of energy – and I am fascinated by the whole process at present, i9nclduiong all the technicalities.
But, I heed your point. I do plan to work less. I will be birdwatching more. And I might even get some railway modelling done, which is my other main hobby. That’s been neglected during the past year. I might even take more time off – but for some years now I have always blogged right through them. I have a wife who is as passionate about her interests as I am, so she accepts that. Thankfully, birdwatching is a shared interest – and so are long walks.
I think you should probably ignore the poll and explain instead why we should have voted for accounting.
Then do the poll again and see if being less ignorant alters the result.
Accounting is going to happen, anyway. There is a desperate need for it.
I do not understand the difference between Economics and Political Economy unless “Economics” is referring to Economic Theories.
Economics is theory
Political economy is about how power influences economic choice
It may, of course, become one series. Trial and error will determine that.
Dear Richard, I wish the happiest of retirements! I have toasted you in gin & (sugar free) tonic. And am celebrating for you by watching The Last Waltz, a Scorsese film about The Band’s last concert. Full of great music, and some interesting guests! Dr John, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Hawkins, Eric Clapton and more.
When I first met my OH he lent me The Band’s first album, Music from Big Pink. We’ve got all their records on vinyl. In fact we played that first album so much it wore out and we had to buy a new copy!
I lent him Five Live Yardbirds (Clapton was still with The Yardbirds then), which was a bit of a “specialist” album back then. It has since proved to have been listened to by quite a few now famous musicians! (Including Warren Zevon, though I guess he doesn’t count as famous these days)
Apologies for going so off topic, but I thought you might like to know that I am celebrating with you. As someone wrote on a wedding card to us, “Lang may yer lum reek”! Cheers and very best wishes from surprisingly sunny Liverpool.
Many thanks
My old friend, Colin Hines, is a big Yardbirds fan from their very early days in London. A lot of Dylan’s stuff works for me.
Exciting times, Richard. Assuming you wish to continue activism (a reasonable assumption, I think), it seems to me there are two, related questions: what are the changes you would like to see, and what is the best way to achieve those changes?
You will have to answer those questions yourself, of course. Maybe the answer to the first question will be something like “educate MPs, and especially the Treasury, about a more modern approach to economics, including an understanding of MMT and its implications for political decisions.”
As for the second question, I think there are only two basic options: educate MPs (and the Civil Servants who serve them) directly, or educate voters and trust them to vote in good MPs. I suspect the first option will be quicker and more effective, though the second may be a safer way to ensure long-term stability.
Whatever choices you make, I look forward to supporting you in any way that I can.
Thanks Kim
As I note, there is much to think about right now, and I will be doing that.
Richard
I wish you and your family all the best for the future, and would like to thank you, in particular, for your blog; it’s always looked at, but often it is later in the day.
A suggestion, if I may:
It’s obvious that economics and politics are intimately enmeshed. However, they are also just a part of our human actions that affect the whole world and its future. At present, for example, our political class seem to think that their only responsibility is to ensure net zero by 2050. But that is, in reality, just a small part of what needs to be done to ensure human life and our actions are truly sustainable in the long term. So many/all of the government’s decisions and announcements are never set in this wider context. I would like to see that all government actions are considered overtly by them in this far wider context. Thus, I suggest that a few ‘gentle’ reminders about this omission would help.
I can assure you, sustainability is very much on the agenda.
Congratulations on retiring from your job(s) to spend more time with your work, Richard! I’m sure you are considerably more self-disciplined than I am, and will therefore make tremendous use of your time – my advice is to stick to a schedule, as though you were still “at work”. I haven’t always done that, and often feel that I have frittered away valuable time.
As far as future topics are concerned, perhaps consider where your greatest gifts lie. From my observation, they are as follows (in no particular order):
– An encyclopaedic knowledge of accounting
– A highly developed social conscience
– The ability to cut through the bullshit
– The ability to convey complex economic issues in simple language
– A deep understanding of the human toll of poverty
– The ability to pull all these things together in easily comprehensible bursts.
I imagine many of us are struggling to make sense of these times. The really, really important thing, in my view, is to refuse to allow outrageous and extreme proposals from anywhere and anyone to become normalised in the narrative. We have had SO many shocks to our collective systems from Brexit onwards that we are forced to swallow them to cope with the next one. Who can now remember their outrage at Partygate? Israel being taken to the ICC? Cameron lobbying for Greensill? And so on.
We need A Plan. A credible and effective alternative. Trump’s accession to the White House was a result of four years of hard planning (Project 2025) and he was primed to hit the ground running. He has done that.
You are in an excellent position to build one of the vital foundation blocks necessary for that credible alternative. Don’t try to do it all. The economic base for that is your skill.
All noted, and thank you
Richard, I offer my most genuine congratulations and best wishes on this retirement.
As ever, the focus for maintaining currency in whatever we continue to do is to have what I would call a ‘Council of Reference’, those people who not only support you technically and informationally, but also, and more importantly, check up on your well-being, and whom you know will be trusted to put your hat on straight should the need arise.
And if there’s any time spare … There is a job going in the Church of England at the moment. There is clear precedent for fast-tracked ordination, though it didn’t end too well for Thomas Becket. Don’t worry about the absence of theological formation, belief and all that stuff; it’s hardly an obstacle these days. And I’m not sure whether you’d have to fill out a P11D for the tied cottage. But you’d be able to campaign for the abolition of the House of Lords from within! One caution … you would have to ease up on calling out hypocrisy.
Joking aside, mega-best wishes and make time for yourself!
Peter
I am most amused. My wife reckons the hat would suit me 🙂
But more seriously, he wise counsellors are in place.
Thanks
Richard
Richard
Thanks for all the work you do it always causes me to pause and think.
I think it is important to try to understand where people who dislike MMT are coming from. Most don’t deny that the government is not financially constrained but seem to be frightened of the consequences of using this knowledge. My idea would be to interview some of them to understand their reservations. My suggestion would be to interview people like Torsten Bell, Martin Wolf, John Kay who have just published books and therefore might be up to it since you would be publicising their book.
Noted
Thank you.
Congratulations on your new career! And thank you for all your work and opinions.
Thanks
Do you agree with this from Neil? I don’t fully understand what “real resource constraints.”
“The planning would be in physical terms – much as budgeting for a war is. That would get translated into monetary terms. The problem at the moment is everybody starts talking money first, rather than thinking through how to deploy resources as we would if we were at war. It isn’t a new idea. This budgeting concept is in “Full Employment in a Free Society”, but then they were in a war at the time and more used to thinking like that. The real resource limit is when government runs out of things to buy at the price it is prepared to pay. That’s when government spending stops. Moving resources back to the private sector is fairly simple. Moving the other way is more difficult and the tools imprecise – taxing and banning things. There will be collateral unemployment, and that’s what the Job Guarantee picks up. The size and spread of the JG buffer is the real time data on resource usage. The control data coming back to the Treasury would be the current position of the JG buffer across the nation, and any “unable to purchase at that price” failures from the departments.”
I post things here without necessarily agreeing with them, contrary to troll perceptions.
Real resources are people and materials.
Congratulations to you Richard. I too became an emeritus Professor at Sheffield University yesterday/today. Likewise the leaving of my paid role removes the need for petty university requirements. I will also be able to spend more time in my academic interests in the future. Today is the first day of doing what I want.
Enjoy!
I will be.
Technical problem:
I must have done something wrong.
Most sections appear with impracticably small fonts. Others too large.
How can I reset?
Restart your computer?
Have you accidentaly changed the settings using the options available on the disabled person’s logo?
After that, I am not sure.
Would you see yourself taking up some specific causes? The Government is saying the bill for supporting sick and disabled people is “unsustainable”. It’s hard to know where to start arguing with such uninformed prejudice, which leads to expressions like “useless eaters”, but if anyone can, you can. Organisations like DPAC will need backup in the coming months.
I admit that I really do not understand what you are asking me to do.