economics

Shanghai

China’s rise, ‘diminished dependency’ and imperialism in times of world disorder: Interview with Esteban Mercatante

Esteban Mercatante discusses how recent global shifts in processes of capital accumulation have contributed to China’s rise, the new (and old) mechanisms big powers use to plunder the Global South, and its implications for anti-imperialist and working-class struggles today.
Surplus value

Michael Lebowitz: What every child should know about Marx’s theory of value

Michael A. Lebowitz — The law of value works in mysterious ways. For some Marxists, it underlies everything we need to know about capitalism. But, just as Marx claimed he was not a Marxist, so too might he have said, “that’s not my law of value.”
inflation

The inflation blame game and Marx’s crisis theory

Mike Treen — Inflation is back worldwide, and with it  the blame game. So what is the truth behind the claims and counterclaims being made?
sweatshop

Twenty-first century imperialism, multipolarity and capitalism’s ‘final crisis’: Interview with John Smith

John Smith, author of "Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century: Globalization, Super-Exploitation, and Capitalism’s Final Crisis", discusses the realities of imperialism today and what it means for those fighting for a socialist future.
US dollar

Crisis, rivalry, and the fragmentation of global capitalism: Interview with Michael Roberts

Ashley Smith interviews Michael Roberts about the system’s seemingly intractable crisis, the looming threat of war between great powers, and the desperate need for international working-class solidarity against militarism.
bank collapse

Banks on the brink? The origins, nature, and trajectory of the crisis — Interview with Michael Roberts

The crisis in the banking industry has sent stock markets around the world into gyrations. What caused all of this? Is this a passing crisis? What impact will it have on the real economy? Ashley Smith interviews Michael Roberts.
Karl Marx

Why Marx was right about capitalism needing to have periodic crises

Mike Treen - The key questions for Marx were understanding why capitalism operates the way it does and whether capitalism is a historically limited system that will reach a limit and need to be superseded.
Inflation and monetary policy graphic

The left, inflation and monetary policy

The return of high inflation after the global pandemic poses a major political and analytical challenge for labour and the left. On top of cuts to real wages resulting from the wide gap between inflation and pay, high and rising inflation has led central banks, including the Bank of Canada, to hike interest rates sharply. This is raising the debt servicing costs of households, businesses and governments and making new borrowing more expensive.