On global capitalism in Lenin’s day, the Bolshevik leader had this to say: “Imperialism is an immense accumulation of money capital in a few countries … hence the extraordinary growth of a class, or rather, of a stratum of rentiers, i.e., people who live by “clipping coupons”, who take no part in any enterprise whatever, […]
Posts Tagged ‘Capitalism’
Britain’s problem: Philip Green is the archetype British capitalist
Apr 26th, 2016 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.
Ending ‘life support’ for western economic model underlies China crisis
Sep 2nd, 2015 by Ann Pettifor.After two days of trouble and strife in global stock markets, the Federal Reserve’s New York President William Dudley said in remarks to reporters that a September interest rate hike seemed “less compelling” now than in recent weeks. These two words alone calmed global financial markets, and pushed up the price of oil. So everything’s […]
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The justification for Corbynomics goes far beyond re-nationalisation
Aug 26th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.It is curious that the main charge thrown against Jeremy Corbyn – apart from all the bluster and hysteria – is that his policies lack ‘economic credibility’. The assumption presumably is that the economic policies pursued by UK governments, both Labour and Tory, as well as by the EU, were sufficiently credible and rewarding as […]
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Even the high priests of capitalism have come out against against inequality
Jun 25th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.The IMF is the last place that one would expect to hear the argument being made that inequality has gone far too far. So the recent detailed research from the citadel of capitalism has to be taken seriously. What they found was that raising the income share of the poorest fifth of the population increases […]
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Immigration and benefits: the political economy of scapegoating
Jun 2nd, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Immigration and benefits. Immigration and benefits. Immigration and benefits. I can barely remember a time when these weren’t commanding headlines or the imaginations of politicians. One might say that this is no surprise, seeing as they are both hot button issues for the public – though it might be said these issues are fabricated and […]
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The detritus of neoliberal capitalism
Feb 14th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.The HSBC Swiss bank is not an isolated episode. It is part of a general pattern exposing the underlying ideology which has been globally dominant over the last three decades. That ideology has been about consolidating the power and wealth of the world’s richest class, particularly in the West. It is based around the idea […]
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Election should be about vision of new economic order – Is Labour ready?
Jan 16th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.It is ironic that the Tories, the enemies of ideology and avowed exponents of pragmatism, are starting this election with a much stronger ideological pitch than Labour, normally the proud presenter of an alternative vision. Osborne has gone on the offensive immediately by advocating the balanced budgeting and small state goals of the 1920-30s aimed […]
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Tories: in hock to wideboys, economically dysfunctional and politically toxic
Oct 6th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.It’s tempting. You see the insurmountable difficulties besetting the Tories, and their feeble firefighting efforts, and all you want to do is point and laugh. Heaven knows how much fun I’ve had doing it these last couple of years. Unfortunately, the remorseless grind of long term economic, cultural and political change is just as surely against […]
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Inequality and British Capitalism
Jul 6th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.As we saw the other day, inequality has become so pathological that capitalism could seize up. When lucrative markets are locked down, when governments bow and scrape to big business, when social mobility is choked off, and the unobtainable opulence of the vanishingly few is crassly paraded in front of the many, capitalism is going […]
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Pitchforks and inequality
Jun 30th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.This “memo” from Nick Hanauer to his fellow billionaires is an absolute must-read. Couched in straight forward language, he’s basically saying to his class that not enough people have a stake in the system any more and this will pose them an existential threat unless inequality is sorted out. Here’s a snippet:
