We have lived to see the day of a condo boom in Hamilton, Ontario. We have made housing into an object of speculation that sucks in money from here and everywhere, foreign and domestic. For those still wondering, the problem isn’t at heart “foreign”, it’s “money.” It’s that housing, a basic human right, has been left […]
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The Progressive Economics Forum: Boosting the economy for the rest of us
Elites and the talking heads in the media are arguing about how to respond to Canada’s soured economic outlook. Who should try to boost the economy, the federal government via fiscal stimulus or the Bank of Canada via monetary policy? But while elites argue amongst themselves, the overriding context is a transfer and concentration of […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Elites debate boosting the economy, but for whom?
Elites and the talking heads in the media are arguing about how to respond to Canada’s soured economic outlook. Who should try to boost the economy, the federal government via fiscal stimulus or the Bank of Canada via monetary policy? But while elites argue amongst themselves, the overriding context is a transfer and concentration of […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Podcast: The return of the modernist left
In the past few years, what has been loosely called the modernist left has seen some revival. Whether coming out of the ultimate failures of the Occupy movement, dissatisfaction with moralistic lifestyle politics or an attempt to analyze the current conundrum of moribound but hegemonic capitalism, some have returned to the idea of the […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Podcast: The return of the modernist left
In the past few years, what has been loosely called the modernist left has seen some revival. Whether coming out of the ultimate failures of the Occupy movement, dissatisfaction with moralistic lifestyle politics or an attempt to analyze the current conundrum of moribound but hegemonic capitalism, some have returned to the idea of the […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: 2015: Year in review
As 2015 comes to a close, here’s a podcast and a post that’s something in between a best of and a year in review. It’s a look back at some of my interviews from 2015, both in terms of significant subjects and personal favourites. First up, it is interesting to follow my sequence of interviews […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Questions for the Canadian left
Harper is gone, but (as a friend only quarter-jokingly said) we got the second worst outcome sold as the best, so now what? That’s the 10 second version of this post. I want to throw up a few questions or, better yet, problems that I think the Canadian left will have to face together over […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Uber and the Luddites
The fight against the sharing economy, and Uber in particular, can be disorienting. Opposition is often painted as techno-phobia. The good guys in this story are Uber and progress; on the other side are opponents afraid of flexibility and smartphones, kicking and screaming against a future already here. In many ways, this is like the […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Why #COP21 won’t deliver the deal we need: Interview with Oscar Reyes
Last week, I interviewed Oscar Reyes on the background to and likely outcomes of the climate talks in Paris just wrapping up. His answers were prescient as the talks look set to deliver a decidedly insufficient agreement, one that locks in more warming shrouded in lofty rhetoric. This interview gives context to the talks and the […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Podcast: COP21, climate inaction and corporate power
This week marks the beginning of the COP21 climate talks in Paris, the latest episode in a UN framework that has been trying, and failing, to reduce global carbon emission for over two decades now. For my first interview, I caught up with Oscar Reyes, Barcelona-based climate policy researcher, to get an overview of what […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Climate and competitiveness in the tar sands
Anytime the oil barons and baronesses are smiling for the cameras with NGOs and politicians, we should at least be interested, if not outright worried. Was the release of Alberta’s new climate change strategy just an occasion for the oil execs to ham it up for the cameras pretending all is well or do they […]
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Poland’s Iron Consensus
The new Polish parliament represents a full spectrum of opinion — from the liberal right to the populist right to the ultra-conservative right. The relatively monolithic composition is hardly a surprise. With a solid right-wing electoral consensus before the October 25 elections, the Right’s strong showing just signaled that its hegemony is firmly intact. The
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Podcast: Climate and the state, refugees in Europe
http://rozworski.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Podcast151116-Climate-and-Refugees.mp3 Two interviews this week on two human-made crises: first, my conversation author and academic Christian Parenti on the climate crisis and the role of the state followed by journalist Jesse Rosenfeld with an update on the refugee crisis in Europe. Christian Parenti is author of numerous books, most recently Tropic of Chaos:
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Creative resistance: Interview with Andreas Karitzis
After Syriza accepted a third austerity memorandum for Greece and called early elections, much of its leadership left the party. Some formed Popular Unity, while others are still searching for a new home to continue the fight against austerity. Andreas Karitzis is among the latter. Until this summer, he was
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Podcast: What’s next for anti-austerity in Portugal and Greece?
http://rozworski.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Podcast151028-Portugal-and-Greece.mp3 Two updates from Southern Europe this week: Catarina Principe brings us up-to-date on the situation in Portugal and Andreas Karitzis recounts the search for a new politics in Greece after (and under the rule of) Syriza. My first guest, Catarina Principe, is an prominent activist in Portugal’s Bloco,
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Canada missed the memo: it’s OK to talk about inequality and capitalism
There is no political rocket science to the Oct. 19th election result. Even with our slanted first-past-the-post system, it would have been difficult for Stephen Harper’s Conservatives to squeak out a parliamentary majority, or even minority, given that more than two-thirds of the population wanted him out. If vague notions
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Podcast: Cutting through Canada’s election fog, where’s inequality, climate change and free trade?
http://rozworski.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Podcast151012-Elections-TPP.mp3 This week’s podcast is a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives double-header. The CCPA has been an invaluable resource for alternative economic and political analysis for decades and I always enjoy highlighting their work. First up, I speak with Seth Klein, the director of the Centre’s British Columbia office, on how inequality
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: The media love the TPP, but should you?
My piece on the mainstream media’s trade deal boosterism was published at Ricochet yesterday. Canada’s media have heaped fawning praise on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the biggest free trade and investment deal in years. Rather than raising questions and red flags over a secret deal with mixed impacts, our media has been
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Having the hard conversations: Interview with Jane McAlevey
My interview with Jane McAlevey has been published at Jacobin. The podcast is available here. Due to a lot of upheaval in my personal life (moving and a new job), there was no podcast last week and this will have to do in lieu. Normal podcasting resumes next week! Michal
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Deficit discussion overshadows economic debate Canada needs
Photo by Kevin Dooley The Conservatives have promised balanced budgets and have even enshrined them in law. The NDP is also promising balanced budgets, painting itself as “responsible” with government finances. The Liberals are the only party to break out of the balanced budget consensus, admitting that for a few
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