I joined FAKTO podcast in Belgium to talk about capitalism, climate change, and what is to be done. Check it out here, hope you enjoy it! www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...

Must-watch short on the Bandung movement, when global South countries challenged imperial power in the world-system. More relevant now than ever. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpDU...

What happens when countries stand up to the superpowers? | Bandung 1955

YouTube video by Al Jazeera English

youtube.com

During the big waves of privatisation in the 1980s and 1990s, the debate was framed around who can manage production more efficiently, the state or capital. Everyone bought into this frame and we forgot the more important question, which is who gets to decide what is produced, and for whose benefit.

This piece directly compares the core's net-appropriation from Africa’s CFA zone to China’s. We found that the core net-appropriated on average 20x more than China across materials, land and water. The disparity is even more extreme in per capita terms. jasonhickel.substack.com/p/unequal-ex...

Unequal exchange in Africa’s CFA Zone

New data on France, Europe and China.

jasonhickel.substack.com

Who is draining Africa? This figure shows net-appropriation of resources from Africa's CFA zone, illustrating two key facts. 1) Eurozone countries are the biggest appropriators, benefitting from the Francafrique system. 2) Contrary to conventional Western narratives, China's appropriation is tiny.

Interesting research on neo-colonialism in Africa. Turns out the Eurozone is a much worse offender (by an enormous margin) than China. @70sbachchan.bsky.social and @katemac.bsky.social might be interested.

Jason Hickel@jasonhickel.bsky.social · last mo.

I'm happy to announce this new paper we have, exploring unequal exchange between France and the African CFA zone. Here's a few key points 🧵, and a free PDF at the end. www.tandfonline.com/eprint/RABZF...

I'm happy to announce this new paper we have, exploring unequal exchange between France and the African CFA zone. Here's a few key points 🧵, and a free PDF at the end. www.tandfonline.com/eprint/RABZF...

Unequal exchange between France and Africa’s CFA zone: monetary dependency and imperialist appropriation

The material prosperity of the global North relies on the appropriation of labour and resources from the global South through unequal exchange. While recent empirical research demonstrates this gen...

tandfonline.com

The British Empire was one of the most violent institutions in modern history, built on explicitly racist ideology and guilty of serial crimes against humanity. It is astonishing that OBEs and other honours are given, accepted and celebrated in its name.

Never forget that the clowns who are currently saying “we can’t stop climate change, just accept it” are the same people who spent the last decade doing everything possible to prevent us from stopping climate change.

1/ Today I was writing about the My Lai massacre of 1968. US troops murdered over 500 women, children and elderly people. Army photographers captured truly horrifying images. There is zero moral difference between this and the US massacre of schoolchildren in Minab, 2026...

I'm excited to announce this new piece we have in Nature Sustainability, on the question of post-growth and China. To me, this is the important point: post-growth *must* take account of world-system dynamics and should facilitate, not compromise, Southern liberation. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

On the relevance of post-growth in China - Nature Sustainability

Post-growth debates largely ignore China, despite its key position in the world economy, leaving a gap in sustainability discourse. This Perspective examines China’s role in a post-growth transition, ...

nature.com

In August 5th, 1962, Nelson Mandela was arrested by apartheid police, with support from the CIA, for resisting white minority rule. He was imprisoned for 27 years. US government agencies listed Mandela as a "terrorist" until 2008.

We're often told that capitalism and market liberalisation are closing the gap between rich and poor countries, and the old colonial inequalities are fading. Is it true? We explored this question in a new paper, just published in NPE. Buckle up for some interesting results! 🧵

This grotesque headline is from the Telegraph. 3,000 people in Britain have been killed in heatwaves this year so far. 20,000 in Europe. Even if Britain did get to “embrace Mediterranean life”, what about the actual Mediterranean, what do they get to embrace? What about India?

capitalism has always required cheap labor and resources from a periphery, and the West has maintained that imperial arrangement through violence. it’s imperative that we transition to a post-capitalist economic system. @jasonhickel.bsky.social on the Better Future Pod:

This new study finds that the total death toll in Europe during the June heatwave exceeds 20,000 people. "This result highlights the accelerating threat of mass heat mortality events in Europe despite previous adaptations to heat." Pre-print here: zenodo.org/records/2108...

1/ 🤔 🌍 Are poorer countries "catching up" with the richer ones? A new study led by #ICREAResearcher @jasonhickel.bsky.social and Dylan Sullivan(@icta-uab.bsky.social) found that the income gap between richer and developing countries widened by 170–270% between 1960 and 2023.👇 bit.ly/4b4a05O

The myth of catch-up development: trends in core–periphery inequality from 1960 to 2023

The conventional narrative in international development holds that poorer countries are “catching up” with richer countries through the process of capitalist growth. This paper assesses this claim ...

tandfonline.com

The reason we produce so many private jets and not enough healthcare is that ultra-wealthy people have taken over our economy and democracy. @jasonhickel.bsky.social says taxing the rich is about taking that power back, so we can make more democratic decisions about the future we want to build.

In one of his first acts as PM, Andy Burnham signs on to support the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran. Disgusting, cowardly stuff.

Zack Polanski@zackpolanski.bsky.social · 3mo ago

This is an appalling lack of judgement and the surest sign yet that Britain will continue to be Trump's lackey. The war in Iran has cost countless lives, and breached international law - yet we continue to support it. Very, very concerning. Very, very continuity Starmer.

I'm pleased to share this new paper, "The myth of 'catch-up' development". The paper assesses trends in core-periphery inequality since 1960, and draws several main conclusions: 🧵https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13563467.2026.2659076

The myth of catch-up development: trends in core–periphery inequality from 1960 to 2023

The conventional narrative in international development holds that poorer countries are “catching up” with richer countries through the process of capitalist growth. This paper assesses this claim ...

tandfonline.com

In case you need another reason to believe that public transit is superior to private cars: Not only are private cars more expensive, more resource-intensive, and more climate-damaging, they are also causing us to have dementia. www.newsweek.com/common-tire-...

Common tire chemical may raise Alzheimer’s risk, study finds

Tires may do more than wear down on the road—a chemical they release could be quietly raising your risk of Alzheimer's.

newsweek.com

I'm proud to join over 100 economists in calling on the US to lift sanctions on Venezuela and unfreeze its assets following the June 24 earthquakes. Venezuela must be allowed to recover and rebuild. english.elpais.com/economy-and-...

Over 100 economists ask US to lift sanctions on Venezuela to ease the impact of the earthquakes

Academics call for a moratorium on Venezuelan debt, and urge the IMF to restore Caracas’ access to the Fund: ‘The emergency is human before it is political’

english.elpais.com

Lindsey Graham was an imperialist warmonger who supported every major US military intervention during his career. He did not care about humanity, or international law, or even US citizens. He served the interests of the US capitalist class and the US proxy regime of Israel.

The Palestinian author and visionary Ghassan Kanafani was murdered by Israeli agents on the 9th of July in 1972, together with his niece, who was a child. Kanafani's family was forced out of their home during the Nakba in 1948.

Seven years ago a representative from Google reached out to me in an official capacity to discuss the company's energy use. I told them it would become necessary for major firms in core economies to reduce energy use in order to enable Paris-compliant decarbonisation.

"The climate crisis cannot be addressed within capitalism. It is vital that we understand this fact and develop our strategies accordingly, otherwise we are headed for certain failure. And failure is not an option." jasonhickel.substack.com/p/climate-so...

Climate socialism

I am writing this message to the millions of people who have been involved in the climate movement over the past several years.

jasonhickel.substack.com

Why did our ruling class not invest in decarbonising faster to avoid this acceleration in deadly heatwaves that scientists warned would come? Because of the capitalist law of value.

Climate socialism

I am writing this message to the millions of people who have been involved in the climate movement over the past several years.

jasonhickel.substack.com

On June 13th 1954, the US backed a coup against Jacobo Árbenz, the progressive, democratically elected leader of Guatemala, because he sought to restore land to small farmers and Indigenous communities that had been dispossessed by US fruit companies.

This is an important new paper. When we allocate responsibility for emissions, it's normally in terms of consumption. We tally up direct household emissions (eg, from household energy use) plus the emissions embodied in all the stuff that a household consumes.