Below is an on-line comment I submitted re The New York Times’ op-ed (Aril 7, 2022) on the Bucha atrocities. The comment speaks to the tilted character of reporting on the Ukraine war. That tilt should be of concern to all who care about freedom, democracy, and open society. “Who committed the Bucha atrocities […]
Read More »Ukraine: what will be done and what should be done?
The inevitable has happened. Russia has invaded Ukraine. It was inevitable because the US and its NATO partners had backed Russia into a corner from which it could only escape by military means. In effect, Russia confronted a future in which the US would increasingly tighten the noose around its neck by further eastward expansion […]
Read More »American Exceptionalism and the Liberal Menace: the US and Ukraine
American exceptionalism is the most dangerous doctrine in the world, and it has been on full display in the current Ukraine crisis. Worse yet, the loudest advocates have been America’s elite liberal class. The doctrine of exceptionalism holds that the US is inherently different from and superior to other nations. That superiority means the US […]
Read More »Theorizing varieties of capitalism: economics and the fallacy that “There is no alternative (TINA)”
The VoCs approach to capitalism has the potential to transform economics. It tacitly emphasizes the plasticity of economies, whereby their character and outcomes are significantly a matter of choice. This paper augments VoCs theory to include a distinction between varieties and varietals of capitalism. Drawing on biology, varieties correspond to species and varietals correspond to […]
Read More »2022 Godley – Tobin Memorial Lecture: Professor Paul Krugman, “The enduring relevance of Tobinomics”
The Review of Keynesian Economics is pleased to announce that Professor Paul Krugman will give the 2022 Godley – Tobin Lecture. Professor Krugman is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has also taught at MIT, Princeton University, and Yale University. Like James Tobin, Professor Krugman […]
Read More »A crisis made in the USA: why Russia will likely invade Ukraine
Preamble. Living in the US and writing honestly about US-Russia relations (and China too) is very difficult. That is because the US is the aggressor, but Russia is an authoritarian country. That split is used by the US establishment to shuffle discussion away from US aggression on to Russian authoritarianism. Side-by-side, anyone calling the US […]
Read More »Federal Reserve Insider Dealing? R.I.P. Central Bank Independence
Federal Reserve Vice-Chair Richard Clarida has shot himself in the foot with what appears to be insider trading. That comes on the heels of prior concerns about inappropriate trading by regional Federal Reserve Bank Presidents Robert Kaplan and Eric Rosengren. Albeit unintentionally, the good news is these indiscretions may have done working families a favor […]
Read More »Economics & other crazy stuff: Happy New Year
I’m hoping next year we will make progress getting some of the crazier stuff out of the room. Here’s a little YouTube teaser from Down Under (give it a minute to get to the punchline): Who’s crazy now? All the best in 2022, Tom
Read More »The US and Russia: beware of Neocons and liberals preaching democracy promotion
Every week my e-mail box receives a steady stream of articles aimed at cultivating public animus to Russia. The articles are always wrapped in a narrative in which Russia is a threat to democracy in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. The effect is to create public support for hardline action (economic and/or military) against Russia. […]
Read More »Anti-China Fever in the US: a lethal contagious disease
Much of the United States (especially Washington, DC) is in the grip of a contagious lethal anti-China fever which is spreading fast. Even people I usually admire and respect have become infected. Reason and facts have lost all capacity to inoculate. Fortunately, I was sent a vaccine (that takes one minute to administer) which I […]
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