With its on-going “debt crisis” Greece has emerged as a target for economic “solutions testing.” So far austerity and large-scale privatization seem to be the favored treatment, as prescribed by the putative economic experts–the IMF and the EU banking sector. In June 2011 Democracy Now hosted a debate with Hara Kouki and Costas Panayotakis, discussing the imposed economic measurements that triggered widespread protest throughout Greece and led to ridiculous new levels of privatization, such as the Greek police force renting out their officers and helicopters to private individuals. And a related documentary, “Catastroika: privatization goes public,” was recently released, analyzing the transfer…
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Economics
Business with a conscience
Every corporation, now matter how socially or environmentally destructive, presents itself as doing something good for consumers, for communities, for the species, or even the planet. Monsanto, for instance, claims to be all about “improving lives” (though notice they don’t say whose lives) and about “meeting the needs of today while preserving the planet for tomorrow.” This overt corporate public relations bullshit (I know that you know that I don’t believe this but I’m going to pretend I do because that’s how I make a lot of money) has led to such profound cynicism that reasonable people have to wonder…
More on economic inequality and the Occupy Movement
Among mainstream or major media organizations Al Jazeera deserves credit for its attention to the issue of economic inequality. One recent opinion piece by Noam Chomsky (Plutonomy and the precariat: On the history of the US economy in decline) provides a concise overview of the causes of the growing economic inequality in the US and the disastrous consequences it is bringing about. (For more on how inequality is at the root most social evils, see this powerful lecture by Richard Wilkinson). Additionally, Chomsky’s article helps to explain just why the Occupy Movement is so important, really one of the most…
How economic inequality harms societies (TED lecture by Richard Wilkinson)
The following is a brilliant, evidence-based lecture on the devastating consequences of socio-economic inequality. The speaker is Richard Wilkinson, an epidemiologist and leading figure in the field of inequality research. The lecture presents a very compelling case for the idea that the level of socio-economic inequality in a society is the key criterion for determining the health of that society. One can also read a brief Truthout interview with Wilkinson on the consequences of inequality here.
Why We Regulate (by Paul Krugman)
One of the characters in the classic 1939 film “Stagecoach” is a banker named Gatewood who lectures his captive audience on the evils of big government, especially bank regulation — “As if we bankers don’t know how to run our own banks!” he exclaims. As the film progresses, we learn that Gatewood is in fact skipping town with a satchel full of embezzled cash. As far as we know, Jamie Dimon, the chairman and C.E.O. of JPMorgan Chase, isn’t planning anything similar. He has, however, been fond of giving Gatewood-like speeches about how he and his colleagues know what they’re doing,…
Obama vs Romney on energy and climate change issues
Rebecca Leber of Thinkprogress put together a comprehensive chart outlining the different stands Obama and Romney have on energy and climate change issues. The chart is accompanied by a detailed list of sources and further elaborations.
Iceland’s president explains why the world needs to rethink its addiction to finance
A few days ago, Adam Taylor, journalist for the Business Insider interviewed Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who has been President of Iceland since 1996, and announced last month he would be running for a fifth term. Keep reading to hear his thoughts on Iceland’s recovery, and how a large financial sector can ruin a nation. Ragnar Grímsson connects the dots in a openly manner that unfortunately proves to be very rare in contemporary politics all around the world. Definitely a must-read. You can find the full transcript on Business Insider. Some noteworthy paragraphs: Whereas in many other countries, until recent months,…
Can there be “good” corporations? (by Marjorie Kelly)
When companies are owned by workers and the community—instead of Wall Street financiers—everything changes. Our economic system is profoundly broken. To anyone paying attention, that much is clear. But what’s less clear is this: Our approach to fixing the economy is broken as well. The whole notion of “fighting corporate power” arises from an underlying belief that there is no alternative to capitalism as we know it. Starting from the insight that capitalism has become virtually a universal economy, we conclude that our best hope is to regulate corporations and work for countervailing powers like unions. But then we’ve lost…
The assault on public education (by Noam Chomsky)
Public education is under attack around the world, and in response, student protests have recently been held in Britain, Canada, Chile, Taiwan and elsewhere. California is also a battleground. The Los Angeles Times reports on another chapter in the campaign to destroy what had been the greatest public higher education system in the world: “California State University officials announced plans to freeze enrollment next spring at most campuses and to wait-list all applicants the following fall pending the outcome of a proposed tax initiative on the November ballot.” Similar defunding is under way nationwide. “In most states,” The New York…
The gamification of life (lecture by Jesse Schell)
The following presentation was given at DICE 2010 by Jesse Schell, university professor and game designer. While Part 1 and Part 2 are both worth watching, I especially recommend Part 3 (see below), where he introduces the phenomenon of gamification and envisions a commercialized future, where TVs will probably track your eyeballs and reward you for watching ads. Schell suggests that gamification could actually help people to lead better lives, but only if they are designed and implemented in a thoughtful and ethical manner.
Nine strategies to end corporate rule
Yes Magazine has put together an interesting collection of articles, written by various writers, around the question of the century: What can we do to bring an end to corporatocracy and help build a sustainable society that prioritizes human needs above corporate profits. The collection of articles can be found here. The nine strategies: 1. Amend the constitution to end corporate personhood. 2. Dive into grassroots campaigns. 3. Hold corporations accountable to our laws. 4. Get Past the Propaganda 5. Support independent media and keep the Internet free. 6. Protect the Commons 7. Vote. Protect our democracy. 8. Make your…
The Crisis of Civilization (documentary)
The Crisis of Civilization is a documentary feature film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are converging symptoms of a single, failed global system. Weaving together archival film footage and animations, film-maker Dean Puckett, animator Lucca Benney and international security analyst Dr. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, offer a stunning wake-up call proving that ‘another world’ is not merely possible, but on its way. The film consists of seven parts which explore the interconnected dynamic of global crises of Climate Catastrophe; Peak Energy; Peak Food; Economic Instability; International Terrorism; and the Militarization…
Are Wall Street traders psychopaths?
One has to be pleased that Time magazine even considers the question. Their answer can be found here. Also worth reading is the article that got them thinking about this, the insider’s account of what it’s like to work for Goldman Sachs.
The corporate titans take on the Internet (by Peter Frase)
The fight over copyright is not a struggle between capital and labour, but one between different factions of capital. New York, NY – American politics is riven by an increasingly contentious debate over the status of intellectual property, especially copyright. On one side are those who argue that tougher enforcement of IP is desperately needed to protect the rights of creators, promote innovation, preserve jobs, and ensure economic growth. Opposing them are those who argue that the draconian enforcement of intellectual property rights will only curtail free speech and stifle economic activity, while entrenching the profits of a small class of…
The Kony controversy
In the middle of the two or three-day period in which the Kony 2012 went viral, a note was posted on this blog linking to the video and recommending support for the campaign to arrest Kony. The world is now witnessing a viral explosion of criticism of the Kony 2012 video, which also deserves some comment. Aljazeera has devoted a section of its website to what it calls the “Kony Debate,” though it is less a debate than it is a collection of complaints against the film. Nonetheless, it is probably the single best source of information for understanding the criticisms…
Was bailout the only option?
Apparently not, as Iceland proves to be very successful with its 110 percent rule. Due to this rule, Icelandic households were forgiven of debt exceeding 110 percent of home values. On top of that, a Supreme Court ruling in June 2010 found loans indexed to foreign currencies were illegal, meaning households no longer needed to cover krona losses. The decision to reject foreign debt deals, causing harsh criticism from abroad, seems to have paid off. Here are some quotes from a Bloomberg article on this matter written by Omar R. Valdimarsson: “You could safely say that Iceland holds the world record in household debt relief,” said Lars…
Coronary Capitalism (by Kenneth Rogoff)
FRANKFURT – A systematic and broad failure of regulation is the elephant in the room when it comes to reforming today’s Western capitalism. Yes, much has been said about the unhealthy political-regulatory-financial dynamic that led to the global economy’s heart attack in 2008 (initiating what Carmen Reinhart and I call “The Second Great Contraction”). But is the problem unique to the financial industry, or does it exemplify a deeper flaw in Western capitalism? Consider the food industry, particularly its sometimes-malign influence on nutrition and health. Obesity rates are soaring around the entire world, though, among large countries, the problem is perhaps…
Free Market Health Care: True Stories (by Michael Parenti)
I recently wrote an article about my personal experiences in dealing with the medical system while undergoing surgery (“Free Market Medicine: A Personal Account”). In response, a number of readers sent me accounts of their own experiences trying to get well in America. Health care in this country is hailed by conservative boosters as “the best medical system in the world.” It certainly is the most expensive, most profitable, and most complicated system in the world, leaving millions of Americans in shock. None of the people who wrote to me had anything positive to say about the U.S. health system.…
Too big to jail (by Simon Johnson)
Simon Johnson, former chief economist of the IMF, and co-founder of a leading economics blog, BaselineScenario, a professor at MIT Sloan, and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics published recently published “Too big to jail” on project-syndicate. Though I highly recommend to read the whole article, the first paragraph sums it up quite nicely: Among the fundamental principles of any functioning justice system is the following: Don’t lie to a judge or falsify documents submitted to a court, or you will go to jail. Breaking an oath to tell the truth is perjury, and lying in official documents…
Video: There’s No Tomorrow
There’s No Tomorrow is a well-written, animated documentary about resource depletion, energy, and the impossibility of infinite growth on a finite planet. Similar in style to the Story of Stuff and Story of Broke videos written and produced by Annie Leonard, the film provides a clear introduction to the energy dilemmas and problems arising from growth-based economies. The title however is misleading, since the documentary does provide a vision of tomorrow. It’s just quite different from today.
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