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Towards an Innovative, Inclusive and Sustainable Market Economy in Europe – Starter Paper Future Markets Consultation

by Govert Buijs | 19 Aug 2020 | opinion & ideas, economics as a science, long read articles, well-being / human flourishing, climate change & sustainability, inequality & justice, critiquing / reinventing capitalism, economic growth & GDP

If we are looking for a place where the new perspectives on an economy geared toward sustainable human flourishing, an ‘economy for the common good’ can be embodied, Europe, as the continent in which the search for such an economy has always been on the agenda, seems to be the most likely candidate.

This is the starter paper for the Future Markets Consultation, which will run into the fall of 2020. The goal is to develop a new economic vision for Europe, enabling human flourishing for all in an ecologically sustainable way. You are cordially invited to participate!

Private Gain, Public Loss

by Digital Magazine 'Aeon' | 22 Jun 2020 | the limits of the market, long read articles

“The project of selling state or public assets to be owned or run by private businesses has always been controversial. What characterises the controversy, though, is that both advocates and opponents tend to cast it in instrumental terms. That is, the identity of the body or entity doesn’t matter in and of itself; what matters is whether or not they achieve a good outcome or do a better job. […] But that view is shortsighted. We don’t just care about what the decision is and whether a decision is right, just, efficient or good. We also care about who makes the decision.”

Reinventing Capitalism; The Transition to the Knowledge Economy

by Books & Ideas | 15 Jun 2020 | long read articles, democracy

“Should we blame capitalism for the challenges rich democracies have been facing over the past thirty years—from growing inequality to the rise of populism? According to Torben Iversen, the opposite is true: it was democracy that transformed capitalism to take full advantage of new technologies.”

Money and Modern Life

by Digital Magazine 'Aeon' | 25 May 2020 | long read articles, money

“The centrepiece of Simmel’s work is a conceptualisation of exchange, an act between two people that produces value, a ‘third term, an ideal concept which enters into the duality but is not exhausted by it’. This irreducibility is why value can, in the form of money, take on a life of its own, which Simmel describes as ‘the reification of exchange among people, the embodiment of pure function’. Of course, no one said exchange would always be fair: as bandits and medical insurance companies know, one will pay any price to live. Nevertheless, as acts of exchange proliferate, currencies and prices rationalise and standardise value.”

‘Two Hundred Years Back, One Hundred Years Ahead: From One Revolution to Another’

by Govert Buijs | 18 Feb 2020 | work - meaning & future, economic growth & GDP, religious perspectives, Good Markets project, long read articles, historical perspective, climate change & sustainability, critiquing / reinventing capitalism

Two hundred years ago, a seemingly megalomaniac and even hopeless project was started in the West: overcoming poverty by creating more prosperity. This project was called “Progress”. Two hundred years later we can only conclude that this project was more successful than we could have anticipated. However, this project also has some serious shadow sides. As humanity we have to start a new, at first sight almost equally megalomaniac project for the next hundred years: making our prosperity sustainable.

What Is Twenty-First-Century Socialism?

by Project Syndicate ("The World's Opinion Page") | 11 Feb 2020 | long read articles, communism, socialism & free markets

“The failures of communism in the twentieth century were an indictment not of socialism but of autocracy and central planning. After four decades of Gilded Age-style capitalism, it is time to give cooperative production and egalitarian distribution another try, this time through a democratic ‘sharing economy’.”

William Thompson, a Pioneer of European Socialism

by Books & Ideas | 5 Dec 2019 | historical perspective, long read articles

“An Irish landowner, economist, philosopher and defender of women’s rights, William Thompson was one the greatest Socialist figures before Marx. Nowadays neglected, his thought nevertheless has many echoes with important contemporary debates, from the critique of capitalism to the rise of feminism.”

The Next Great Transformation

by Project Syndicate ("The World's Opinion Page") | 8 Nov 2019 | long read articles, well-being / human flourishing, climate change & sustainability

“The world’s ability to manage global crises such as climate change depends on our ability to achieve broad-based economic prosperity and stability. Unfortunately, there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that policymakers and the economists on whom they rely have completely misread current macroeconomic trends.”

Can Capitalist Democracy Survive?

by Project Syndicate ("The World's Opinion Page") | 20 Sep 2019 | long read articles, democracy

“The balance between capitalism and democracy has rarely been stable, but in recent decades it has tilted decidedly toward markets and the technocrats charged with regulating them. Against the background of an ascendant China, the question now is whether the eventual counter-movement will veer back toward democracy, or in a new direction entirely.”

Explainer: What Is Surveillance Capitalism and How Does It Shape Our Economy?

by The Conversation ("Academic Rigour, Journalistic Flair") | 24 Jun 2019 | critiquing / reinventing capitalism, long read articles

Want to know what ‘surveillance capitalism’ is? This article explains!
“Surveillance capitalism describes a market driven process where the commodity for sale is your personal data, and the capture and production of this data relies on mass surveillance of the internet. This activity is often carried out by companies that provide us with free online services, such as search engines (Google) and social media platforms (Facebook).”

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