The following two articles are from Links, a magazine from Australia dedicated to the revival of socialism, and seeks the active collaboration of socialist parties around the world. The Links e-magazine has many strengths, one of which is its continued coverage of political economy.
Yes, I can hear the groans from the readers already; oh no, not economics! Boring! But please, bear with me.
Links does have academic articles, but it is not aimed primarily at academics. It is aimed at promoting discussion and cooperation among socialist ground and individuals. Part of changing the capitalist society is understanding how the political economy works. Now it is fine to talk about interest rate rises, mortgages and superannuation. But these microeconomic issues are subordinate to the major issues of how the Australian, and global, economy works. Economics is often presented as this incredibly complex subject that only people with super-brains can fathom. While economics does contain its own complexities, I think that economists and economics writers need to do a better job at informing the public (you and me) about how corporate profit is draining money from socially-necessary projects, like health care and education.
To that end, I am linking to the following fantastic articles. One is called Turning the tide of oil in US and world politics. This essay examines the huge impact of the oil industry on our lives and how to provide an alternative to this insane, polluting profit-driven system.
The second is a longer piece called Currency wars and the privilege of empire. Recently in the corporate-controlled media, there have been emotional (sometimes xenophobic) attacks on China and the measures by that government to protect its economy. The impulsive denunciations of China from American politicians are motivated by the deep economic malaise in the United States itself. This article, a longish piece, analyses the historical origins of the rise of American capitalism and its current demise.
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