Mike Norman Economics

China aims at replacing the US in soft power by providing a superior vision of the future of humanity. The phrase "building a community of shared future for humanity," was written into the report of the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012. Five years on, the term is a now concrete plan with a clear direction and widespread approval. Multi-polarity, globalization, cultural diversity, interdependence, scientific and industrial revolution have emerged as the key descriptors of the world....

Perhaps the two greatest current macroeconomic problems are   a failure to optimally use resources (including people) the design and/or manipulation of the financial system to divert real resources from producers to a financial class The logical approaches to these problems are functional finance in the first case and changes in and/or enforcement of regulation of the financial system in the second case. Two groups that have gained visibility (academic, policy, and/or popular) on these...

Business is business, after all. Gotta compete. Best line: "The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region." — US State DepartmentSouthFrontUS Responds to Alleged Riyadh-Moscow S-400 Systems Deal, Approves THAAD Systems Sale to Saudi ArabiaalsoReutersU.S. approves possible $15 billion sale of THAAD missiles to Saudi Arabi

Interesting article that argues for an alliance based on the similarity of right libertarianism aka Libertarianism and anarcho-capitalism with traditionalism. This quote is central to the argument: Libertarian societies, then, must be hierarchised. Not around democratic or autocratic criteria of course, but on a strictly voluntary basis—i.e., the ungifted, unintelligent, and weak will tend to accept the authority of the gifted, intelligent, and strong because it will often (if not...

The Guardian's Gary Younge writes a polemic article on America's gun laws, but he makes some good points, I thought.   In a society that fetishises self-reliance, the gun speaks to rugged individualism – each person should be responsible for saving themselves. In a political culture that favours small government, the gun stands as a counterpoint to a lumbering and inefficient state – defend yourself, because by the time the police get there you’ll be dead. It underpins a certain sense of...

Some  links.The Case for Concerted ActionAnthony Thirlwall On How He Became A KaldorianV. Ramanan

This is a very interesting interview covering many topics although they get a bit absurd when  suggesting that there may be a link between the Las Vegas Shooting and the Catalan Referendum.  At one point in the interview Richie Allen and Tony Gosling talk about how the company KPMK audited HBOS accounts and put £48 billion in the wrong column which made HBOS look like a viable company when it was sold off when it was actually a basket case. British justice took ten years to make a decision...

Tracing the growth of corporatocracy. CounterpunchHow Big Corporations Game Our Democracy Into Their Plutocracy Ralph Nader

It’s part and parcel of the “Russia-gate” hoax.… The Powers That Be have always hated the internet, and now they’re finally making some progress in their campaign to have it reined in. Using the “Russia threat” and Hillary Clinton’s loss to appeal to those who used to be called “liberals,” they’re teaming up with neoconservatives like Bill Kristol and foreign-funded (!) outfits like the Alliance to Secure Democracy to achieve their longtime dream of regulating internet content. And they...

Alternet has gone public with concerns about the way Google and Facebook have limited traffic to its website and, more generally, undermined access to progressive and independent media. Its traffic from web searches has dropped precipitously – by 40 per cent – since Google introduced new algorithms in the summer. Other big progressive sites have reported similar, or worse, falls. More anecdotally, and less significantly, I have noticed on both my own website and Facebook page a sharp drop in...