February, 2025 | Michael Hudson

Capital as Power in the Polycrisis

By Michael Tuesday, February 25, 2025 Interviews No tags Permalink

Nitzan Hudson discussion Feb 2025 Capital as Power in the 21st Century A Conversation MICHAEL HUDSON, JONATHAN NITZAN, TIM DI MUZIO, and BLAIR FIX February 2025 Abstract On December 3, 2024, Michael Hudson met with capital-as-power researchers Jonathan Nitzan, Tim Di Muzio, and Blair Fix to discuss the intersections between their two lines of research. What follows is a transcript of the conversation. Tim Di Muzio: WELCOME to ‘Capital as Power in the 21st Century’. We meet today in the midst of what many academics consider a polycrisis to discuss capital as power in the 21st century. As is well known, we confront many challenges such as climate change, growing inequality, and political and military conflict, but they all are related to the dynamics of capital and its accumulation. Today’s discussion is aimed at exploring and critiquing how ...

Why Gold Prices Should Rise—But Don’t

By Michael Friday, February 14, 2025 Interviews gold Permalink

Gold demand has outstripped supply for years, yet prices remained stagnant until recently. Economist Michael Hudson explains that the gold market is not a typical commodity market—it is politically controlled to sustain confidence in the U.S. dollar. Since 1971, when the U.S. abandoned the gold standard, central banks have been forced to hold reserves in U.S. Treasury securities instead of gold. This system allows the U.S. to fund its deficits through global dollar dependence. However, de-dollarization efforts by BRICS nations and a shifting financial landscape suggest the long-standing dominance of the U.S. dollar may be facing unprecedented challenges.

American Imperialism in Plain Site

By Michael Wednesday, February 5, 2025 Interviews Trump Permalink

Donald Trump’s tariffs could destabilize the global economy, warns economist Michael Hudson. US protectionist policies could cause financial crises, as many currencies depreciate and countries can’t earn the dollars needed to pay their foreign debts. Hudson was interviewed by Geopolitical Economy Report editor Ben Norton. Video Podcast Transcript (Introduction) BEN NORTON: Donald Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on countries all around the world, including the top three trading partners of the United States: Canada, Mexico, and China. DONALD TRUMP: The word “tariff” is the most beautiful word in the dictionary — more beautiful than “love”, more beautiful than “respect”. No, less beautiful than “religion”, no. Right? I don’t want to get into that argument. But the word “tariff” is the most beautiful word in the dictionary, remember that. It’s going to make our country, it’s going ...