money

And the Weak Suffer What They Must?: Europe, Austerity and the Threat to Global Stability by Yanis Varoufakis – review

This book is well worth reading if you're interested in how the Eurozone got into such a mess, although it ignores a very important source of financial instability - the relationship between money and energy - and it paints an overly rosy picture of the role that the US has played in the global economy over the past century. By Caroline Whyte.

The Corruption of Capitalism by Guy Standing: review by Brian Davey

This book is a powerful attack on rentier capitalism and, very explicitly, a call to revolt. Standing is at his best describing the features of crony capitalism that are totally different from the neo-liberal story of free markets that justifies it. While a very informative read, the analysis urgently needs to be expanded if the emerging commons movement is to be able to adapt to the limits to growth.

Feasta submission to the Citizens’ Assembly on climate

Instead of playing catch-up to other EU countries as is currently the case, we believe Ireland could leapfrog them and establish itself as a visionary leader by taking a global view of the climate challenge and incorporating action on climate with substantive action on inequality and poverty, significant improvements to the quality and freshness of food, and greater overall prosperity and stability in Ireland and elsewhere.

Limits to Incentives

Means of exchange are never neutral as orthodox economists assume. Intentional Currencies respond by being explicit about the values they seek to promote and the outcomes they seek to achieve. An analysis of the use of incentives in currency design helps to guide that design. It also indicates strategies to utilise incentives to motivate intentional communities, NGOs and other volunteer-based organisations. By Graham Barnes.

The Bank-State Bargain

Banks create money out of nothing when they extend loans and then charge borrowers interest on this newly created capital. The result is an ongoing multi-billion pound/ dollar subsidy breaking the basic rules of capitalism. What is perhaps even more surprising is that there appears to be no explicit description of the 'bargain' underlying this important arrangement. By Graham Barnes.