The predominant mood amongst most of the people in India as 2010 came to an end and the new year began was one of despondency, hopelessness and cynicism. It was clear that the entire governance system was in a crisis. What one saw in terms of the system being infected with the malaise of corruption and bad governance was merely the tip of the iceberg. The brazenness with which those who managed... Read more
Desde el derrame de petróleo crudo en el Golfo de México hasta los ultrajes perpetrados contra los inmigrantes en Arizona, el gobierno de los Estados Unidos parece estar sumido en una emergencia tras otra. Pero las dos crisis tienen sus raíces en las estructuras fundamentales de nuestra sociedad, estructuras que han sido transformadas por la globalización. ... Read more
From the plumes of corporate crude in the Gulf of Mexico, to the assault on migrants in Arizona, the U.S. appears locked in a continual state of emergency. However, both crises have their roots in fundamental structures of our society that are at the core of globalization today.... Read more
«El poder económico ha situado al mercado por encima de los Estados»... Read more
Sólo cinco días antes del terremoto que destrozó Puerto Príncipe el 12 de enero, el Consejo de Modernización de las Empresas Públicas (CMEP) del gobierno haitiano anunció la privatización del 70% de Teleco, la compañía estatal de teléfono de Haití.Hoy Puerto Príncipe está en ruinas con miles, posiblemente cientos de miles de muertos, barrios enteros destrozados, muchas personas enterradas vivas... Read more
Just five days prior to the 7.0 earthquake that shattered Port-au-Prince on January 12th, the Haitian government's Council of Modernisation of Public Enterprises (CMEP) announced the planned 70% privatization of Teleco, Haiti's public telephone company.Today Port-au-Prince lies in ruins, with thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands dead, entire neighborhoods cut off, many buried alive. Towns... Read more
On 30 November, I spent part of my day lying on the ground in the middle of a busy intersection in the heart of Chicago's financial district with my arms locked into big plastic tubes that connected me to 11 other people. We formed a big circle of bodies and tubes around the outside of a banner reading “The air is not for sale!”.... Read more
One of the more telling features of the present is the scarcity of analysis able to place today’s current socioeconomic crisis in geohistorical perspective. In terms of capitalism over the longue duree, no intellectual has developed a more formidable analysis of the present crisis than Giovanni Arrighi. (1) Arrighi, of course, along with Immanuel Wallerstein (1974, 1980, 1989) and the late Te... Read more
In a recent editorial comment, The Economist issued a solemn call to all believers in global capitalism not to despair, not to panick, and to do nothing that could endanger the capitalist system (October 18-24, 2008). The magazine invoked the words and spirit of its founder, the Scottish businessman, James Wilson, who, about 165 years ago, gave the paper the philosophy of "economic liberty". ... Read more
As the world is still assessing one of the most violent shocks in international financial markets ever, and measures to avoid future financial crises are still not in place, developing countries should be cautious of dangers associated with further liberalisation of their financial sectors.... Read more
