Where has the conference silly season left the debate on economic policy? George Osborne claims to have routed his critics: fiscal austerity has produced recovery. Labour, seemingly amazed that recovery has happened, has promised that a Labour government will continue to cut the deficit, albeit a little more slowly. The Liberal Democrats would join them … Continue reading Labour must expose the fallacy of George Osborne’s ‘recovery’
Category: Journalism
Vanguard Scotland?
Since I believe that the Scots are sensible, I think that they will vote “no” this week to independence. But, whichever way the vote goes, the spectacular rise of nationalism, in Scotland and elsewhere in Europe, is a symptom of a diseased political mainstream. Many are now convinced that the current way of organizing our … Continue reading Vanguard Scotland?
Endgame for Putin in Ukraine?
Vladimir Putin may (or may not) enjoy 80% public support in Russia for his Ukraine policy; but it has become increasingly clear that he has bitten off more than he can chew. The question is: At what point will his position as President become untenable? Leave to one side the moral and geopolitical background of … Continue reading Endgame for Putin in Ukraine?
Europe’s Surplus of Stagnation
While the rest of the world recovers from the Great Recession of 2008-2009, Europe is stagnating. Eurozone growth is expected to be 1.7% next year. What can be done about it? One solution is a weaker euro. Earlier this month, the chief executive of Airbus called for drastic action to reduce the value of the … Continue reading Europe’s Surplus of Stagnation
Post-Crash Economics
In last month’s European Parliament election, euroskeptic and extremist parties won 25% of the popular vote, with the biggest gains chalked up in France, the United Kingdom, and Greece. These results were widely, and correctly, interpreted as showing the degree of disconnect between an arrogant European elite and ordinary citizens. Less noticed, because less obviously … Continue reading Post-Crash Economics
The Road to Full Investment
A specter is haunting the treasuries and central banks of the West – the specter of secular stagnation. What if there is no sustainable recovery from the economic slump of 2008-2013? What if the sources of economic growth have dried up – not temporarily, but permanently? The new pessimism comes not from Marxists, who have … Continue reading The Road to Full Investment
Five Years of Economic Crisis
By Robert Skidelsky Published by the Centre for Global Studies, 2014 ISBN-13: 978-0954643027 Buy on Amazon
Kennan’s Revenge
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that gas giant Gazprom would start demanding payment a month in advance for the supplies that it sells to Ukraine. The British newspaper The Observer published, in response, a striking cartoon showing Putin sitting on a throne of outward-pointing daggers, turning off the Ukraine gas tap while … Continue reading Kennan’s Revenge
The Programmed Prospect Before Us
Review of Mindless: Why Smarter Machines Are Making Dumber Humans by Simon Head Basic Books, $26.99 1. The entire thesis of Simon Head’s arresting new book is contained in the subtitle. It goes all the way back to Adam Smith’s telling observation that the division of labor in a pin factory, while doing wonders for productivity (output … Continue reading The Programmed Prospect Before Us
Book review: Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty
The early 19th-century founders of the classical school of economics reasoned that the distribution of a society’s income depended crucially on who owned its productive resources. David Ricardo identified three classes of producer, landlords, capitalists and workers. Each of these classes owned a factor of production—land, capital and labour. With land and capital scarce relative … Continue reading Book review: Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty
Robert Skidelsky 