Category Archives: Free markets and their discontents

Mindat: The Wikipedia for Minerologists, Miners, and “Rock Hounds” (Except Not)

Citizen science goes unreward by giant monopolists Wikipedia and Google.

Why the Neoliberal Drive to Privatize Everything Is Running Out of Gas

A look at the current acceptance of neoliberal policies.

The 2021 Corporate Bamboozle On World Food Systems

Mega-corporations are set to win control of global governance of food and agriculture at the UN Food Systems Summit later this year.

Food Insecurity: A Potentially Underrated Collateral Damage of the Pandemic

Increases in hunger and food insecurity under Covid are significant, yet have gone largely under the radar.

Rethinking Unemployment: From Adam Smith to Marx “Reserve Army of the Unemployed” to the Neoliberal War on Full Employment

Unemployment as a balancing act between workers ‘fearing the sack’ and employers ‘fearing the quit,” with employers usually winning out.

How Third-Party Auditors Make Oil Industry Fraud Possible

Oil companies hire accountants to legitmate inflated financial claims. Investors and regulators are targeting these auditors for fraud.

Why Colombia Has Erupted in Protest

The pandemic exacerbated intolerable poverty and economic distress in Colombia. As repression mounts, is there any way out?

Lawmakers Are Firing Back At Fossil Fuel Divestors

Red state retaliation! Fossil fuel states will take business away from firms that divest from energy producers.

Bob Pollin: Modest Inflation Is Good for Workers

If inflation is linked to higher wages, that’s not bad for workers, says Bob Pollin of the Political Economy Research Institute in Amherst.

When Is a Co-Op Not a Co-Op? When Vested Interests in California Want to Keep Platform Workers From Having Power

California Assembly Bill 1319 is a convoluted scheme to create so-called co-ops designed to keep gig workers disempowered.

What if Large Businesses Are Really Macroeconomic Entities?

Mega businesses are a huuge problem. But what to do?

Larry Summers Doubles Down On His Inflation Prediction

Unfortunately, Larry Summers still gets attention, most recently for inflation hawkery. Fortunately, it’s not hard to see through him.

How Enforcement of the USMCA Will End a Corporate Race to the Bottom

USMCA, which promised to help American workers by improving labor bargaining rights, is being put to its first road test. Will it perform?