Inflation – A Junk Economics Perspective

First shared via our Patreon page, where some were interested in sharing this around. The support on Patreon is really appreciated and the community we are building there is solid. Our next Q&A session for Patron plus supporters is set for June. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDwOpAtnXLc Transcript from 'Inflation 2022' - A Zoom panel, organised by the International Manifesto Group. I want to talk about what inflation is not – but what the neoliberal economic mainstream wants to blame it on: on labor, on government social spending, and of course on Russia seeking to break away from America’s unipolar international economic order. Inflation is the excuse that right-wing governments have for trying to lower wage levels by blaming the inflation in rising wages. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker raised interest rates to 20% in 1980 to cause ...

The Destiny of Civilization

“The decline of the West is not necessary or historically inevitable. It is the result of choosing policies dictated by its rentier interests. … The threat posed to society by rentier interests is the great challenge of every nation today: whether its government can restrict the dynamics of finance capitalism and prevent an oligarchy from dominating the state and enriching itself by imposing austerity on labor and industry. So far, the West has not risen to this challenge.” “There are essentially two types of society: mixed economies with public checks and balances, and oligarchies that dismantle and privatize the state, taking over its monetary and credit system, the land and basic infrastructure to enrich themselves but choking the economy, not helping it grow.” …………………………………………………………………………. The Destiny of Civilization is based on a lecture ...

Calling to Account the Hereditary Warrior Class

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlUSqQ8U8T8 Transcript BENJAMIN NORTON: Hey, everyone. I’m Ben Norton, and this is the Multipolarista podcast. And I have the great pleasure of being joined today by one of my favorite guests, one of I think the most important economists in the world today. I’m speaking with Professor Michael Hudson. If you’ve seen any of the interviews I’ve done with Professor Hudson over the past few years, you probably know that he’s a brilliant analyst. He always has, I think, the best analysis to understand what’s going on economically and also politically, geopolitically, in the world today. And right now is, I think, a very important moment to have Professor Hudson on today. We’re going to talk about the economic war on Russia and the process of economic decoupling between Russia and China and the ...

Ukraine 4 Steps On

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Katie Halper podcast, April 29, 2022 TRANSCRIPT KATIE HALPER: Professor Michael Hudson, thank you so much for joining us. We're really excited to have you. We wanted to start off by asking you if you could provide an overview of what the economics driving this conflict are—and by conflict, I mean the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and, of course, with the rest of the world, or really the conflict between Russia and US, and the economic fallout. MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, it depends on what side you’re looking at. From the Russian side, I don't think the economic factors were primary. They were threatened by NATO's expansion and really a plan to attack the Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine. So, I think Russia's calculations were simply military. ...