Columns
First word
Take heart
Challenging the Econocrats – those people who use mainstream economic thinking to define political debate – is not for the faint-hearted. Their failure to even envisage the possibility of the
Stripped back
Life’s bare necessities are revealed in death to Professor Verity Bastion. Nowadays I attend more funerals than cocktail parties. They can be quite jolly affairs and it is remarkable what
The cost of killing crisis
The economics of war do not add up to anything good. Frances Coppola tallies. Wars are costly. Not just for the participants, but for everyone. Human lives are destroyed, productive
Interviews
Moral bankruptcy
Colin Mayer CBE is an eminent Oxford University professor and fellow of the British Academy – the top club for social scientists. He believes that capitalism is in crisis and
Money talks
Seven years ago a group of students who were central to the revolt against mainstream economic teaching in universities, published a book, The Econocracy. This book criticised mainstream economics education
Articles
Natural beauties: a dollar and a half to see ‘em
Nicolette Boater investigates whether privilege, connection or economic thinking and practice wins the day for nature’s protection. The image is by James Allen. In summer 2023 the UK’s National Trust
Unhealthy profits
Surgery by Christopher Mouré and Shai Gorsky to explore what takes the not out of not-for-profit healthcare in the US. At the end of November 2023, the New York Times
How scarce is an opportunity
William Darity Jr. explains why scarcity isn’t everything. One of the consistent obstacles for aggressive action to address global warming is encapsulated in the question, “How will we pay for
When economists shut off your water
This account is based on the findings of ethnographic research conducted in Kayole Soweto, Nairobi, in 2022 by Adrian Wilson, Irene Nduta and Somo Abdi and written by Adrian and Irene with
Nudge theory: the elbow or helping hand?
There is a backlash against Nudge Theory. In the original “nudge manifesto”, Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein promoted the political value of
The circular root
Emma Fromberg experiments with new metaphors to illustrate the changes needed to cultivate a circular economy. It is undeniable that much of the sustainability buzz is generated by businesses putting
Cents and sensibility
Fifty years ago the Limits to Growth report started a debate that pitted environmentalists against economists — and the economists won. Richard McNeill Douglas investigates why and what comes next.
The rising costs of creature comforts
Willy Diddens examines how pet care is becoming dominated by big finance. On 21 October 2021 the World Economic Forum, in an article on its internet site, honoured an unexpected
Book Reviews
Time of your life
Having free time need not require great wealth – Guy Standing’s The Politics of Time explains why work is overvalued. Review by Alex Kozul-Wright. The Politics of Time is not
The Parasite that is consuming the World
Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today’s Crises (2023), by Marjorie Kelly with foreword by Edgar Villanueva. Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, ISBN 9781523004775.