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  • Monthly Review Essays

About Martin Hart-Landsberg

Martin Hart-Landsberg is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon; and Adjunct Researcher at the Institute for Social Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, South Korea. His areas of teaching and research include political economy, economic development, international economics, and the political economy of East Asia. He is also a member of the Workers' Rights Board (Portland, Oregon) and maintains a blog Reports from the Economic Front where this article first appeared.
  • Trade in components showing three interrelated production hubs

    The uneasy U.S.-China relationship: what lies ahead?

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on April 7, 2019 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    The U.S. and China are the two dominant poles in the global economy, as illustrated in the figure below which traces the global trade in parts and components.

  • Trump building in Chicago, IL. Photo by Eric Muhr.

    Lots of noise from Trump but nothing changed for U.S. multinational corporations

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on March 25, 2019 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    Bank of France: “Six small jurisdictions (Bermuda, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Singapore and Switzerland), which count for less than 1 percent of the world’s population, hold 63 percent of the overall profits earned abroad by U.S. multinationals.”

  • Robotics and youth unemployment in China (cc Photo: CNBC.com)

    China has an unemployment problem

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on March 10, 2019 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    Strikingly few discussions of China’s declining growth trajectory include mention of the country’s unemployment rate. Unfortunately, this official rate is worthless as an indicator of the China’s labor market conditions. In reality, China likely has a serious and growing unemployment problem.

  • TNCs - The globalisation of Planet Earth

    Capitalist globalization is not unwinding: TNCs continue to increase their power and profits

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on March 1, 2019 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    The Great Recession of 2008 marked the end of a lengthy period of international economic growth and rapidly increasing international trade. Now, some ten years later, economic activity, including trade and foreign direct investment, remains far below pre-crisis levels with little sign of revival.

  • Would Donald Trump win an election today? - BBC News

    The Trump tax plan proves a bonanza for business

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on February 17, 2019 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    In sum, thanks to the Trump tax plan, trillions of dollars that could have been used to transform our transportation and energy infrastructure, industrial structure, and system of social services are instead being transferred to big businesses, who use them for speculative activities and to further enrich their already wealthy managers and stock holders.

  • Governor Scott Walker Attends Official Deal Signing For New Foxconn Factory

    Foxconn: playing fast and loose in Wisconsin

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on February 2, 2019 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    When state and local governments bid for corporate investment, working people lose. It is as simple as that. And Foxconn’s on-again, off-again, and on-again shrinking investment in Wisconsin is a case in point.

  • Despite offering significant benefits, Union membership continues to decline

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on January 19, 2019 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics just published its latest news release on union membership. Unfortunately, the downward trend continues.

  • 4 ways millennials are way better with money than older people ... MarketWatch

    Millennials: hit hard and fighting back

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on December 31, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    A lot has been written and said critical of millennials. The business press has been tough on their spending habits.

  • 2018 midterm elections: Americans can't agree what the big issues ... Vox

    Politics in America

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on December 16, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    U.S. elected leaders, and those that work for them, think their constituents are far more conservative than they are. The good news is that this means there is far more support for a progressive political agenda than one might think.

  • 7 Expert Predictions For The State Of The Economy In 2018 Finance and Markets

    The U.S. economy: monopolized product markets and precarious work

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on December 6, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    Most economists and politicians sing the praises of competition. It is supposed to keep firms on their toes for the benefit of consumers and workers. Well, competition is certainly alive and well in the U.S., but the results are far from positive for working people.

  • Transparency International Corruption in the USA- The difference a year makes

    We need to strengthen the public in the U.S. public sector

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on November 24, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    Many people have given up on the idea of government as an instrument of progressive social change, especially the federal government.

  • Trumping Labor: The Republican Plan to Gut Workers' Rights ... The Progressive

    The law versus worker rights

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on November 8, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    Organizing a union is no easy task in the United States. Although organizing a union is supposed to be a protected right, businesses regularly fire union supporters knowing that they face minimal punishment even if found guilty for their actions. In fact, the rights of all workers, regardless of their interest in unionization, are being whittled down. Simply put, U.S. law doesn’t work for workers.

  • 5 Years Later, Citizens United Has Remade U.S. Politics | Politics ... US News & World Report Demonstrators gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013

    Corporate concentration, intellectual property rights, and U.S. public policy

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on October 28, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    Dominant corporations have dramatically increased their market power in the U.S. over the last decades, allowing them to boost their profits and, by extension, political power. And, although rarely acknowledged by the media, this trend owes much to the way public policy has promoted corporate intellectual property rights at the public expense.

  • 10 Ways to Save Money on Healthcare | Debt RoundUp

    The U.S. medical system: healthy profits at people’s expense

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on October 11, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    The health-care industry overtook the retail sector as the nation’s largest employer in December, giving local economies and their workers a stake in the industry’s growth. Health jobs surpassed manufacturing jobs in 2008.

  • One Belt, One Road, Silk Road's new challenges, opportunities ... Tehran Times

    A critical look at China’s One Belt, One Road initiative

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on October 2, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    China’s growth rate remains impressive, even if on the decline. The country’s continuing economic gains owe much to the Chinese state’s (1) still considerable ability to direct the activity of critical economic enterprises and sectors such as finance, (2) commitment to policies of economic expansion, and (3) flexibility in economic strategy.

  • Teachers Retirement Help | Find Out If Your Illinois Teacher Pension Is Safe

    U.S. public school teachers: declining pay, growing militancy

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on September 12, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    Strikes continue to be an effective way for teachers to improve their living and working (and by extension student learning) conditions. And, polls show that a strong majority of parents continue to support them. Popular support for teacher strikes remains strong The education pollster PDK recently asked adults what they thought about teacher salaries and […]

  • How far labor unions have fallen - Business Insider

    Forgotten workers and the U.S. expansion

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on September 2, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    There is a lot of celebrating going on in mainstream policy circles. The economy is said to be running at full steam with the unemployment rate now below 4 percent.

  • Median household income in the 21st century

    The 21st Century has been hard on U.S. households

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on August 21, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    The 21st Century has not been a good one for most working people in the United States. In fact, for most of this century, real median household income has been below its starting value in January 2000.

  • Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps fucking myth! | Makes u think... | Pinterest | Truths

    Magical bootstraps and the struggles of working Americans

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on August 12, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    A recession is coming, sooner or later. Once it hits, we can expect articles bemoaning the fact that working people didn’t build-up their savings during this record expansion to help them through the hard times. If only they had pinched pennies here and there, skipped a new TV or smart phone, they could have generated some capital that could have been invested…. Ah the missed opportunities.

  • U.S. militarism marches on

    Originally published: Reports from the Economic Front on July 31, 2018 (more by Reports from the Economic Front)

    Republicans and Democrats like to claim that they are on opposite sides of important issues. Of course, depending on which way the wind blows, they sometimes change sides, like over support for free trade and federal deficits. Tragically, however, there is no division when it comes to militarism.

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Also By Martin Hart-Landsberg in Monthly Review Magazine

  • Planning an Ecologically Sustainable and Democratic Economy: Challenges and Tasks July 01, 2023
  • U.S. Economic Planning in the Second World War and the Planetary Crisis February 01, 2023
  • Lessons from Iceland October 01, 2013
  • ALBA and the Promise of Cooperative Development December 01, 2010
  • The U.S. Economy and China: Capitalism, Class, and Crisis February 01, 2010
  • Learning from ALBA and the Bank of the South: Challenges and Possibilities September 01, 2009
  • The Promise and Perils of Korean Reunification April 01, 2009
  • China, Capitalist Accumulation, and Labor May 01, 2007
  • Neoliberalism: Myths and Reality April 01, 2006

Books By Martin Hart-Landsberg

  • Capitalist Globalization: Consequences, Resistance, and Alternatives May 31, 2009

Monthly Review Essays

  • US Imperialism in Crisis: Opportunities and Challenges to a Global Community with a Shared Future
    Sam-Kee Cheng A late 1940s Soviet poster showing a US military service member lounging on top of a German factory, smoking a cigar. The text beneath reads DER DOLLARIMPERIALISMUS [dollar imperialism].

    1. Introduction The predominance of US economic, political and military power in the world was established at the end of the Second World War.1 With just 6.3 percent of global population, the United States held about 50 percent of the world wealth in 1948. As the only power which had used nuclear weapons on civilian […]

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    Robert W. McChesney Bob McChesney on Saving Journalism

    Our job is to make media reform part of our broader struggle for democracy, social justice, and, dare we say it, socialism.

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