Reading

Created
Wed, 17/08/2022 - 05:02
Ruskin scholar Jeffrey Spear, author of “Dreams of an English Eden: Ruskin and his Tradition in Social Criticism,” discusses how the insights of a key 19th-century thinker can help us build a new paradigm for protecting the planet – and save us from ourselves.

Since I first wrote about the Victorian art and social critic John Ruskin, economics, and the environment over 40 years ago, the foreboding cloud of ecological disaster then on the horizon has become experiential climate change. Human activity has initiated the 6th great extinction in the planet’s history threatening at least 25% of Earth’s species and, if not humans as a species, certainly the ethos of perpetual economic and population growth dependent on fossil-derived fuels and chemistry.

Created
Wed, 17/08/2022 - 03:04

Everyone at INET is saddened by the news that our colleague Lance Taylor passed away on Monday, August 15th, 2022. His loss leaves a giant hole in our hearts as well as in the field of economics. His talents and achievements were prodigious and we will miss his cheerful and inspiring presence. Words help little on such occasions, but we would like to extend our condolences to his wife Yvonne, and his children Signe and Ian.

To commemorate his contributions, here are a few noteworthy articles, events, videos, and interviews by, with, or about Lance Taylor.

Created
Tue, 16/08/2022 - 02:57
If We Want Humanity to Survive, We Must Cooperate With China Nathan J. Robinson & Noam Chomsky August 15, 2022. Current Affairs. “China is our enemy,” Donald Trump declared repeatedly. “These are our enemies. These are not people who understand niceness.” Accordingly, when Trump was in office, his administration “took a sledgehammer” to U.S.-China relations, which “reached their […]
Created
Sat, 13/08/2022 - 10:10
by Fred Block* John Vail has written a remarkable book about Karl Polanyi’s concept of the double movement.  It is a careful exegesis of Polanyi’s argument that also puts that analysis into dialogue with subsequent scholarship in history, politics, and sociology. Vail is appreciative of Polanyi’s insights, but he is certainly not uncritical. He points […]
Created
Fri, 12/08/2022 - 03:53


The Real Motive Behind the GOP’s “Culture War”


Why do Putin and the Republican Party sound so much alike? Simple: Their culture wars have similar agendas.

Both are trying to distract attention from the economic looting by their respective oligarchies.

Vladimir Putin has been blasting so-called "cancel culture.”

This was his third “cancel culture” rant in recent months. It’s the same imaginary crisis that Trump and the GOP have been ranting about for several years.

Tucker Carlson, one of Fox News’s most infamous personalities, accuses liberals of trying to cancel all sorts of things. 

Created
Fri, 12/08/2022 - 03:49


How Corporations are Using Inflation to Take Your Money

Inflation is a cover corporations are using to squeeze more money out of you. But as I’ll explain, there are five things we can do to fight back.

Corporations are using inflation as an excuse to raise their prices, hurting workers and consumers while they enjoy record profits. 

Prices are surging – but let’s be clear: corporations are not raising prices simply because of the increasing costs of supplies and labor. They could easily absorb these higher costs, but instead they are passing them on to consumers and even raising prices higher than those cost increases.

Corporations are getting away with this because they face little or no competition. 

Created
Fri, 12/08/2022 - 03:18
By Eoin Higgins -- Salon In 2022, Pride month — June — gave way to an explosion of invective against LGBTQ rights, helped along by allies in right-wing media, particularly Fox News. But there's also rising anti-trans sentiment in the liberal-left sphere, and it's being driven by some elements of what might be called the "post-left," onetime champions of progressive outlooks who have now tilted to the right. Former Intercept writer (and Salon columnist) Glenn Greenwald is one of those leading the charge, turning his audience on to fringe elements of a growing hate movement.