Leer a Piketty I: Un resumen conciso y exhaustivo de Capital e Ideología

de Walden Bello english here En este resumen, Walden Bello condensa las ideas y datos clave contenidos en la monumental obra de Thomas Piketty El capital y la ideología. El economista francés merece ser leído por más gente, pero muchos no tienen ni el tiempo ni la energía para recorrer este extenso clásico de 1.215 páginas. Este breve volumen está motivado por la convicción de que … Continue reading Leer a Piketty I: Un resumen conciso y exhaustivo de Capital e Ideología

mlou88March 22, 2021

English, Various

The paradigm of care

Raffaella Bollini

[Español] In the last days on the media has been given prominence to a recent discovery: on the contrary of what for a long time has been believed, Neanderthal women were hunters as well as men, and artists.

The ancient and more and more pressing question returns: when did the human being begin to build the hierarchy that governs the world, the one that puts the man above the woman, the dominant man above the dominated, the human being above nature? Where does our destructive lust for power and domination stem from, which is driving us straight into ecocide and suicide?

AdminFebruary 17, 20211 Comment

Analysis, Economic, English, Mary Louise Malig

Conclusions

[Español] Digital Trade is not new, in fact, it has been around since the nineties. Digital trade, to use the narrowest definition of e-commerce, is the sale and purchase of goods and services via the internet of which they are delivered digitally. Many argue that even if the whole process happened online, if the end product is a physical good, then it is not digital … Continue reading Conclusions

AdminFebruary 3, 2021February 18, 20211 Comment

Analysis, Economic, English, Mary Louise Malig

Part 4: The Digital Economy: There is more to it than trade

[Español] The Digital Economy is a much broader spectrum and digital trade is just a part of it. Digital economy involves new technologies, faster infrastructure and a whole lot more skilled workers in technology and other significant areas. Just see the figure below: Digital Technologies that are already here or coming real soon 1. Blockchain technologies Blockchain technologies are a form of distributed ledger … Continue reading Part 4: The Digital Economy: There is more to it than trade

AdminFebruary 3, 2021February 18, 20211 Comment

Analysis, Economic, English, Mary Louise Malig

Part 3: The State of Play on the debate on the Rules

[Español] As early as 1998, the World Trade Organization (WTO) had issued a Ministerial Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce at the Second WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Simply recognizing that global electronic commerce was growing and that therefore the WTO needed to have a work program to discuss rules that would govern this new form of trade. The most significant impact of this Ministerial … Continue reading Part 3: The State of Play on the debate on the Rules

AdminFebruary 3, 2021February 18, 20211 Comment

Analysis, Economic, English

Part 2: The Digital Platform Economy and Who Owns It

[Español] To understand the digital platform economy better, this paper breaks down below the various types of platforms, how data changes from raw material to monetized good in the digital value chain and how the discussion on digital trade should not be limited to whether or not tariffs are to be imposed on electronic goods and services but rather, more importantly, should include the complex … Continue reading Part 2: The Digital Platform Economy and Who Owns It

AdminFebruary 3, 2021February 18, 20211 Comment

Analysis, Economic, English, Mary Louise Malig

Part 1: What is Digital Trade?

[Español] Digital trade as traditional trade, is a part of the larger picture of the economy. Digital trade is part of the growing digital economy and affects the non-digital larger economy. Digital trade is not new. However, despite it being around for a while, there is no definitive definition and scope globally agreed upon. This has led to lack of consensus and a plethora of … Continue reading Part 1: What is Digital Trade?

AdminFebruary 3, 2021February 18, 20211 Comment

Analysis, Economic, English, Mary Louise Malig, Publications, Reflexiones Sistémicas

Is the future really digital? A deeper understanding of digital trade

By: Mary Louise Malig [Versión en español] Read the entire publication in PDF here Contents Part 1: What is digital trade? Part 2: The Digital Platform Economy and Who Owns It Part 3: The State of Play on the debate on the Rules Part 4: The Digital Economy: There is more to it than trade Conclusions Introduction A current buzzword not only in technology circles … Continue reading Is the future really digital? A deeper understanding of digital trade

AdminFebruary 3, 2021January 17, 2022

Analysis, Economic, Edgardo Lander, English, Geopolitical, Global, Nature, Social Movements

Dominant trends in the capitalist world system in the context of the pandemic

Edgardo Lander

1. With the pandemic, debates that had already been taking place from a wide political spectrum of questioning neoliberal globalization are accelerating. The fragility of the productive chains long established with the aim of maximizing short-term corporate profits has fallen to bare in their extraordinary vulnerability. What happens in one link in the chain can have global consequences. Dependence on imports for materials is as critical as basic health equipment and food. This situation has placed in political debate the need for higher levels of self-sufficiency or sovereignty in many different countries of the world. The pandemic has stripped the world like never before. While richer countries are grabbing vaccines for their population and refuse to relax the rules on protection of intellectual property controlled by pharmaceutical corporations developed thanks to massive public funding, many countries in the South will not have widespread access to vaccines until 2022, according to estimates by the People’s Vaccine Alliance[1].

AdminFebruary 3, 2021

Alternatives, Analysis, Economic, English, Español, Français, Geopolitical, Global, Nature, Social Movements, Various, Videos

Confronting Chaos / Confrontando el Caos / Enfrentando o Caos / Affronter le Chaos

¿Dónde estamos y qué hacer? Activar subtítulos en español, inglés, francés, italiano o portugués.

AdminJanuary 23, 2021

Analysis, Economic, English, Walden Bello

Reading Piketty I: A Concise and Comprehensive Summary of Capital and Ideology

By: Walden Bello In this summary, Walden Bello distills the key ideas and data contained in Thomas Piketty’s monumental work Capital and Ideology. The French economist deserves to be read by more people, but many have neither the time nor energy to work through this sprawling 1,042-page classic. This short volume is motivated by the conviction that Piketty cannot be left to specialists in social … Continue reading Reading Piketty I: A Concise and Comprehensive Summary of Capital and Ideology

mlou88January 16, 2021

Alternatives, English, Pablo Solón

Systemic Transitions

By Pablo Solón[1]

[Español, Italian] The following proposals[2] seek to motivate reflections on how to deal with the systemic crises. These are ideas that arose from a South American and in particular, a Bolivian context.

1) We must rethink the processes of transitions based on the systemic crises that the Earth community is now experiencing. Although there is no doubt that the ecological and climate crises are the most relevant because they put at risk the continuity of life as we know it, transitions must be multidimensional and inclusive of our relationships with nature, our daily behavior patterns, the State and the political system, the economy, the social, the spiritual, energy, international relations and ethics.

AdminJanuary 16, 2021January 23, 2021

Analysis, English, Pablo Solón, Social Movements

Why Lucho & David won the Bolivian elections

By Pablo Solón

[Version en Español] The Movement towards Socialism (MAS in Spanish) has won the Bolivian elections in the first round this October 2020. Two exit polls (by Ciesmori and Tu Voto Cuenta) based on different samples concluded that Luis (“Lucho”) Arce and David Choquehuanca had obtained more than 50% of the votes, with a lead of more than 20% over the second place candidate, Carlos Mesa of Citizens Community (CC). We await the results of the official count that will be available on Wednesday or Thursday, but don’t expect a substantive change in the trend of the results of these two exit polls.

Why did Lucho and David won?

AdminOctober 19, 2020October 21, 20205 Comments

Analysis, English, Others, Pablo Solón, Social Movements

¿Una nueva crisis? Reflecting Upon MAS’ Legacy and the Future of Bolivia

A dialog between Linda Farthing -journalist and researcher who has co-authored three books on Bolivia-, Pablo Solón -social and environmental activist and former ambassador for the Plurinational State of Bolivia to the United Nations (2009-June 2011)-, and Bret Gustafson (Moderator) author of two books on Bolivia, most recently Bolivia in the Age of Gas.

AdminOctober 15, 2020October 15, 2020

Alternatives, Analysis, Deglobalization, English, Geopolitical, Global, Pablo Solón, Walden Bello

How do we avoid the fate of the dinosaurs?

[Español] Pablo Solón: We are here in a new dialogue of systemic reflections, and this time, with Walden Bello who is a very well known sociologist from the Philippines, author of many books, his most recent book: “Counterrevolution: The Global Rise of the Far Right”. Walden was the Executive Director of Focus on the Global South a think-tank in Southeast Asia, and now he is … Continue reading How do we avoid the fate of the dinosaurs?

AdminMay 4, 2020October 15, 20201 Comment

Economic, English, Geopolitical, Global, Pablo Solón, Reflexiones Sistémicas, Social Movements, Xavier Ricard Lanata

Will the coronavirus end capitalism?

Xavier Ricard Lanata: The dilemmas of the reconfiguration of capitalism The crisis of globalization comes from 2008. Commercial exchanges have been declining. There was a contraction process that predated the virus. Now the virus has aggravated this situation. What is going to happen? Those who are creditors of capital will look for ways to increase the value of it at any cost. In the northern … Continue reading Will the coronavirus end capitalism?

AdminApril 6, 2020April 6, 2020

English, Various

In memoriam ‒ Martin Khor

By Yilmaz Akyüz and Richard Kozul-Wright

GENEVA, Apr 3 2020 (IPS) – We are greatly saddened by the passing of Martin Khor, a long-time friend and colleague, an undaunted fighter for the poor and underprivileged, a passionate believer in a more balanced and inclusive multilateralism, a rare intellectual and eloquent orator, an icon of the Global South worthy of veneration, greatly respected for his struggle for justice and fairness against the dominance and double-standards of big economic powers. Continue reading “In memoriam ‒ Martin Khor”

AdminApril 3, 2020April 3, 2020

Christophe Aguiton, English, Others, Power

The new frontiers of democracy

Christophe Aguiton

(Español/ Français)To talk about “systemic alternatives” means to address concepts or experiences that result from real social practices which emerged either recently or in the past, and which question, partially or entirely, the current system of domination. In this way we have to examine the ways in which these alternatives are managed, that is, the democratic models that ensure their regulation. Continue reading “The new frontiers of democracy”

AdminMarch 24, 2020April 20, 20201 Comment