In Britain as in the US, governments are tackling the corona virus by undertaking actions that force the closure or collapse of companies large and small. To compensate, they are stepping in with subsidies and bailouts. Because millions of livelihoods are at stake these interventions are welcome and necessary. But we must demand more: not …
We are living through terrifying times. The greatest threat to humanity stems not just from a virulent superbug, but as scary – the response to it. In Britain, as in the US, policy action is dictated by an ultra-nationalist government, which while pretending to “take back control” remains committed to a free-for-all for the owners …
Capital subordinated to the interests of labour (society) Read More »
13th March, 2020 Dear Mr. Bailey, Your predecessor in a speech in 2019 outlined the deficiencies of the International Monetary and Financial System (IMFS). The IMFS was cobbled together after the collapse of Bretton Woods and the 1971 Nixon Shock, and is governed effectively by Wall St. and the City of London – ‘citizens of …
My letter to the Governor of the Bank of England on his appointment. Read More »
This interview appeared in the Green European Journal in January, 2020.In early 2019, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released her plan for a Green New Deal, skyrocketing the proposal for rapidly and fairly decarbonising the economy into the public conversation. The Green New Deal draws on a long history across the Atlantic. We asked Ann …
Investing in the Future: Why Europe Needs a Green New Deal Read More »
My review of Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation appeared in Nature magazine on 13 December, 2019. From the introduction to the editor’s choice of seven books: “From planetary change to geopolitical recalibrations, 2019 has been convulsive. The year saw millions worldwide protesting against governmental inaction on the cascading crises in the global environment. Anxiety over …
The market for dystopia – my choice of a book for our time. Read More »
Alarm bells are distress signals. As this election campaign reaches its climax the Financial Times registers high levels of investor distress as its wealthy readers panic over the possibility that real change is coming. The change they fear is not automation and AI. No, it’s the possibility that “If Labour come to power on this …
The City of London’s distress because real change may be coming… Read More »
These rough notes were prepared by me for an informal address to a gathering of British and German trade union leaders, hosted by the TUC and by the German Social Democrat think-tank, the Friederich Ebert Stiftung. The address took place just as Britain’s General Election of 2019 was launched. There have been three big issues …
Open Democracy’s ‘OurEconomy’ took part in this year’s edition of The World Transformed, a political and cultural festival with over 6000 attendees running alongside the UK Labour Party conference that aims to build progressive power. We took the opportunity to catch up with some of the figures leading the movement for a new economy, …
Interview at The World Transformed, Brighton, 21st September, 2019 Read More »
The climate crisis has been forced back on to the front pages by Greta Thunberg and the climate school strikers. In the upcoming first issue of the New Economics Zine, Jamie Margolin, a teenage climate activist, and Ann Pettifor, a seasoned economist and member of the original Green New Deal group, share their motivations …
Visions for a zero carbon economy from two generations of climate activists Read More »
This article is a slightly edited excerpt form Ann Pettifor’s forthcoming book ‘The Case for the Green New Deal‘ (Verso, 2019). We have been warned by climate scientists that to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate breakdown and global heating, then humanity collectively has (starting from 1870) a ‘carbon budget’ of about 3,200 billion …
