Is fairness the enemy of the possible?

Is fairness the enemy of the possible in Europe? James Surowiecki seems to think so, which is why he suggests that “voters and politicians on all sides need to stop asking themselves what’s fair and start asking themselves what’s possible.” In one sense, Surowiecki is right: the ultimatum game, when at least one of the [...]

Cartoon of the day

Special mention

Capitalism’s lost generation

According to a new report by the International Labour Organization, the global youth unemployment rate has remained close to its crisis peak, at 12.6 per cent in 2011 and projected at 12.7 per cent in 2012. The global youth unemployment rate is thus at least a full percentage point above its level in 2007, wiping [...]

Middle-class exploitation?

We need to stop obsessing about the middle-class and call things by their right name. Last September, I argued against focusing on a middle-class that needed to be “rebuilt,” suggesting that we return instead to the discourse of the working-class. Recent research by Jeff Kidder and Isaac Martin just confirms my view.* Their argument is [...]

Still watching men work

Deadliest Catch is now in its eighth season and we’re still watching the men on the Cornelia Marie, Wizard, Northwestern, Time Bandit, and other boats work. Like last year at just about this time, I want to ask the question, what’s with Deadliest Catch and all the other television shows (from Ice Road Truckers to [...]

A stopped clock. . .

A stopped clock is right twice a day, and even Robert Samuelson has to get something right once in a while. American capitalism is on trial. When Americans vote in November, they will unavoidably choose between these competing visions of capitalism. One would try to improve capitalism by controlling it more. The other would aim [...]

“It’s a war between people and capitalism”

Time is running out for capitalism in Greece. That, apparently, is what mainstream economists like John Kay and Paul Krugman are afraid of. Alexis Tsipras, head of the Syriza party, explains why: “I don’t believe in heroes or saviours,” says Alexis Tsipras, “but I do believe in fighting for rights … no one has the [...]

Public art of the day

Vinchen

Capitalism kills—with a lag

Does capitalist inequality increase mortality? According to a new study by Hui Zheng, published in Social Science & Medicine (paywall), a 0.01 rise in the Gini coefficient increases the cumulative odds of death by 122 percent in the following 12 years. The marginal effect peaks in year 7 and continues to exist through year 12. [...]

Inequality and the “miracle” of Asian growth

Changyong Rhee, chief economist at the Asian Development Bank, clearly recognizes the problem of growing inequality in Asia: Over the past 20 years, the gap between Asia’s rich and poor has widened so that the richest 1 per cent of Asian households now account for 6 per cent to 8 per cent of expenditure. Income [...]