Capitalism
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The geopolitics of oil in the Trump era By Thierry Meyssan
The United States have become the leading world producer of hydrocarbons. As from now, they are using their dominant position exclusively to maximise their profits, and do not hesitate to eliminate their major rivals in oil production, plunging their citizens into misery. Although in the past, access to Middle East oil was a vital necessity… Continue reading
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No Alarms and No Surprises? What Lyft’s Slump Tells Us About Modern Capitalism by James Meadway
Ride-hailing app Lyft’s initial public offering (IPO) last week saw the company valued at $24.3bn in its first day of trading shares – before crashing back below its $72-a-share initial purchase price, where it has knocked around for the rest of the week. Short-sellers (those betting on further price falls) have reportedly gone into “overdrive”,… Continue reading
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Q&A: Manipulators, Optimism, Utopia, Trump, Writing Tips & More By Caitlin Johnstone
While we’re all waiting to find out what’s happening with Julian Assange, I thought it might be fun to do a little Q & A with my readers to pass the time while that singularly important crisis resolves. I asked for some questions on social media and got way more than I had expected. Here are a few of the ones that… Continue reading
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Samir Amin – organic internationalist
Taking as its point of departure this observation, itself a feature of 50 books by Samir Amin, the film depicts the audacious struggles of, as well as interviews with, addresses by and special moments involving this most outstanding intellectual of the South. In the film Samir Amin discusses the political economy of development, capitalism and… Continue reading
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Invisible Leviathan – Marx’s law of value in the twilight of capitalism By michael roberts
The message of Murray Smith’s book is aptly portrayed by its title, Invisible Leviathan. The book sets out to explain why Marx’s law of value lurks invisibly behind the movement of markets in modern capitalism and yet ultimately explains the disruptive and regular recurrence of crises in production and investment that so damage the livelihoods (and… Continue reading
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From Brexit to Trump, it’s death by 1,000 cuts By Jonathan Cook
Our attention is being diverted away from the political to the cultural, medical and technical. When our elites have no solutions to the most pressing problems of the day, when all the objective evidence indicates that the political system they oversee and have designed to enrich themselves is driving us over a cliff edge, with… Continue reading
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Getting longer but lower By Michael Roberts
We’ve had falling economic activity indicators in many major economies; and contracting industrial production in Europe and Japan. The business activity indicators in the US are the highest among the G7 top capitalist economies, but even there, they are beginning to fall back. Continue reading
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The fight for life v. Monsanto/Bayer AG
In this conversation with Chris Hedges, environmental activist and author, Vandana Shiva, talks about Monsanto/Bayer AG and other big AG players interests in India and her fight to protect life forms, seed varieties and farmers. Continue reading
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Waterstones paying millions to US ‘vulture fund’ owners while denying staff living wage
29 March 2019 — CorporateWatch Waterstones staff are demanding to be paid the living wage. Management say the company can’t afford it but an investigation by Corporate Watch has found: Continue reading
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The Fortress World of Capitalism vs. the Beautiful Possibilities of Cooperation By Cynthia Kaufman
Our beloved world is entering an increasingly unstable period, full of dangers and also full of possibilities. In many countries, old political parties are crumbling faster and anyone thought imaginable. Old geopolitical alliances have come unglued as the US comes to exercise its role as world hegemon in new and unpredictable ways. The development of… Continue reading
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The new Grand Strategy of the United States by Thierry Meyssan
Many people think that the United States is very active, but does not succeed in much. For example, it is said that its wars in the Greater Middle East are a succession of failures. But for Thierry Meyssan, the USA has a coherent military, commercial and diplomatic strategy. According to its own objectives, it advances… Continue reading
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US red lines for digital trade with the UK cause alarm By Javier Ruiz
Trade negotiations between the US and the UK have recently received a lot of attention due to the publication of the official negotiating objectives of the US Government, which set out in sometimes candid detail the areas of interest and priorities. The US document is mainly written in coded “trade-speak”, with seemingly innocuous term such as… Continue reading
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Three lessons from the ‘failed’ Mueller inquiry By Jonathan Cook
Here are three important lessons for the progressive left to consider now that it is clear the inquiry by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russiagate is never going to uncover collusion between Donald Trump’s camp and the Kremlin in the 2016 presidential election. Continue reading
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The ICC and NGOs: Modern Day Manifestations of “The White Man’s Burden” By Tony Cartalucci
It is an institutionalized tool – one of many – used by Western corporate-financier interests to coerce and control nations across the developing world. In a recent charade aimed to boost its otherwise nonexistent credibility, the ICC has claimed it seeks to investigate the United States for war crimes regarding Afghanistan. It also claims it… Continue reading
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The fantasy world of the Long Depression by michael roberts
This week, the US Federal Reserve Bank decided to stop raising its policy interest rate for the rest of 2019. The Fed started hiking rates from near zero back in late 2016 on the grounds that the Long Depression (in economic growth, investment and employment in the US and in other major economies) was over. … Continue reading
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South Africa: Democracy & ‘Father Christmas socialism’ By Terry Bell
As South Africa coasts uncomfortably toward national and provincial elections on May 8, accompanied by rolling blackouts and with commissions delving ever deeper into sewers of corruption, it is time to take stock of where the country is and where it may be going. This should apply in particular to trade unions that have, in… Continue reading
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Broiler chickens: The defining species of the Anthropocene? By Ian Angus
Forget jokes about crossing the road. New research identifies chickens as a vivid symbol of the transformation of the biosphere in our time Continue reading
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Rich countries must pay for cyclone devastation in southern Africa By Ian Angus
Climate change, caused by industrialized rich countries, is responsible for the disaster now unfolding in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. Continue reading
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The Assault On UK Food and Environment Rules in Brexit Trade Deal With USA
By Lawrence Carter – Unearthed: US agribusiness lobby calls on Trump to target UK food and environment rules in Brexit trade deal. American agriculture interests have flooded the US government’s trade agency with demands to pressure the UK into slashing food standards after Brexit, official documents show. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 