Browsing All Posts filed under »Economic Analysis«

No golden path to stability

January 7, 2012

2

Ever since Europe slid into crisis there has been talk that gold might be a way out.  Why?  Because of gold reserves held by various central banks.  Italy, for example, could pay off a substantial part of its burdensome debt by unloading it gold stocks at current prices. And here is the rub:  at current […]

When the mainstream meets Marx

December 2, 2011

2

When the well-known mainstream economist Nourial Roubini, a former adviser to the International Monetary Fund, quoted Karl Marx as perhaps being right about an inherent fault in the economic system, he caused a minor stir, but no real criticism. Because the inherent fault is one that is now generally acknowledged and is at the centre of the present — and ongoing — global economic crisis.

South Africa, nationalisation and Zambia

August 20, 2011

2

Produced for the Bulletin & Record (Zambia) Zambia — and different versions of the Zambian experience — has become a prime topic in South Africa’s increasingly strident debate about the possible nationalisation of the country’s mineral resources and, in particular, a range of older gold mines. In July, the claimed pros and cons of Zambia’s […]

Time to slay the market monster

August 10, 2011

6

Global financial markets, along with the other manipulated casino operations such as Stock Exchanges, are in a completely predictable crisis. This market monster is badly diseased and dangerous: how it should be slain, how to dispose of the corpse and how to build a real alternative is what we should now be debating.

Still fighting the war against Wal-Mart

July 24, 2011

0

With the decision in June by the South African Competitions Tribunal to allow WalMart to take control of the South African-based Massmart chain, the world’s largest retailer cleared the last of the major hurdles it faced to gain entry to African markets. And despite threats from trade unions and consumer groups that they would appeal […]

An economy riddled with a legacy of contradictions

January 20, 2011

9

This chapter on the South African economy was written and submitted on August 3, 2007 for a proposed book. It was not published and the chapter was not submitted or published elsewhere. However, given developments to date this text may be of some interest to anyone concerned about economic developments in South Africa.

Voodoo economics, journalism & human rights

January 7, 2011

0

It is time we all stopped bowing down at the altar of voodoo economics and acknowledged that our world is in crisis. And that this crisis is a consequence of adherence to an almost religious belief that “the market” is some sort of sane and sensible mechanism; that the mystical “invisible hand” mentioned by Adam Smith is a reality.

Turning the (non-existent) economic corner

November 24, 2010

0

We have turned the corner economically. That is the ongoing claim from politicians, pundits and mainstream media commentators. But, as Federation of Unions of SA general secretary Dennis George has noted: “Growth without job creation is meaningless. It certainly is for the overwhelming majority of the population, and this is a situation that applies across the world, although not in any uniform manner. For all the optimistic pronouncements, the global economic crisis continues and there is no sign that it is ending.