Review of Power and Progress, by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson from Dean Baker When I saw that two of the country’s most prominent economists wrote a book on “our 1000-year struggle over technology and prosperity,” I expected a lot. I was disappointed. To be clear, there is much here to like and I’m sure that most readers will get much from it, as I did. But, the book fails to follow through adequately on the key point in its analysis, which is that the gains from technology are a...

Vår främste filmmusikskapare har gått ur tiden. Stefan skrev den sorts musik som glömskan inte rår på. Tack för allt. Vila i frid min vän. [embedded content] Bille Augusts och Ingmar Bergmans mästerverk — med Stefan Nilssons musik, det vackraste och mest suggestiva i filmmusikväg som någonsin gjorts. [embedded content] Pelle Erobreren — baserad på Martin Andersen Nexös episka mästerverk och med musik av Stefan Nilsson. [embedded content] Kjell-Åke Anderssons filmatisering av...

I can’t believe this is I even being discussed. If so, it’s bullish as hell!!!!!!!

The Progressive Economics Forum holds its annual meetings at the Canadian Economics Association (CEA) conference, which we thank for its financial support. In this year’s CEA, we are also celebrating PEF’s 25th anniversary. This year’s CEA conference will be held in person on June 2-3, 2023 in Winnipeg. A day of online only sessions will be held in advance of the conference on Tuesday May 30, 2023. The CEA Embrace Day with workshops will be held on Thursday June 1. As usual, PEF is...

April report for real personal income and spending adds to the evidence that a cyclical peak might ultimately be dated to January  – by New Deal democrat As I’ve repeated for the past several months, at present the report on personal income and spending is co-equal to the employment report as the most important monthly data. And for the second month in a row, the results were very mixed. And also, like yesterday, revisions played a big role,...

Everyone already knows, Feinstein can retire or stay put. This is also one of our issues with government and the judiciary. The people in elected and appointed to positions make their decisions based upon what they want which leaves the constituency in a bad position. No matter how many good things done, they can all disappear over time. No, Hillary Clinton, Dianne Feinstein Is Allowed to Resign, rsn.org, Jim Newell @ Slate The arguments...

Pretty good article on the environment and SCOTUS saying its ok to obliterate a wetland for a house. Except Alito suggests we should do more! Brett Kavanaugh: Supreme Court EPA Ruling Could Risk Water Quality, businessinsider, Kelsey Vlamis “the majority was ignoring precedent and jeopardizing water quality in the US.” Supreme Court ruling issued Thursday undercuts the EPA’s authority to regulate under the Clean Water Act. The Supreme Court...

May 25, 2023 ROBERT SKIDELSKY Amid the growing excitement about generative AI, there are also mounting concerns about its potential contribution to the erosion of civil liberties. The convergence of state intelligence agencies and surveillance capitalism underscores the threat that artificial intelligence poses to the future of democracy. LONDON – With investors pouring billions of dollars into artificial intelligence-related startups, the generative AI frenzy is beginning to look...

Although somewhat critical of its reductive elements, Foucault found certain attractive features in the ideal or programmatic form imagined by American neoliberalism, namely, that it envisages a kind of regulation outside sovereign, disciplinary, and biopolitical forms, that it regulates without the fabrication of subjectivities and in a manner that optimizes difference and tolerates minority groups and practices. Second, from a policy perspective, Foucault showed a certain...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]“Origins of debt: Michael Hudson reveals how financial oligarchies in Greece & Rome shaped our world,” Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy Report, May 25, 2023.  BEN NORTON: Hi, everyone. I’m Ben Norton of Geopolitical Economy Report, and today I have the great pleasure of speaking with a friend of the show, the economist Michael Hudson, and Continue Reading The post The Arc of Time: Pro-Creditor History first appeared on...