Foreign Policy Blogs

Economics

“Keynes v. Hayek,” or “Keynes/Hayek”?

“Keynes v. Hayek,” or “Keynes/Hayek”?

Nicholas Whapshott’s 2011 book Keynes Hayek: The Clash That Defined Modern Economics, is a useful primer for those looking to understand the careers and philosophies of the two foundational economists. Perhaps its most striking insight is that neither seemed as absolute about the fact that his philosophy fit all times as the followers of both […]

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Three Flops That Make Leon Panetta Sad

Three Flops That Make Leon Panetta Sad

Some of the provisions in 2011 Budget Control Act, meaning the failure of the 2011 “supercommittee” to find $1.2 trillion in cuts, are sweeping the media back into a fury of preemptive Armageddon terror.  The rapidly approaching sequestration (a procedure by which automatic spending cuts are implemented)–which will hit both defense and non-defense spending if Congress […]

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Guest Post: Promethean Op-Ed

Guest Post: Promethean Op-Ed

By Jim Wynn Unemployment is currently a burning issue in this country as it is across the globe. Discussions about how best to create jobs feed our headline news fuel fierce political debate and will be a key factor in determining the outcome of our presidential election in November. Although unemployment in the US has fallen […]

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By the People and for the People – A New Approach to the U.S. Federal Budget!

By the People and for the People – A New Approach to the U.S. Federal Budget!

One of the primary responsibilities of any government is the management of the public purse: the government budget and the national debt.  As developments in Europe demonstrate, bad management of government expenditures could lead to financial collapse and government default.  Although the U.S. is in a much better fiscal footing then most European countries, dealing […]

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The Second Coming of State Capitalism and its Challenge to the Washington Consensus

The Second Coming of State Capitalism and its Challenge to the Washington Consensus

One thing history has consistently taught us is that paradigms shift and new eras are born in a repeating cycle that’s as old as hills. One thing history has also taught us is that some shifts are far more epochal than others; some have the capacity to distort the pathway of history and others not. […]

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Tracing the Contours of North Korea

Tracing the Contours of North Korea

Borderline: North Korea from Emphas.is on Vimeo. Tomas Van Houtryve, an award-winning documentary photographer, is creating a book of photographs made in the shadow of North Korea. Van Houtryve’s book, due out this year, has been a long-term, painstaking project. Writes philosopher Tzvetan Todorov in the book’s foreword: Over the course of seven years, award-winning […]

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Arna’s Children (2004)

Arna’s Children (2004)

It is almost impossible to watch this documentary and not be moved to tears. It is a story about a Jewish woman, Arna Mer-Khamis, who created a children’s home and art center in the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin. Even in her advanced age, Arna was a firebrand who railed against the occupation by Israelis. […]

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Images Worth Perusing

Images Worth Perusing

An interesting find and a valuable place to look at images–BagNews features some provocative and informative photographers and their work. For example, an image they posted of the Japanese “sumimasen” (apology without end) in action: (photo: AFP/Getty. caption: Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) president Masataka Shimizu (C) and company executives bow to evacuees to apologise […]

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Why Murdoch’s Media Scandal Matters

For those who have been following the News Corp. scandal over the last few weeks, they have seen it get increasingly complicated. For those who haven’t been following it, they should. News Corp. controls a wide range of media-related ventures, from television to publishing to newspapers. These are entities that generally have a major influence […]

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