Author: brian gibb

Politics in North America often hides behind the veil of economic discourse.  Underneath the veil is the unmitigated pursuit of self-interest, the maximization of personal gain.  As humans, however, we are sensitive to questions of who gets what and for what reason.  We have an innate conception of what constitutes

The advantage of being able to speak and read in several languages is that you get to see how different cultures divide up the world, a phenomenon commonly referred to as linguistic relativity.  No where is this more evident in discussion about the political economy. In the English speaking world,

Back at the end of the previous century, before the advent of browsers and search engines, during the 1992 presidential campaign in the United States, Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist, James Carver, coined the phrase, “The economy, stupid.”  Very quickly, in a manner that George Orwell with his love of politics

Tell me it isn’t so Joe.  No can do.  Sadly, over the last 40 years Canada has morphed into a mere shadow of its former self, a nation where prosperity was once shared widely and where hope for the future did not depend on the chance of birth. If asked what

The thing about using the economy as the measure of all things is that in doing we institutionalize unbridled greed as the guiding force for our society.  It takes a huge leap of faith, if not a greater dose of magical thinking, to believe that the rational pursuit of self

Today is Martin Luther King day in the United States, a civic holiday, and the only one dedicated to the memory of a black man.  This would be a good day to go see the film Selma that captures very well the emotions and the historical significance of the Selma

George Carlin Many years ago, Thomas Gray penned these famous words that still ring true and apply to the workings of those who own America:   Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife, Their sober wishes never learned to stray; Along the cool sequestered vale of life They kept the noiseless

As 2014 comes to a close, a great many of us are keenly aware that something is amiss.  The great wars of the previous century are over, yet we are still not at peace.  While a tiny minority continues to amass more and more wealth, the vast majority of people

Some empires change outward appearance over time.  For instance, the British Empire has morphed into the American Empire; the Russian Empire went from the czar to the communists to Vladimir Putin; not to be undone, the Chinese Empire also had a flirt with the communists before returning back to oligarchic rule; finally, the

Well, a little more than five years have passed since I started writing this blog.  Despite the efforts of a number of agents for social change, we are as far away from living in a veritable democracy as ever. And it’s not for a lack of trying.  At the provincial

Two days to go before the Scots will decide in a referendum whether to create their own independent country or to continue as part of the United Kingdom. Apparently, the upcoming result is too close to call.  Although the “No” side had a substantial lead six months ago, the “Yes”

 When I first started to write this blog five years ago, to make the point about how the concept of the economy is used to the detriment of the vast majority of the population I distinguished between the real economy and the zombie economy.  Essentially, those who derive their wealth

For Karl Marx, the lumpenproletariat — I love the sound of the word, “lumpen” — is the lowest stratum of the industrial working class, including also such undesirables as tramps and criminals. The members of the Lumpenproletariat—this “social scum,” said Marx—are not only disinclined to participate in revolutionary activities with their

According to the data by Marketdata Enterprises, a market research firm that specializes in tracking niche markets, Americans spend north of $60 billion annually to try to lose pounds, on everything from paying for gym memberships and joining weight-loss programs to drinking diet soda. Considering that as of 2012, the

It never ceases to amaze me that we continue with the charade of watching how the economy performs.  Last week, we learned that the American economy grew by a whopping four percent during the last quarter. Whoopee shit! Am I supposed to fall off my chair thinking about what a

They say that a stiff prick has no conscience, but a stiff prick that laughs too is phenomenal*, especially when it laughs all the way to the bank after fucking you up the ass without any lube. And that ladies and gentlemen is what has transpired in both the UK

Now, thanks to Thomas Picketty’s highly influential study, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, we have historical confirmation that wealth begets wealth.  In other words, the rich are different from you and I.  Chances are that they were born into wealth and then used their resources not only to hang onto it,

During the first few decades of the industrial revolution in Britain, it was the landed gentry that ruled.  They did not have the good fortune of being born into a noble family, but they did have the good fortune to own considerable tracts of land.  As a result, they were