Economics

By Howard Richards Some of us think 2008 was a lost opportunity. Humanity had a chance to change course to save itself and the biosphere. We blew it. Could 2019 be a second chance? The reason why 2008, instead of…

By Howard Richards 1. A new economy (or economies), in other words a new social structure (or structures), whose principle is solidarity, is necessary, not optional. 2. It is impossible to construct the new economy using only the best-known old…

By Devendra Kamarajan ADDIS ABABA (IDN) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) at its 60th anniversary celebrations in Addis Ababa has launched the Africa Poverty Clock, a customized version of the world poverty clock developed by World Data Lab, aimed at monitoring progress…

By Daniel Chavez In recent years, many researchers and social activists from very different countries, like myself, have rediscovered the notion of the commons as a key idea to deepen social and environmental justice and democratise both politics and the…

By KATE PICKETT and RICHARD WILKINSON for openDemocracy Inequality creates the social and political divisions that isolate us from each other. When people are asked what matters most for their happiness and wellbeing, they tend to talk about the importance of their…

In 2013, a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) on Universal and Unconditional Basic Income (UBI)[1] was carried out, but the one million signatures required were not collected and for some activists the action was a failure. The truth is that, back…

I recently returned from my first trip to China and I am still thinking about everything I saw, which undoubtedly made me realize – once again – how much distortion comes from the press, manipulated by Western interests, on a…

Once again, several thousands of people protested Hungary’s government in Budapest on Friday night.  The series of protests were sparked by the two laws passed by Parliament last Wednesday on the scandalous session characterised by the whistles and sirens coming…

Today will see the third consecutive day of anti-government protests in Budapest. People are  expressing their anger on the street over the Overtime Act (often dubbed “slave law” passed by Parliament on Wednesday’s chaotic parliamentary session along with the law establishing…

In what amounts to be the biggest scandal of Hungary’s Parliament since the regime change, the Parliament passed the Overtime Act, often called the Slavery Act by the opposition, effective as of 1 January 2019. This new amendment to the Labour Act…