Tag: economics

Cracks in the Kremlin matrix. The Stalinist order, the Putinist order; Russia’s culture of bureaucratic corruption

First posted July 10, 2013 Cracks in the Kremlin matrixPeter Pomerantsev enters the matrix of managed democracy that underpins postmodern dictatorship in Russia. A society of pure spectacle, with fake parties, fake opposition, fake scandals and fake action: this is the political technologists’ project, in which (almost) everything becomes PR. NB – the articles below provide insights… Read More Cracks in the Kremlin matrix. The Stalinist order, the Putinist order; Russia’s culture of bureaucratic corruption

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Big Tech is failing. The future of democracy depends on what happens next

Jeremy Gilbert Alex Williams The Musk-Twitter apocalypse is a symptom of a much bigger crisis. To avoid a bleak future we have to bring the big platforms under our control Within the tech world, the most significant development of the past two years has been the collapse of the profit-making model described by Shoshana Zuboff… Read More Big Tech is failing. The future of democracy depends on what happens next

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From the Amazon to Australia, why is your money funding Earth’s destruction?

George Monbiot In every conflict over the living world, something is being protected. And most of the time, it’s the wrong thing. The world’s most destructive industries are fiercely protected by governments. The three sectors that appear to be most responsible for the collapse of ecosystems and erasure of wildlife are fossil fuels, fisheries and farming.… Read More From the Amazon to Australia, why is your money funding Earth’s destruction?

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Beware self-made ‘genius’ entrepreneurs promising the earth. Just look at Elon Musk

His projects were so reliant on public money for survival that in the days before he discovered the necessity of voting Republican to provide “balance” to American politics, conservatives derided the degree of state support for his ventures. Kenan Malik Trussonomics trashed within eight weeks. Donald Trump’s anointed candidates cut down in the US midterms. Sam… Read More Beware self-made ‘genius’ entrepreneurs promising the earth. Just look at Elon Musk

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Don’t be fooled: policymakers are quietly invoking austerity by other names

Clara Mattei Austerity, like trickle-down economics, has been relegated to the list of things economists don’t talk about anymore. Austerity’s core policies – hikes in interest rates, downward pressure of fiscal spending and wages – had their last stand with the European sovereign-debt crisis a decade ago, and the resulting public outcry made the “a-word”… Read More Don’t be fooled: policymakers are quietly invoking austerity by other names

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Clara Mattei: How Economists Invented Austerity / Anwar Shaikh: What Happens When Economics Doesn’t Reflect the Real World?

Clara Mattei discusses her new book The Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism “A must-read, with key lessons for the future.”—Thomas Piketty A groundbreaking examination of austerity’s dark intellectual origins.  For more than a century, governments facing financial crisis have resorted to the economic policies of austerity—cuts to wages,… Read More Clara Mattei: How Economists Invented Austerity / Anwar Shaikh: What Happens When Economics Doesn’t Reflect the Real World?

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Sam Kriss: ‘Neoliberalism’ isn’t a left-wing insult but a monstrous political system of inequality

The One Word Guaranteed to Make the Corporate Pundit Class Squirm Neoliberalism is not particularly hard to define. It’s not only an ideology or a set of principles; it’s a system of practices, and an era, the one we’re living in now. What it means, over and above everything, is untrammeled ruling-class power, an end… Read More Sam Kriss: ‘Neoliberalism’ isn’t a left-wing insult but a monstrous political system of inequality

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Joe Biden, the National Security State, and Arms Sales

BY WILLIAM D. HARTUNG Here’s a seldom commented-upon reality of this century and this moment: the United States remains the number-one arms-exporting nation on the planet. Between 2017 and 2021, it grabbed 39% of the total global weapons market and there’s nothing new about that. It has, in fact, been the top arms dealer in every year but one for… Read More Joe Biden, the National Security State, and Arms Sales

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Paul Krugman warns of collapse of crypto institutions after FTX debacle

 Alex Henderson Right-wing libertarians and socially conservative MAGA Republicans disagree about many things, but one thing they do have in common is an affection for cryptocurrencies. It isn’t hard to find people on the right who are unapologetically bullish on cryptocurrencies. But one person who doesn’t share their enthusiasm is liberal economist and New York… Read More Paul Krugman warns of collapse of crypto institutions after FTX debacle

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