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When triumphant neoliberalism begins to crack
by
Franck Gaudichaud
3 November 2011
On September 22, 2011, wearing a dark suit, a purple tie and a light blue shirt, president Sebastián Piñera went up to the rostrum of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The head of the Chilean government - and nevertheless a successful multi-millionaire businessman – had a wide smile on his face. In these times of a world-wide crisis of capitalism, he could claim to have a flourishing economy, judged by a growth rate of more than 6 per cent of GDP (at the beginning of 2011). In the (...)
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Ploughing through the meanders in Food Speculation
by
Monica Vargas,
Olivier Chantry
23 September 2011
The figures of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. (FAO) show that in 2010, the number of persons suffering from hunger in the world was 925 million, and that this number is likely to increase in the future. They also record an upward trend in the prices of staple foods, as can be observed in chart 1. This spring’s disturbances in the Maghreb are not unconnected with this. We must not forget that the popular revolts currently spreading through the Arab countries are linked to (...)
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Barack Obama: the change that didn’t happen
by
Daniel Munevar,
Eric Toussaint
3 August 2011
With the announcement of the candidacy of Barack Obama for President of the United States in 2012, the campaign trail has officially started. Contrary to what one might have expected two years ago, Obama faces a tough re-election challenge. Furthermore, a victory does not seem guaranteed. Despite the stabilization of the financial system, achieved through a massive handout of public resources without any type of restrictions to the same people responsible for generating the crisis, the real (...)
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19th of June 2011: let’s take the streets!
No to the ‘Euro Pact’, a new attack against democracy: we are not products in the hands of politicians and bankers
6 June 2011
Once more the European rulers have decided against the interest of the citizens and in favour of the big financial corporations. On the 27th of June all the European governments will sign in Brussels the ‘Euro Pact’, a socio-economic agreement for an international alliance according to which the countries of the European Union will legislate in line with the dictates of the International Monetary fund (IMF), of the European Central Bank (ECB) and of the World Bank (WB). Should the various (...)
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The Irish crisis: a complete failure for neo-liberalism
by
Eric Toussaint
3 January 2011
For a decade, Ireland was heralded by the most ardent partisans of neo-liberal capitalism as a model to be imitated. The Celtic Tiger had a higher growth rate than the European average. Tax rate on companies had been reduced to 12.5% and the rate actually paid by TNCs that had set up business there was between 3 and 4% - a CEO’s dream! Ireland’s budget deficit was nil in 2007, as was its unemployment rate in 2008. In this earthly paradise, everybody seemed to benefit. Workers had jobs (though (...)
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The market : the new faith
by
Eric Toussaint
10 May 2010
Practically all political leaders - whether from the traditional Left or the Right, from the North or the South - have a quasi-religious faith in the market, especially the financial markets. Or rather, they themselves are the high priests of this religion. Every day in every country, anyone with a television or an Internet connection can attend mass and worship the market-god - in the form of stock exchange and financial market reports. The market-god sends his messages through television (...)
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Hopenhagen, hypocrisy and Coca-Cola
by
Farooq Sulehria
29 December 2009
India’s leading environmentalist, Vandana Shiva had her ’’heart just sank’’ as she got off the flight at Copenhagen airport, when the first thing she ’’saw was a Coca-Cola bottle’’ as sponsor for ’’Hopenhagen’’. Sponsored by notorious corporate giants, Hopenhagen was a big campaign during the COP15. Talking to Democarcy Now’s Amy Goodman, on December 14, Vandana Shiva said: ’’ Coca-Cola should not be the symbol of finding solutions for the climate crisis’’. She pointed out: if you’ve been to Plachimada, (...)
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UK Film Screening Features Panel with Leading Voices on World Poverty
by
Share The World’s Resources
28 November 2009
Press release: The British Film Institute and Share The World’s Resources will be screening the award winning documentary ‘The End of Poverty?’ at the BFI Southbank on 12th December 2009 at 2pm. UK Film Screening Features Panel with Leading Voices on World Poverty 26th November 2009 - Published by Share The World’s Resources The screening will be followed by a lively panel discussion and Q&A session led by Colin Prescod, chair of the Institute of Race Relations. Panellists will include (...)
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USA. Heads, they win and the people lose. Tails... they continue winning and the people paying.
by
Daniel Munevar
9 November 2009
During recent weeks the press has abounded with comments on the anniversary of the major events of the financial crisis of 2008. Among those significant events that have attracted more press coverage are the fall of Lehman Brothers coupled with the AIG bailout, the approval by the U.S. Congress of the TARP, as well as the forced conversion of the few remaining investment banks into commercial banks, prominently J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, in order to provide these institutions with (...)
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In the South as well as the North: from the Great Transformation in the 1980s to the current crisis
by
Eric Toussaint
1 October 2009
After World War II, there was a period of strong economic growth in the North in the 1950s and 60s (the “thirty-year boom”), which enabled workers to improve their social conditions significantly. They fought to obtain a major increase in buying power, a stronger, more coherent social security system, and improved public services, notably in education and healthcare. The State also nationalized many companies, strengthening its power to make economic interventions. Common citizens had a (...)
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