Tag Archives: economics
Notes and commentary on Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation (Part 1)
We all have those books – the ones we know are good for us but have remained on the bookshelf for years (or decades). Thankfully, Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation is now one of those books that I can return to my bookshelf with the satisfaction that I’ve finally read one of the masterpieces of economic […]
Albert O. Hirschman’s The Passions and the Interests
Albert O. Hirschman’s The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism Before Its Triumph is an essay as insightful and thought-provoking as it is elegant. Hirschman’s Passions is a timeless classic that gracefully explores the intersection of economic, social and political thought, and provides a perceptive understanding of the Western world’s intellectual accommodation and […]
When is debt not debt? When it belongs to your friends.
Though Vaughn Palmer is not as obnoxious or snide as others in BC’s Senate-track press corp, his refusal to be honest about our debt is maddening. The central problem is that the BC Liberals have gone on a spending binge since 2005, but most of it is not counted as debt. The Liberals have been […]
The Shock Doctrine Documentary
Though it’s been out for a few years, the documentary on Naomi Klein’s The Schock Doctrine remains a powerful and illuminating summary of her ideas. I thought I’d post it again. Klein has faced some criticism by those you might consider to be her natural allies on the progressive left. Perhaps it’s because she is an […]
Equality of Opportunity?
a The following is a quick letter I contributed to the online forum of the Globe and Mail: ____________ One of the great challenges to North America’s dominant political narrative is that it doesn’t actually believe in “equality of opportunity“. If one doubts my contention, simply review the attempts here in Canada to introduce a […]
An Economic Pessimist’s Nod to Karl Marx
Watching the interview below with Nouriel Roubini is a worthwhile effort . Roubini is a mainstream economist from New York University’s business school, and well-known for his pessimism prior to the latest economic implosion. Much of his analysis is fairly mainstream, but he does emphasize the volatile role of commodities (especially oil and food) at […]
Tea Party Contradictions
One of the most fascinating examples of the absurdity of US politics has been the Tea Party movement. Populated largely by angry and frightened working class and middle class (white) Americans, the movement proves that contradictions are rarely a barrier to political action. At the core of the problem is a series of demands by […]
An analysis of the US economy by Robert Reich
I would encourage you to download this speech by Robert Reich. [Right-click on the link and choose “Save Link As” or “Save Target as”.] Reich’s key argument is that inequality is bad for business, and unless America can address this fundamental challenge, all of the secondary problems will be insoluble. The irony is that, in […]
The Neo-Liberal Agenda: The Effects in BC, Part 2
In my last entry, I wrote about the pernicious attempts by the BC Liberals (and other neo-liberals) to promote tax cuts on the basis of improvements in productivity. I explained that these productivity increases simply haven’t happened. This, in turn, suggests that Campbell’s tax cut agenda is bogus and self-serving. The question, then, is what […]
The Neo-Liberal Agenda in BC: Reduce, Just Don’t Shift
Aside from shifting taxation from the business sector to the middle class (like in the HST), the neo-liberal agenda seeks to reduce the overall size of government, particularly in relation to GDP. A classic example of this reduction in government can be found right here in BC. Below is a chart from the BC government’s […]