Subjects Archives: Political Economy

“Capitalism has now singled out a handful (less than one-tenth of the inhabitants of the globe; less than one-fifth at a most “generous” and liberal calculation) of exceptionally rich and powerful states which plunder the whole world simply by “clipping coupons.””

It is news media’s responsibility to reflect reality and to address the concerns of the communities they serve, regardless of the priorities of the administration in power. Failing to mention climate change where it is relevant will not stop it from occurring, but inattention will surely make it worse.

On social contract theory, economic power, and the limits of liberal democratic governance.

A curious feature of capitalism is that it masks the social nature of its form of production, making it appear as if the commodities produced by “the aggregate labour of society” were actually produced “naturally”, autonomously, of their “own accord”, especially when they are encountered as finished products in the market to be bought and consumed (Capital, Volume 1, 165).

Capitalism is invariably hostile to any collective praxis against it, even if this collective praxis takes the form of just trade union action.

Trump Is Not the Problem—the System That Produced Him Is.

Ian Angus was interviewed by noted Marxist economist Michael Roberts about Angus’s new book, Metabolic Rifts: Capitalism’s Assault on the Earth System, out now from Monthly Review Press.

As Rosenblum writes, an average of 1,000 people were moving to Seattle every week during the city’s tech boom, and developers and big landlords took advantage of this boom by raising rents and gentrifying previously affordable neighborhoods.

U.S. Donald Trump’s proposed budget ramps up military spending amid the war on Iran while slashing domestic programs, raising concerns over economic priorities and public backlash.

Oil prices have shot up in terms of U.S. dollars, and this in turn has been accompanied by a depreciation of other currencies, especially Asian currencies, vis-à-vis the dollar, causing even higher inflation in the periphery compared to the metropolitan capitalist centres.

China’s high level of investment is simply the latest stage of an international process of economic development that has been underway for over two centuries.

For over twenty years, India’s national rural jobs program provided a legal right to work for over 265 million people–the majority of them women–serving as a vital lifeline against poverty and a global model for social security. In this episode, we speak with Khush Vachhrajani, writer and national coordinator at the Social Accountability Forum for Action and Research in India, about how, tragically, that lifeline is now being cut.

In a context defined by extreme scarcity, intensified blockade pressure, and deep structural constraints, Cuba insists that the people must remain protagonists of the country’s political policy making and economic reconstruction.

Reports now indicate that the Trump administration is weighing major escalation, including seizure of Kharg Island, raids on nuclear facilities and even a large-scale U.S. ground invasion.

The present situation however also provides a great opportunity to move away from the neo-liberal regime.

Burdened by decades of neocolonialism and corruption, Senegal faces an all-too-familiar dilemma faced by countries across the Global South: how to pursue sovereign development under the weight of debt.

As Ruchir Sharma put it back last October, “America is now one big bet on AI“.

The policy of restricting trade with the country’s Communist government was put into full force under the Kennedy administration, with the explicit goal of causing enough economic hardship, hunger and desperation to spur regime change.

“We understood that producing green coffee was not enough. The only solution was to advance toward control over the entire production process.”

Wars destroy cities and take lives. They also shake the world economy.