The Politics of Greed
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…
brian gibb
Let’s Put Politics Where It Belongs: The Political Economy
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…
It’s the Stupid Economy
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…
Has Canada Become a Post-Democratic Petro State?
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…
Not a Fiscall But a Deficit of Empathy That Spreads Misery Across the Land
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…
There Are No Selmas in Cyberspace
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…
Same as It Ever Was in 2014: America’s Owners Kept Themselves Far From the Madding Crowd
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…
The End of Empire and the Rise of the Intelligent Network
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…
The Challenge of the 21st Century Is To Extricate Ourselves From Existing Empires
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…
After Five Years, This Democrat Is More Disgruntled Than Ever
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…
Should We Go or Should We Stay Now: Can Scotland Escape the Status Quo Trap?
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…
The American Rentier Economy: Has the US Become a Failed Nation?
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…
The Bright and Shiny Lumpen Professional Class of the Post-Industrial Age
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…
The Weight Loss Industry In North America Is Built Upon A Web Of Lies And Deceit
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…
Truth Be Told: The Rich Don’t Give A Shit About The Economy That You Live In
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…
By Now It Should Be Obvious: It Is Not An Invisible Hand But The Big Laughing Dick Of Wall Street That Runs Things
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…
Taking Back Sovereignty
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…
Congratulations Ontario For Having Successfully Outsourced the Governance Function
Way to go Ontario! When it comes to thwarting democratic rule in Canada, you continue to lead the way. Not only did Ontarians peviously vote in a province-wide referendum against…
The Unlanded Gentry Have Captured North America’s Political Economy
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…
In America Being Fat Is Like Being Poor: It’s Your Fricken Fault
At some point in time, probably not in the immediate future, the Anglo-American world is going to wake up to the fact that no man, nor no woman, is an…