Guest Post
US Senator Bernie Sanders Blasts Greece’s Creditors
, 02/07/2015
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) attacked the International Monetary Fund and European authorities on Wednesday for imposing what he called excessive austerity measures on Greece in negotiations over the country’s debt payments. [Click here for the Huffington Post site, or read on]
How the US rolls (post-Global Minotaur) – by SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK
, 13/12/2014
In this article, aptly subtitled It’s lonely being the global policeman, Slavoj evokes a parallelism between the age of extremes that began as the British Empire was losing its grip with the present moment in history. Now that the Global Minotaur (quoting my book) is mortally wounded, “…the American century is over and we are witnessing […]
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard on Greece and the rise of SYRIZA – from THE TELEGRAPH
, 11/12/2014
In this powerful, balanced article, published today in conservative UK daily THE TELEGRAPH, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard makes important points on Greece and a prospective SYRIZA administration: Events have rudely exposed the illusion that the Greek people will submit quietly to a decade of colonial treatment and debt servitude… Greece was sacrificed to buy time for the alliance, […]
Revisiting the Juncker Recovery Proposals – guest post by Stuart Holland
, 01/12/2014
Regular readers need no introduction to Stuart Holland; co-author of The Modest Proposal, former British MP and aid to Jacques Delors, responsible for starting the conversation about the Eurozone’s need for eurobonds (in… 1993), creator of the European Investment Fund and a staunch advocate of the need to turn the European Investment Bank into the […]
Public Debt: How the classical economists looked upon it (wonkish) – Guest article by Nicholas Theocarakis
, 28/11/2014
With so much talk about public debt, the so-called debt crisis etc., it is perhaps time to take a close look at the history of the concept; of how public debt was born, on the evolution of its nature and, even more poignantly, of the manner in which economists have interpreted and evaluated its purpose […]
James K. Galbraith on The Modest Proposal, Europe and Greece
, 22/06/2014
In this Q&A with a Greek journalist, on the occasion of the launch of the Greek translation of the Modest Proposal, James K. Galbraith argues that Italy and Greece can play an important role in changing the terms of the European ‘conversation’, so that rational, minimalist solutions like the Modest Proposal can have a chance […]
The Metaphysics of Money – Guest post by Paul Tyson
, 14/06/2014
Recently I was at a coffee shop, and to test a metaphysical hunch I asked a few of my fellow caffeinated confreres this question: “What is money?” They all gave answers along the following lines. Money is an arbitrary symbol of exchange value that we just make up in order to facilitate trade and investment. […]
A lesson in democracy for Mrs Merkel (and her merry Merkelites around the Eurozone) by Alexis Tsipras, SYRIZA’s leader
, 30/05/2014
Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece’s largest political party (SYRIZA), and the European Left’s candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission, has just given Mrs Merkel (and her merry disciples around the Eurozone) an important lesson in democracy.
James Galbraith on Piketty’s Capital in 21st Century – video/interview
, 26/04/2014
See also James Galbraith’s splendid review of T. Piketty’s ‘Capital’ here.
Das Kapital for the Twenty-First Century? A review of T. Piketty’s new book by James K. Galbraith
, 03/04/2014
Thomas Piketty has a new book out: Capital in the Twenty-First Century. It is an ambitious volume that sets out to explain the sources of inequality and social tensions in the context of his own anatomy of… Das Kapital. As this book is receiving a great deal of attention, a proper review is in order. Thankfully, James K. Galbraith […]
The flow of trade, the flow of capital and the Eurozone: Guest post by Klaus Kastner
, 12/10/2013
A few weeks ago, I began doing something which I hadn’t done since my College days – I did some reading of and about John Maynard Keynes. Among others, I am just finishing the book “The Battle of Bretton Woods” by Benn Steil. And I am amazed! Two principal issues dominated the negotiations lead by […]
Hollande and Merkel: Where Left is Right – guest post by Stuart Holland
, 22/09/2013
Rather than the claim of German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble that the rest of Europe needs austerity to be able to compete (The Guardian, July 19th), François Hollande was right to say in an interview with Le Monde (September 3rd) that Europe should stop apologising for the Eurozone crisis and its failure to recover growth and […]
The Modest Proposal as a Trojan Horse for the dreaded transfer union: Guest post by Hubert Marcks
, 17/09/2013
To all those who can’t help but feeling that an external surplus recycling mechanism as described in the modest proposal would just be an appeasing technical term for the dreaded transfer-union and that it would condemn the deficit countries into eternal servitude, I would like to point to an example within the mother of all […]
The Australian Dollar, China's Bubble, QE Exit and the Eurozone: Guest Post
, 22/06/2013
I just received an interesting letter from a colleague who authorised me to share its essence with you, but without revealing his identity. The views expressed are his own and, though I do not agree with his conclusion, I believe this short letter should be essential reading for all those of us who follow the […]
Censorship in Austria – guest post by Professor Kunibert Raffer (University of Vienna)
, 16/06/2013
The tale of my blacklisting from ERT, back in 2011, motivated Professor K. Raffer, of the University of Vienna, to send me a letter outlining his own experience with censorship on matters regarding debt restructuring (recall that my blacklisting occurred because I insisted on discussing the inevitability of a haircut to Greece’s debt). Only in […]
James Galbraith on ERT, the Fight for Greek Democracy and the Euro Crisis
, 15/06/2013
On Wednesday 12th June James Galbraith and I addressed a crowd of 2500 in Thessaloniki. After having visited the ERT’s Thessaloniki headquarters, were we had the honour and privilege of talking to ERT employees and the crowd of people that had gathered in support of public media, we walked over to the Vellidio Expo Centre […]
Guest post: The Crisis as a repercussion of global imbalances, by Peter Dorman
, 19/02/2013
Peter Dorman wrote this piece in 2009 shortly after the financial implosion and has recently revised it. While I agree with almost all of what he has to say, one comment seems to me pertinent: The global rebalancing which Peter mentions, toward the paper’s end, is (a) uncertain and, to boot, (b) certain, if it happens, […]
"We all live under the dark cloud of the same crisis" James Galbraith at Germany’s IG Metall Trades Union Congress, 7th December 2012
, 12/12/2012
There is only one crisis. The various ‘episodes’ of US subprime mortgages, European and American banks, Greek debt, the recession of the Eurozone today, the trials and tribulations of Ireland, etc., all these are part of the very same, deeply interconnected world crisis. Pretending otherwise is fuel that gives this global crisis another lease of life, […]
A(nother) PROPOSAL FOR SAVING THE EURO ZONE: Guest post by Marshall Auerback
, 28/06/2012
This blog was established, initially, for the purposes of proposing solutions to the euro crisis; and in particular to propagate our Modest Proposal for Resolving the Euro Crisis. Two and a half years later, the eurozone is crashing and burning, while European politicians are steadfastly refusing to adopt a systemic solution. Those of us who […]
GERMANY’S CONSTITUTIONAL CONUNDRUM: Guest post by Marshall Auerback
, 13/06/2012
Hans-Werner Sinn, president of Germany’s Ifo Institute and the director of the Center for Economic Studies at the University of Munich, has taken to the pages of the NY Times to explain why Berlin is balking on a further bailout for Europe. Amongst the points that Sinn makes against German sharing in the debt of the [...]Italy’s Own Goal: Guest post by Joseph Halevi
, 03/06/2012
The Eurozone’s idiocy is obvious to all those with eyes and ears. It can be witnessed anywhere we turn these days: from the evolving bank run to the non-debate on eurobonds. Joseph Halevi, friend, co-author and serial guest of this blog, just sent me a missive that offers new insights into our continent’s infinite inanity: […]
Guest Post: Today Germany is the big loser, not Greece – by Marshall Auerbach
, 20/05/2012
Just before the Crisis erupted, in April 2010, with Greece falling into the troika’s embrace in May 2010, I had written an article (A New Versailles haunts Europe) to argue that Germany was about to commit the error that the winners’ of World War I had committed by imposing upon Germany the Versailles Treaty. It was […]
German Mercantilism and the Failure of the Eurozone, Guest Post by Heiner Flassbeck
, 21/04/2012
One of the most poignant analyses of the deeper causes of the Euro Crisis, amongst the many presented in INET’s Berlin Conference, was a paper entitled ‘German Mercantilism and the Failure of the Eurozone’, by Heiner Flassbeck. With the author’s kind permission, I reproduce it here for your benefit. Enjoy. (You can watch Heiner’s presentation […]