Kenneth Rogoff, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Harvard University, and former chief economist at the IMF recently published two interesting articles on Project Syndicate: Is Modern Capitalism Sustainable? and Rethinking the Growth Imperative. The articles, which are worth reading in full, are not at all what one would expect from a former chief economist at the IMF. Here are a few excerpts: From Is Modern Capitalism Sustainable?: It is ironic that modern capitalist societies engage in public campaigns to urge individuals to be more attentive to their health, while fostering an economic ecosystem that seduces many consumers into an extremely…
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The internet filter bubble
Thanks to Google’s search engine we now have the ability to retrieve instantly a massive amount of information on virtually any topic or any question we might have. On the surface, it seems that we are all better informed and more knowledgeable as a result of Google. But are we? Consider the fact that Google recognizes users and collects information on their digital behavior–their favorite searches, articles they have read on Google news, and even their choice of words. Everything is recorded, the pattern is analyzed, and a user profile is created. Then, when you perform a search, Google tries to find…
Economic and environmental crises
Interesting comments from Naomi Klein on the Occupy Wall Street movement. She makes a connection between the economic and environmental crises that is worth repeating–that they are really two sides of the same crisis or two consequences of a single cause, namely, corporate capitalism. A system based on greed and growth inevitably destroys its own base, whether that be the workers on whose spending power the economic system depends or the natural ecosystem on which all life depends.
The CBC emulates FOX
The following is a CBC interview with Chris Hedges on the Occupy Wall Street movement. The obnoxious interviewer in this segment is a man named Kevin O’Leary, a Canadian venture capitalist and “television personality.” In this brief and hostile interview, Hedges provides an astute analysis and description of the Occupy Movement and also correctly points out that O’Leary’s insults and aggression make the CBC no different from FOX News. Unlike FOX, however, the CBC is a public broadcaster. Americans merely have to tolerate FOX; Canadians are actually paying for the CBC with their taxes.
Chinese troops in Texas
Say what one will about Ron Paul’s broader social agenda, he’s the only contender for the leadership of either of the two dominant political parties in the US that is willing to state the obvious about American foreign policy. For this reason alone he deserves to be taken seriously. Instead, and for that reason precisely, he doesn’t stand a chance of winning the leadership.
Obama signs Defense Authorization Bill
President Obama used the last day of 2011 to sign the defense authorization bill, formally ending weeks of heated debate in Congress and intense lobbying by the administration. Obama’s main justification is found in his signing statement: I have signed the Act chiefly because it authorizes funding for the defense of the United States and its interests abroad, crucial services for service members and their families, and vital national security programs that must be renewed. Yet many have decried the bill’s language that would allow indefinite detention for suspected terrorists without a trial–including Americans arrested in the United States. Among those…
Situationism and “The Protester”
Dan Hind, author of The Return of the Public and The Threat to Reason and this year’s winner of the Bristol Festival of Ideas Prize, expressed his opinion on Situationism and the Occupy Movements in AlJazeera’s Opinion Space. While the whole article is worth reading, here are some quotes: In the years after the World War II, the US and Western Europe saw unprecedented rates of sustained economic growth. Food and accommodation were cheap and working people could afford a vast range of novel commodities – electronic gadgets, cars, new styles in furniture and opportunities for leisure. Decades of war, depression and social…
Finkelstein on the passing of Hitchens
Here’s Norman commenting on the death of Christopher Hitchens. He certainly has a way with words. Even some of the critical commentary on Hitchens’s passing pays tribute to his robust atheism, which no doubt shocked readers of Vanity Fair. But the ultimate irony seems to have gone over everyone’s head. When I first learned that Hitchens was diagnosed with an excruciating and terminal cancer, it caused me to doubt my atheism. Could it be merely chance? The news came just as Hitchens was about to go on a book tour for his long-awaited memoir. It was as if he was…
The wonderful world of advertising
In order to appreciate the toxic nature of advertising and its corrosive effect on society, it is instructive to look to some ads from the past. Yes it’s Coke for the wee baby, television for the toddler, beer for the nursing mother, second-hand smoke for the mistress, kitchen appliances for the sniveling wife, a pack of doctor-approved Camels for the health-conscious smoker, and a hand gun for the self-sacrificing husband (who must be looking for a quick way out of this nightmare).
How the media manipulates information
Since most people have at least some awareness of how the media can manipulate and distort information, the tricks and methods showcased in this short YouTube video are not exactly shocking. They are nevertheless revealing and always worth bearing in mind.
Bill McKibben on Irene and climate change
Democracy Now once again demonstrated its ability to connect the dots–in this case on climate change. In an interview with Bill McKibben on Hurricane Irene, Amy Goodman remarks: We did not hear those words, “global warming.” I watched a lot of the media coverage this weekend. What about this? I mean, to say the least, there was time in the endless coverage. That the dots are not being connected by the mainstream media is deeply disappointing because it is precisely what the IPCC was predicting all the time: Climate Change 2007: Working Group I: The Physical Science Basis 3.8.3 Evidence for Changes…
Noam Chomsky at Occupy Boston
On October 22 Noam Chomsky addressed the crowd at the Occupy Boston Movement:
Danny Glover and Cornel West
Danny Glover and Cornel West are two of the leading voices in the 21st century American civil rights movement, a movement that is no longer primarily about race. The fundamental injustice that they are addressing affects us all, regardless of race or gender. These two men (and many more like them) move America beyond race far more than the election of Obama does. And this contrast between, on the one hand, Glover and West speaking at the Occupy movements and, on the other, Obama speaking at the Martin Luther King memorial couldn’t be more striking. By representing and catering to…
The bid for Palestinian statehood
John Quigley (professor of law at Ohio State University) and Gabi Fahel (international lawyer) have written an excellent article outlining the rationale for the Palestinian request for UN membership. Well worth reading.
Less inequality during the Roman Empire than in the US today
Walter Schiedel and Steven Friesen recently analyzed papyri ledgers, biblical passages, and previous scholarship to conduct a study on the ancient Roman Empire and found that the top one percent of income earners in ancient Rome controlled 16% of society’s wealth. Per Square Mile, a data analysis blog by writer Tim De Chant, took the study and compared it to contemporary income disparity in the US and found that the Romans had less inequality than the Americans currently have. Some Quotes: Over the last 30 years, wealth in the United States has been steadily concentrating in the upper economic echelons. Whereas the…
Dani Rodrik on economics
Dani Rodrik, author of The Globalization Paradox and professor of International Political Economy at Harvard University, wrote an interesting article on contemporary economics called Occupy the Classroom? which comments on the Harvard students who walked out of an economics class taught by Greg Mankiw. While the students complained that the introductory economics course “propagates conservative ideology in the guise of economic science and helps perpetuate social inequality,” Rodrik insists that it is only at the undergraduate level (or in media reports) that economics conveys that impression. In Rodrik’s view, that appearance of conservative ideology evaporates at the graduate level. Consider the following: “Let…
Rocky Anderson for U.S. Justice Party
Very interesting interview on Democracy Now: A new political party has entered the fray as an alternative to Democrats and Republicans ahead of the 2012 elections. On Monday, the Justice Party formally kicked off its formation with an event in Washington. Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson will run for president on the Justice Party ticket. Although hailing from a solidly red state, Rocky Anderson has been known as one of the most progressive mayors of any major U.S. city in recent years. During his two mayoral terms from 2000 to 2008, Anderson was an outspoken champion of…
Student speaks up at the UNCCC in Durban
Anjali Appadurai, a student at the College of the Atlantic in Maine, addressed the United Nations Convention on Climate Change on behalf of youth delegates. It was a powerful speech. Some Quotes: I speak for more than half of the world’s population. We are the silent majority. You have given us a seat in this hall, but our interests are not on the table. What does it take to get a stake in this game? Lobbyists, Corporate Influence, Money? Now is not the time for incremental action In the long run, these will be seen as the defining moments of…
Constitutional amendment: corporations are not people
Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed an amendment to the Constitution to exclude corporations from First Amendment rights to spend money on political campaigns. The bill is a reaction to the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the government cannot put limits on election advertisements funded by corporations, unions, or other groups. Democrats have charged that the decision essentially treats corporations as people who can enjoy First Amendment rights. Some Quotes: Make no mistake, the Citizens United ruling has radically changed the nature of our democracy, further tilting the balance of power toward…
Chain gangs are cheaper
As one could expect, Alabama’s tough new immigration law induced a large percentage of immigrants to flee the state. However, the Alabama legislators responsible for the new immigration law apparently either thought otherwise or simply underestimated the consequences this law would have for the agricultural sector, which is heavily reliant on low-waged Hispanics to do the hard labor and now struggling to replace the lost labor force. But fear not, for John McMillan, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries knows the solution to this problem. He suggests: […] that inmate labor through the state’s work-release program offers a…
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