Dianyi Yang

Currently applying for a PhD

Hello, this is Dianyi! Nice to meet you.

I’m so far interested in the following areas:

• Political Economy
• Monetary Policy
• Public Opinion
• Causal Inference
• Game Theory
• Data Science
• Machine Learning
• Text Analysis

More about my thoughts

I belive that monetary policy is the most important part of sovereignty for nation states in the 21st century, to the extent that it should no longer be considered a purely “economic” subject, but an inherent political topic. At the end of the day, money printing, despite some limits, is like a cheat code of the game, right? Sadly, central banks and governments are, one could say, very bad at using this power. In this regard, I agree with the Modern Monetary Thoery (MMT) on the underutilisation of monetary policy (although I do not agree with their stance on fiscal policy as a feasible tool to tackle inflation). I (crazily) think central banks should be operating in the stock market, for profit, both as a monetary tool and as a fiscal tool to tax the rich. The investments can serve as a sovereign wealth fund which benefits all citizens. Sounds like socialism? I think that’s the right way forward. More importantly, I think the public should be better informed about monetary policy as an additional check on the central banks, in the era of central bank independence (CBI).

I used to be a Marxist. However, I later distanced myself from from the ideology for its inherent totalitarian tendencies, as Popper points out. Moreover, I do not think a proletarian revolution that overthrows will eventually happen. In my understanding of the dialectical process, a new class, not existing classes under the capitalist system (bourgeoisie or proletariat) will send capitalism to its grave. For me, it seems that the new class is the technocrats equipped with the new data science techniques. I think, at the end of the day, data will replace capital as the main means/factor of production. An AGI revolution for the new stage (socialism?) will echo the industrial revolution for capitalism. Will it bring a better life? Not necessarily. While I think an AI revolution will improve the material aspects of standards of living, it leads us to question the purpose of our lives. Greek teleology, huh? I think many people will commit suicide for losing their “purpose of life”, and only those who are happy to “lie flat” (躺平) can survive. I’m striving to become the latter and this is my personal philosophy :)

Lately …

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