Capitalism

Social capital I: measurement and associations with economic mobility

Social capital—the strength of an individual’s social network and community—has been identified as a potential determinant of outcomes ranging from education to health1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. However, efforts to understand what types of social capital matter for these outcomes have been hindered by a lack of social network data. Here, in the first of a pair of papers9,

Capitalism

The Free Market Is Making All Our Problems Worse,…

The world is on fire all around us. The free market can’t put that fire out — only massive state intervention in the economy can. Mainstream politicians these days are constantly looking for excuses to justify their divergence from market dogma. From the pandemic to the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine and growing inflation,

Capitalism

Resource Nationalism and Decarbonization

Revisiting “resource nationalism” in a new era of raw minerals demand Across Latin America, a string of recent left-wing electoral victories has drawn comparisons to “Pink Tide” of the early 2000s. The Pink Tide took place in the context of a global commodities boom. The current moment, however, coincides with a global push towards decarbonization,

Capitalism

Good News: Economy Sucks, You’re Screwed, and It’s All…

Make sure you’re doing your part to help fight inflation: accept those wage cuts and worsening working conditions! Good news everyone: wage increases are slowing, raises are getting smaller, layoffs are beginning to happen, and inflation is all your fault. And you should be grateful about all of this, according to a series of recent

Capitalism

The Neoliberal Order Is Crumbling. It’s Up to Us…

AN INTERVIEW WITHGARY GERSTLE Neoliberalism may not be dead, but it is no longer the unquestioned ideology of our time. That leaves a huge opening for those on the Left who want to see a political and economic order based on democracy and solidarity rather than unbridled profit-seeking. A political movement becomes a political order

Capitalism

Google’s ‘Democratic AI’ Is Better At Redistributing Wealth Than…

Researchers built an AI that gives out money based on who started with less resources—and humans preferred it. It’s no secret that the overwhelming majority of wealth in the United States is concentrated at the very top, creating staggering levels of poverty and inequality that vastly outpace other supposedly “wealthy” nations. But while the current political system ensures