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Category: Economics

( World changing ideas – addenda) Why neo-cons are fundamentally anti-capitalists
05/09/2024
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| Economics, history

Here the two themes of world changing ideas (philosophy and history) come together in a surprising manner. There is an idea that  it is rational to pursue one’s self interest which became a cornerstone in a culture war. It is a strange fact that what was originally almost mystical – ‘light of reason’ – has become a matter of calculation.  A coldly rational man is culturally today a person who subjects everything to calculation.   In Adam Smith it is…

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Skidelsky – Is Economics color blind?
28/07/2020
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| Economics, Policy, Politics

Skidelsky writes on 20 July 2020 in Project Syndicate: ‘I still regard economics’ detachment from culture as a serious shortcoming in understanding human behavior. But I now see considerable merit in this cultural neutrality, because it provides a “safe space” for thinking amid the culture wars that currently convulse the non-scientific intelligentsia and about which journalists love to pontificate.’ and later: ‘Another point in favor of economics is its valid claim to be color- and gender-blind. ‘ Skidelsky, R….

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[:en]new 21st Century Silk road[:]
24/06/2017
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| Economics

On the evening of Thursday 22 June 2017 I went to White & Case in London for a presentation on the New Silk Road, formally known as Belt & Road Initiative     (joining together 2 announcements in 2013 of i) a Silk Road Economic Belt, and ii) 21st Century Maritime Silk Road – Note 1). This is a project to link China through Asia (India and SE Asia) to Middle East/ Europe and Africa. While it is a…

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[:en]Shell and Global Witness: how to hide the truth[:]
15/04/2017
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| Economics, Policy
shell logo

This is an amazing story, not the corruption (which is barely news) , but the misreporting by Global Witness and the Western  media generally. Global Witness write: “NEW LEAKED EMAILS PUT SHELL AT CENTRE OF BILLION DOLLAR BRIBERY SCHEME INVOLVING SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL OFFICIALS IN NIGERIA” (ref 1)   They  then write: “Shell’s most senior executives were told payments for massive oil block would go to a convicted money-launderer, and then likely flow to then President Goodluck…

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[:en]white working class male ‘despair’ – or concealed racism?[:]
01/04/2017
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| Economics, Policy

There has been widespread coverage  of  a report (ref 7)  that the white working class males are suffering from a ‘sea of despair’ causing a huge rise in deaths. This is inexplicably linked to a  comparison with the declining rate of  death of African American people.  An unstated implication which many are reading is that the decline in mortality for Black people is related to the rise for white working class.  This is political dynamite and is completely…

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