instability

A no-deal Brexit and debt forgiveness in Ireland (and elsewhere)

It may well be necessary to make some very quick decisions about debt forgiveness in Ireland (and several other EU countries) in the aftermath of a no-deal Brexit. Brian Davey's 2015 article from Credo provides concrete suggestions for achieving widespread debt forgiveness without crashing the economy, and is more relevant than ever now.

Beyond the Obvious: novel podcasts for enquirers

Our pilot podcast series, Beyond the Obvious, was co-organised by Feasta and the European Health Futures Forum.

The hosts, Seán O’Conláin and Caroline Whyte, explored a range of topics with guests from a wide variety of backgrounds. There are six monthly podcasts of 20-30 minutes, released between March 15th and September 17th 2019. (We took a break in August.) Please feel free to comment below.

Topics include:

• decarbonisation
• decreasing energy consumption
• measuring wellbeing
• reviving biodiversity, which is taken to include local culture and language
• drivers of health
• monetary reform

Our thanks to Laoise …

Climate dividends and the yellow vests

"Climate dividends, which return money from a carbon price back to people, provides a direct solution to the yellow vests' concerns, while putting income inequality on equal footing with climate concerns," argues Mike Sandler.

The Punishment of Nemesis

"Certain stories recur in the history of humanity – and one of the most dramatic and traumatic is that of hybris," writes Brian Davey. "Hybris is a drama brought about by actions motivated by excessive pride – for example the overestimation by leaders - and the society or institutions in their charge - of their power."

Cursed to live in interesting times

Brian Davey connects the fall in the growth rate, with its roots in the rising costs of energy extraction and generation, to declining resilience in the economic system. He argues that these are in turn related to a more conflict ridden geo-politics. There is an increased vulnerability to shocks which will be catastrophic unless and until there is a new conventional wisdom in society about what is wrong and what has to be done about it.

Greece’s Debt, a New Monetary System, and the Climate Negotiations in Paris

Mike Sandler's new blog post discusses the role played by debt-based money in the Greek financial crisis, and the reasons why a return to a gold standard wouldn't work, and goes on to propose some solutions. Mike will be representing Feasta, along with some colleagues, at the COP-21 summit in Paris later this year.

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