Denise Hearn: Embodied Economics, Antitrust, and Changing the Profit Paradigm
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When antitrust laws were first established in America, they functioned as a direct assertion that private institutions and individuals should not control democracy. But what is the state of competition and antitrust today? And what are the tools we have at our disposal to curb the most egregious excesses of private firms? Here to help us unpack the complex topic is Denise Hearn, a writer, applied researcher, and advisor specializing in how economic power and paradigms shape our world.
In her work, Denise advises governments, financial institutions, companies, and nonprofits on antitrust, economic policy, and new economic thinking. She is also the co-author of The Myth of Capitalism Monopolies & the Death of Competition, which investigates how America went from being an open and competitive marketplace to an economy dominated by a handful of powerful private companies and individuals. Her newsletter Embodied Economics explores economic paradigms and financial systems through the framework of nature, body, power, care, and interconnectedness.
In today’s conversation, Denise shares her insights on antitrust laws and monopolies, how the profit paradigm has shifted throughout the history of our economy, and what it will take for us to encourage the continued emergence of the next economy. She also interrogates the role of governance and regulation regarding these issues, before unpacking why the state apparatus is the best available tool to reign in excesses. Join us for a deep dive into the factors that gave us the economy we have today, and what it might take for us to find a better path forward.
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Key Points From This Episode:
• Get to know today’s guest, Denise Hearn: what she considers to be her superpower, and the experiences that led her to the important work she does today. [0:00:27]
• Unpacking the power of stories: the ideas that animate the current economy, and the values that could influence the continued emergence of the next economy. [0:05:26]
• The value our economy places on efficiency and the consequences of this: contrasting efficiency with resilience and what it would look like to prioritize resilience. [0:08:16]
• Evidence that we’ve moved on from the neoliberal framework that ‘markets solve all problems’. [0:12:39]
• An overview of the core focus of Denise’s research on antitrust over the past few years and why the aggregation of market power is a tool typically used against stakeholders. [0:16:21]
• The biggest problems we currently face with regard to monopolies and the power of private firms, and why the state apparatus is the best available tool to reign in excesses. [0:23:14]
• Unpacking the history of antitrust laws and evaluating where we are today. [0:24:30]
• Denise’s thoughts on the profit paradigm we are currently in, how much it has shifted over the past century, and why it’s increasingly urgent that we change our approach to profit. [0:28:30]
• Final words of insight and hope from Denise. [0:37:11]
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Quotes:
“This notion of efficiency, it's just a notion, right? Obviously, we like efficiency, it's broadly a good thing. But it also [needs to be] contrasted against resiliency. And the more efficiency you have, in some cases, the less resiliency you have in [some] systems too.” — Denise Hearn [0:10:18]
“In many instances, the aggregation of market power is a tool to be used against stakeholders. So, as a tool to lower worker’s wages – because if I'm a worker, how do I bargain against a monopolist? Especially if I don't have union organizing power.” — Denise Hearn [0:18:29]
“You're reliant on the fundamental infrastructure of these dominant firms. And what we essentially argue is that we're [now] in a situation where the economy actually has all these defacto private regulators who are setting the terms and norms of markets.” — Denise Hearn [0:19:33]
“[Antitrust laws were] a direct challenge to say that private institutions and private individuals should not control democracy.” — Denise Hearn [0:24:45]
“I think climate change, and how much chaos it's causing financial markets, and insurers, and everything, really provides an opportunity for people to – recognize that the paradigms that have guided us in the past are no longer fit for purpose. And actually, if we don't upgrade them, there will come a point where things really hit the wall, and in very real ways.” — Denise Hearn [0:34:52]
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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Denise Hearn: https://www.denisehearn.com/
Denise Hearn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisehearn/
Denise Hearn on Medium: https//medium.com/@denisehearn
Embodied Economics: https://embodied-economics.ghost.io/
The Myth of Capitalism: //www.powells.com/book/myth-of-capitalism-monopolies-the-death-of-competition-9781394184064
Long Now Foundation — https://longnow.org/
The Long Now Talks — https://longnow.org/talks/
‘Nonprice Effects of Mergers’ by John Kwoka and Shawn Kilpatrick — https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0003603X18771756?icid=int.sj-abstract.similar-articles.1
‘Accounting for Profit and the History of Capital’ — https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/677977
Debt: The First 5000 Years — https://davidgraeber.org/books/debt-the-first-5000-years/
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