RAILROADING ECONOMICS: The Creation of the Free Market Mythology by Michael PerelmanBUY THIS BOOKRead Michael Perelman’s blog: UNSETTLING ECONOMICS: A Progressive Look at Economics and the Rest of the Screwed Up World. Michael Perlman is a longtime professor of economics at California State University, Chico. A prolific author, his newest book is titled Railroading Economics: […]
Geography Archives: United States
Faith in the “War with Islam”
The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris. Norton, New York, 2004. ISBN 0-393-03515-8. 336 pp. Cloth $24.95. Sam Harris’ The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason is unusual among books recently issued by mainline publishers in that it begins by rejecting all religious faiths […]
Current Challenges to Feminism: Theory and Practice
For much of the period from the 70s through the 80s, I was quite concerned with the way in which Third World movements for national liberation were sidelining women’s issues and relegating these to the background. In this piece I centerstage the Philippines which I believe may serve as an illustrative case. Let me try […]
How to Stay Out of Gitmo
In case you’ve been too stunned by other newsworthy disasters to pay proper attention, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 was just signed into law. This law gives the U.S. government legal permission to do things they’ve been doing sub-legally for years, such as: designate people as “unlawful enemy combatants”; deny these people the right […]
Gazing into the Future: Wal-Mart & the Unions
What’s the wave of the future for the United States in the 21st century? You couldn’t go far wrong by answering, “Wal-Mart.” In the case of the giant chain store, it might be fair to say “tsunami of the future.” The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, together with the Teamsters Union, has lately been […]
All the Economics You Need to Know in One Lesson
CHEAP MOTELS AND A HOTPLATE: An Economist’s Travelogue by Michael D. Yates ORDER THIS BOOK This essay complements my forthcoming book: Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate: an Economist’s Travelogue (Monthly Review Press). We Meet an Economist Karen and I were hiking in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the Atalaya Mountain Trail, which begins […]
Israel between Two Wars: Olmert, Lieberman, and Washington’s Agenda
Olmert and Lieberman Just what we needed. The government is running hard in order to avoid the appointment of an authentic Judicial Investigative Committee, i.e., one with wide powers. Our Prime Minister is busy preparing himself for investigations into his all “too-successful” real estate deals. His popularity rating hovers at a magnificent 7%. But Ehud […]
Brazil: What Is at Stake in the Second Round [Brasil: Lo que está en juego en la segunda vuelta]
Nadie puede ser neutro, nadie puede ser equidistante, nadie puede ser indiferente Lo que está en juego en la segunda vuelta no es apenas si Petrobras va a ser privatizada — como afirmó el asesor de Alckmin, Mendonça de Barros a la revista Exame — y, si con ella, también el Banco de Brasil, la […]
General Transportation Strike Looming in 2008?Expiring Master Contracts Give Unions Enormous Leverage . . . If They Seize the Moment
Millions of dollars worth of goods sat unmoved on the docks of the United States’ largest port, Los Angeles/Long Beach, as port truckers, mostly Latino immigrants, struck on May 1. Despite being organized only informally in small networks, the truckers were able to use their position at a vital point in the economy to […]
To End the Israeli-Arab Conflict [En finir avec le conflit israélo-arabe]
Nous appelons, alors que le Moyen-Orient est plongé dans sa crise la plus grave depuis des années, à une action urgente de la part de la communauté internationale en vue d’un règlement global au conflit israélo-arabe. Nous sommes tous perdants dans ce conflit, à l’exception des extrémistes, qui prospèrent à travers le monde en exploitant […]
Oppose H.R. 6198, the “Iran Freedom Support Act”
On Friday the Senate is expected to vote on legislation passed Thursday by the House that would tighten U.S. sanctions on Iran and on our allies who trade with Iran. This legislation would undermine the negotiations with Iran that are currently taking place in Europe. Press reports have indicated that the talks in Europe could […]
Lebanon: Reflexions and Lessons [Liban: Réflexions et Leçons]
Face à l’évènement, certains veulent faire supporter à la Résistance tout le poids de cette guerre. C’est endosser l’erreur. La grande majorité des analystes politiques internationaux savent que cette guerre était prévue à courte échéance, avec ou sans prétexte ; Israël ne manque pas d’en créer au besoin. Souvenons-nous de l’invasion de 1982 : […]
Venezuela and South Africa: Redistributive Policies vs. Neo-liberal Economic Policies
Traveling to both Venezuela and South Africa this past summer, through my work as an academic sociologist, I was able to observe firsthand two radically different approaches to “third world” development: a “redistributive approach” in Venezuela, and a set of basically neo-liberal economic policies in South Africa. Although this was not a consciously designed research […]
It’s Not Race or Class — It’s Race and Class: An Interview with Roderick Bush
WE ARE NOT WHAT WE SEEM: Black Nationalism and Class Struggle in the American Century by Roderick D. BushBUY THIS BOOK Roderick Bush is an Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at St. John’s University in New York. He is the author of We Are Not What We Seem: Black Nationalism and Class Struggle in […]
Iran: Calls for Dialogue with the United States
“We believe the production or use of nuclear weapons is immoral.” — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Hours after he spoke to the United Nations, the Iranian president made this clear, unequivocal statement to a group of us during a private meeting in New York. The Mennonite Central Committee organized an extraordinary, private session for […]
U.S. Religious Leaders Meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Nearly 45 religious leaders from Christian and Muslim faith backgrounds met with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Sept. 20, in an open discussion about the role religious communities can play in reversing the deepening crisis between Iran and the United States. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the Iranian leader and leaders from […]
Class Struggle and Socialist Revolution in the Philippines: Understanding the Crisis of U.S. Hegemony, Arroyo State Terrorism, and Neoliberal Globalization
Prodded by Amnesty International (AI), the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Asian Human Rights Commission, Reporters Without Borders, and other international organizations, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently cobbled a group to look into the allegations of massive human rights violations — over 729 victims of extrajudicial killings, and 180 involuntary “disappearances,” by the latest count — during her […]
The Irish Soldiers of Mexico
One of the least-known stories of the Irish who came to America in the 1840s is that of the Irish battalion that fought on the Mexican side in the U.S.-Mexico War of 1846-1848. They came to Mexico and died, some gloriously in combat, others ignominiously on the gallows. United under a green banner, they participated […]
Preface to the Turkish Edition of Naming the System
I am honored to write this preface to the Turkish edition of my book, Naming the System: Inequality and Work in the Global Economy. I thank Neset Kutlug and everyone else who helped bring this edition to fruition. I wrote the book with an international audience in mind, so it is gratifying to see […]
Address at the Washington National Cathedral, 7 September 2006
In the Name of God Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests, “As-Salam-u-‘Alaikum” — Peace be upon you. Knowledge of the human soul has been one of the most significant debates in philosophical discourse throughout history. A part of this tale was written in the Orient and another part in the Occident. It is important to […]
