Tag: Economy

  • Promethean City Builders vs Finance Capital Malthusians

    Promethean City Builders vs Finance Capital Malthusians

    Part I Who are Some Western Supporters of Multipolarists? Orientation Most of us realize there is a major tectonic shift in the world economy from West to East. The multipolar nations are basing their economies on investing in developing the productive forces of science and technology and to better human life. The Belt and Road […]

  • Charter Schools Are Quintessentially and Irreversibly Private Schools by Design

    Despite endless disinformation from charter school promoters that charter schools are public schools, they differ profoundly—legally, organizationally, fiscally, and philosophically—from public schools. They are not the same. The dissimilarities are numerous by design. Calling them “public” 50 times a day does not spontaneously make charter schools public. Nor does receiving public funds automatically make charter […]

  • For Argentina’s Small Farmers, the Land Is Predictable but the Markets Are Not

    For Argentina’s Small Farmers, the Land Is Predictable but the Markets Are Not

    Thirty years ago, in my economics textbook in India, the section on international trade referred to Argentina. It would be better, according to the textbook, for Argentina to concentrate on the production and export of beef, while Germany should direct its resources towards the production of electronics. This example was used to illustrate Adam Smith’s […]

  • Global Capitalism: Anti-Democratic Politics and Existential Crisis

    Though it is not often examined in these terms, the popular disaffection of Americans with government in general and the rise of anti-democratic politics around the world are seemingly predictable reactions to the contemporary global crises in the international capitalist economy. Persistent poverty, pandemics, military conflict, economic displacement, climate catastrophes, migration, widespread corruption and social […]

  • Another Look at the Financial Transactions Tax

    Another Look at the Financial Transactions Tax

    Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash A small financial transactions tax could correct a number of maladies in our economic system, from the federal debt crisis to the widening wealth divide to the rampant financialization of the economy, while eliminating taxes on income and sales. The debt ceiling crisis has again brought into focus the […]

  • Beware of Economic Textbooks

    Protests by British university economic students against neo-classical economics highlight the notion that economic education is dominated by theories that defy practical applications and applications that cannot predict, prevent, and ameliorate periodic crises. Students learn economics from unverified and outdated theories, many contradicting one another, which leads to a confused understanding of the discipline and […]

  • “Free Trade” as Revealed in the China-United States Paradigm

    “Free Trade” as Revealed in the China-United States Paradigm

    Free trade is much ballyhooed by the US and the capitalist world, but critics have been skeptical as to whether such trade freely takes place. Investopedia provides a useful definition of free trade: A free trade agreement is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports among them. Under […]

  • What a Giant Pile of Unsold Clothing in the Desert Can Teach Us about Real Resistance

    According to this article: “Chile’s Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world, has been a dumping ground for fast fashion leftovers. A mountain of discarded clothing, including Christmas sweaters and ski boots, cuts a strange sight in the desert, which is increasingly suffering from pollution created by the fashion industry.” Some further explanation from […]

  • Peace Dollars: Putting Our Economic House In Order

    Peace Dollars: Putting Our Economic House In Order

    The total federal deficit at $31+ trillion? Maybe it’s time for some creative thinking — a totally unique strategy that benefits all Americans, not just capitalist predators. Special use currency is not unprecedented. Abraham Lincoln used “greenbacks” — the paper currency shown above, backed by nothing more than confidence in the government — to finance the Civil War. He […]

  • Inverted Corporate Capitalism: Blocking Their Owner-Shareholders

    Inverted Corporate Capitalism: Blocking Their Owner-Shareholders

    It is the season of annual shareholder meetings for giant corporations when CEOs go through the motions of elections for their Board of Directors and approval of other resolutions. People who own stock in General Motors (GM) receive the “GM Meeting Information” in an envelope emblazoned with this disingenuous message: “Your Voice/Your Vote/Be Heard. Every […]

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