I just watched Keith Hart at Cambridge talking about the diffuse nature of Cambridge networks and the implications of that for the possibility of radical change and a real and sustained attack on global inequality (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsGfDU1gATU&feature=relmfu).  It is nice to listen to my esteemed colleague who sees the world as I do, but who seems more optimistic.  His glass seems three-quarters…

The question arises: Why did the Great Recession happen?  My answer is poleconomic i.e., that it was due to…

“For most of the last century, the basic bargain at the heart of the American economy was that employers paid their workers enough to buy what American employers were selling” (Reich 2011).  Robert Reich indicates that this basic bargain created a virtuous cycle of higher living standards, more jobs and better wages.  I am going to say that from a purely economic standpoint the cycle was virtuous, but when one takes a longer view, through environmental glasses, that capitalist bargain…

Those in power almost always want to stay in power and they have the official means to manipulate the system in ways that underwrites the status quo.  Let’s take an example from the Arab Spring in Egypt.  As reported on Al Jazzera, the ruling military tribunal in Egypt released details about the districts and rules governing the upcoming 2011 parliamentary elections.  They way they decided to map out the districts and write the governing rules of each favored the election of…