economics
-
Neoliberalism: The Operating System of the Society of Control
Neoliberalism, emerging as a reaction against Keynesian policies, transforms social life through market logic, individual responsibility, and state facilitation of capital. It prioritizes deregulation, privatization, and austerity, reframing citizens as entrepreneurial actors. In Texas, neoliberal policies since the 1990s have… Continue reading
-
Always some other’s fault
Rather than deal with our own inadequacies, Americans seek some other to blame. Continue reading
-
Capitalism vs. Democracy – NYTimes.com
Thomas Piketty’s new book, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” described by one French newspaper as a “a political and theoretical bulldozer,” defies left and right orthodoxy by arguing that worsening inequality is an inevitable outcome of free market capitalism.Piketty, a… Continue reading
-
Colleges are teaching economics backwards
…here’s one temporary fix for introductory economics: teach it backwards. Reversing the order in which introductory economic classes are taught today might be the easiest way to respond to the crisis in undergraduate education. Plus, the history of how it… Continue reading
-
Freelance Nation: How to Become a Part-Time Worker Without Really Trying | The Nation
This originally appeared as a Tomgram over at Tomdispatch and was picked up by the Nation… …what a weird economic downturn and recovery this has been. From the end of an “average” American recession, it ordinarily takes slightly less than… Continue reading
-
the escape from reality
Originally posted on coromandal: Here is the economist John K. Galbraith making two more excellent points about the popularity and insanity of speculation. He describes two reasons why after a bubble bursts — as it did in a spectacular fashion that… Continue reading
-
Decline and fall: how American society unravelled | World news | The Guardian
In or around 1978, America’s character changed. For almost half a century, the United States had been a relatively egalitarian, secure, middle-class democracy, with structures in place that supported the aspirations of ordinary people. You might call it the period… Continue reading
-
The ‘Broader Impacts’ of Sequestration on Science
My colleague Bob Frodeman has some suggestions about the interconnection of research & society in post-austerity world. Now that we’ve been driven off the “fiscal cliff,” perhaps we should look around and assess the results. It turns out that sequestration is… Continue reading
-
Young people are screwed… Here’s how to survive
Wow. This is a really good piece that is totally worth a read. And then a reread. And then maybe a further read. If you are someone who entered adulthood in the last few years, you are a Generation Y… Continue reading
-
Viewpoint: Why Al Jazeera’s Entry into the U.S. Is a Good Thing | TIME.com
If you say, consider the source and their “overlords,” I’ll say, “I will do that with this station just as do with Fox & MSNBC… whose “overlords” have their own biases that they keep shoving down our throats.” I’ve caught… Continue reading
-
There is no fiscal crisis. And macroeconomics is not a morality play.
Nice overview of how things stand vis. the “fiscal cliff.” The Puritanism that surrounds how most people talk about debt–esp. government debt–really irritates and shows the lasting influence of Christian dogmatism on our sociocultural situation. Sometimes I cannot tell if… Continue reading
-
Robots, Robber Barons, & the Situation for Existential Innovation
A more full account from Paul Krugman on some of the topics I originally brought up yesterday. Still, can innovation and progress really hurt large numbers of workers, maybe even workers in general? I often encounter assertions that this can’t… Continue reading
-
Innovating Existence: Human Capital in the Global Market
In the Society of Control, we have given up a few things that marked the closing decades of the Society of Discipline. Among these is the dominance of disciplinary enclosures. That dominance led to the University as we know it… Continue reading
-
Booted from plum committee seats, three GOP reps want answers – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs
Let’s see… They regularly voted against how the party leadership needed t hem to vote. They often spoke about GOP leadership as unworthy of their position when even the hint of compromise with Democrats looked possible. They are more concerned… Continue reading
-
4 Eco-Friendly Structures Straight Out of Science Fiction | Cracked.com
With their usual wit & sarcasm, the Cracked.com team lets us know about some pretty cool structures. A few chuckles does not take away from the feeling of how fricking cool all these things are. 4 Eco-Friendly Structures Straight Out… Continue reading
-
Driving toward Innovation
Humans have drives–natural & social. Our natural drives we may call our instincts for survival. Our social drives we might refer to as our habits for success. Obviously, in all things, there are times when natural & social impulses conflict.… Continue reading
CALL ME MAGGIE 