I read an article in The Economist a while ago that insisted the state should constrain itself to providing basic services and otherwise stay out of the economy. That is, of course, a common belief on the right. The Economist, however, ought to know better. Let us assume that governments
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The Pope, the Prime Minister and Naomi Klein
Pope Francis has made it very clear that he is profoundly concerned about what we are doing to life on our planet. He has particularly made it clear to Canadians. Earlier this month he gave an audience to our prime minister. It lasted all of 10 minutes and ended with
Continue readingAlberta woes—It ain’t the economy, stupid
Here in Alberta, energy superpower, we are going through the bust part of one of our infamous boom and bust cycles. The premier is weighing the government’s options. Cutting MLA salaries, imposing health-care premiums and hiking post-secondary tuition are some of the ideas mentioned. He has even floated the possibility
Continue readingAre we gambling our economy on the tar sands?
Depending heavily for jobs, profits and taxes on our most rapidly increasing source of greenhouse gas emissions is environmental folly. It may mean more economic prosperity in the short term, but by contributing to global warming, it will undermine economic prosperity, and a lot else, in the long term. It
Continue readingSaudi arms sales—the triumph of economics over morality
If nothing else, it illustrates how, in the world of international relations, economics trumps morality. I refer to General Dynamics Land Systems Canada landing a deal to sell light-armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia. The deal was announced last month by International Trade Minister Ed Fast who praised it as a
Continue readingThe global economy—a case of bad engineering
For a number of years I toiled in the oil industry as an engineer, and not infrequently lessons I learned from my engineering experience return to inform me in other contexts. Recently I have been thinking of the global economy in such terms, and it fails miserably to pass the
Continue readingCapitalism—an irrational system in an age of climate change
Capitalism is generally recognized as having one great strength. That, of course, is as a creator of wealth. Aided by the remarkable advance of technology (some would say inspired and facilitated by capitalism) it has created wealth unknown before in human history. Capitalism is also generally recognized as having one
Continue readingThe free trade bust
Judging by the editorial hype in the corporate press and among Conservative politicians, the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement was the greatest boon to this country since the fur trade. When the agreement celebrated its 25th anniversary in October, International Trade Minister Ed Fast claimed opponents of such agreements are “denying
Continue readingEurope’s shrinking economy—bad news or good?
Once again the news of a shrinking economy leaves me with mixed feelings. According to the CBC, the economy of the European Union shrank by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2012 after a flat first quarter. Surely this is bad news. The EU is heavily in debt
Continue readingAnti-austerity mood grows for better or worse
It seems only weeks ago that austerity opponents were crying in the wind. Their words were blowing away unheard. No more. The Greeks flatly rejected austerity in a recent election and attention had to be paid. France elected a new anti-austerity president, François Hollande, and now he has been welcomed
Continue readingCo-operatives—the proven alternative to capitalism
In this, the International Year of Co-operatives, we cannot remind ourselves too often of the tried and true alternative to conventional capitalism. Co-operatives have for generations offered a more humane approach to economic activity than competitive enterprise, even while competing successfully in a capitalist marketplace. They have provided a full
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