Comments on: Post Mortem for Milton Friedman http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/10/post-mortem-for-milton-friedman/ a radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:07:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Michael Kenny http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/10/post-mortem-for-milton-friedman/#comment-29880 Michael Kenny Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:19:25 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/?p=3999#comment-29880 This is a very good analysis and the quote at the top of the article sums up the situation beautifully. Equally, Professor Pollin is right about Europe. The European banks were more than happy to play along with the US globalisers when they thought that was the winning side. I don’t really see on what basis they could sue, since nobody defrauded them. Equally, I would guess that the world in general is slowly letting its dollar-denominated assets “seep” onto the market but as long as people hold large amounts of such assets, they have no interest in seeking the dollar collapse. Once they’ve got rid of those assets, though, I think they will pull the plug. Incidentally, I have not heard Profesor Pollin’s view on the virtues of US Treasury bonds expressed over here. Most interesting, though, are his comments on Marx. I often think that much of the American left is still dreaming of some sort of “resurrection” of European communism. I don’t think that is going to happen and, clearly, neither does Professor Pollin. The “new progressivism” of the 21st century will be, most likely, a fusion of the new left ideologies developing in Europe with the existing green ideology. As Professor Pollin mentions indirectly, these are no longer seen as mutually exclusive and the meeting point is sustainable development: the environment is not destroyed and precisely because it isn’t, it produces stable employment. The outcome will probably be something like what was called the “mixed economy” in the Europe of the 1960s and 70s: a strong publicly-owned sector, a strong welfare state, a strong regulatory system, a tax system rewarding socially useful investment and penalising large accumulations of wealth in a few hands. The American political scene is different from Europe and forming a new party will always run into the obstacle of the relative majority electoral system (look at the difference between percentage of votes and percentage of seats in the Canadian election for a perfect example). Without PR, third parties are condemned to be spoilers, electing the very people they dislike most. The first step is thus PR and probably the best place to start breaking the taboo is at municipal level. This is a very good analysis and the quote at the top of the article sums up the situation beautifully. Equally, Professor Pollin is right about Europe. The European banks were more than happy to play along with the US globalisers when they thought that was the winning side. I don’t really see on what basis they could sue, since nobody defrauded them. Equally, I would guess that the world in general is slowly letting its dollar-denominated assets “seep” onto the market but as long as people hold large amounts of such assets, they have no interest in seeking the dollar collapse. Once they’ve got rid of those assets, though, I think they will pull the plug. Incidentally, I have not heard Profesor Pollin’s view on the virtues of US Treasury bonds expressed over here.

Most interesting, though, are his comments on Marx. I often think that much of the American left is still dreaming of some sort of “resurrection” of European communism. I don’t think that is going to happen and, clearly, neither does Professor Pollin. The “new progressivism” of the 21st century will be, most likely, a fusion of the new left ideologies developing in Europe with the existing green ideology. As Professor Pollin mentions indirectly, these are no longer seen as mutually exclusive and the meeting point is sustainable development: the environment is not destroyed and precisely because it isn’t, it produces stable employment. The outcome will probably be something like what was called the “mixed economy” in the Europe of the 1960s and 70s: a strong publicly-owned sector, a strong welfare state, a strong regulatory system, a tax system rewarding socially useful investment and penalising large accumulations of wealth in a few hands.

The American political scene is different from Europe and forming a new party will always run into the obstacle of the relative majority electoral system (look at the difference between percentage of votes and percentage of seats in the Canadian election for a perfect example). Without PR, third parties are condemned to be spoilers, electing the very people they dislike most. The first step is thus PR and probably the best place to start breaking the taboo is at municipal level.

]]> By: Donald Hawkins http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/10/post-mortem-for-milton-friedman/#comment-29865 Donald Hawkins Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:32:34 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/?p=3999#comment-29865 Whether or not this crisis will mean the end of the neoliberal era will depend on political mobilization—specifically, how successful the left will be in building coalitions behind an agenda that combines egalitarianism with a stable financial system. I would say this: if the left is unable to defeat neoliberalism now, and build some version of social democracy or “leashed capitalism”, then we will never do it. “Be Utopian, Demand the Realistic.” The time is now we can't get there from here and still time, Demand the Realistic. Summary Autumn temperatures are at a record 5º C above normal, due to the major loss of sea ice in recent years which allows more solar heating of the ocean. Winter and springtime temperatures remain relatively warm over the entire Arctic, in contrast to the 20th century and consistent with an emerging global warming influence. The year 2007 was the warmest on record for the Arctic, continuing a general, Arctic-wide warming trend that began in the mid-1960s. NOAA Get ready for temperature spikes and not just in the Arctic to late to stop that but there is time to slow then reverse the real fun stuff. Whether or not this crisis will mean the end of the neoliberal era will depend on political mobilization—specifically, how successful the left will be in building coalitions behind an agenda that combines egalitarianism with a stable financial system. I would say this: if the left is unable to defeat neoliberalism now, and build some version of social democracy or “leashed capitalism”, then we will never do it.

“Be Utopian, Demand the Realistic.”

The time is now we can’t get there from here and still time, Demand the Realistic.

Summary

Autumn temperatures are at a record 5º C above normal, due to the major loss of sea ice in recent years which allows more solar heating of the ocean. Winter and springtime temperatures remain relatively warm over the entire Arctic, in contrast to the 20th century and consistent with an emerging global warming influence.

The year 2007 was the warmest on record for the Arctic, continuing a general, Arctic-wide warming trend that began in the mid-1960s. NOAA

Get ready for temperature spikes and not just in the Arctic to late to stop that but there is time to slow then reverse the real fun stuff.

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