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 · 2w 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.

Starmer’s legacy is genocide. He provided military and intelligence support to Israel as it perpetrated the crime of crimes against the Palestinian people. That is how he will be remembered.

It's wild that the term "Free World" emerged in Western discourse in the 1940s, at a time when the Western European powers exercised authoritarian control over the colonised territories and the US was an apartheid regime with institutionalised racial segregation.

If you're interested in ecological economics and degrowth, including from a world-system perspective, consider applying for the next edition of this MA degree run by ICTA-UAB. Deadline June 30. master.degrowth.org/studies/mast...

I disagree that we are in a "New Cold War". Rather, we are in a continuation of what we might call the Long Cold War, or the Great Anti-Sovereignty War,

Dr Walter Rodney was assassinated on June 13, 1980, by a bomb planted in a walkie talkie. He was 38. His key work, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, exposed the roots of global inequality and the violence of colonial underdevelopment.

It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that hosting US military bases while the US is using them to illegally attack your neighbours makes you less secure not more. Security and peace in West Asia requires permanently removing the bases.

Growth has failed to eradicate poverty or to promote wellbeing. Poverty is not inevitable. It is manufactured. Our op-ed with @deschuttero.bsky.social @jayatighosh.bsky.social @thomaspiketty.bsky.social @kateraworth.bsky.social @jasonhickel.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

We economists have done the maths: ‘growth’ is a doomed strategy – there is a better way | Olivier De Schutter and others

Our roadmap has been shaped by experts across the world. We call on political leaders at all levels to use it, says Olivier De Schutter and others

theguardian.com

I recently heard a leading public figure claim that high-income countries need more GDP growth in order to increase innovation in things like renewables, EVs, and life-saving medicine. This makes little sense:

I spoke the other day in Paris about how socialist policy can enable us to overcome social deprivation and ecological crisis, by aligning investment and production with democratically determined objectives.

Cuba helped several African countries in their liberation struggles against brutal colonial occupiers, including against the apartheid regime in South Africa which the US backed and supported. That’s what he means by “radical left-wing terrorism”, just to be clear. x.com/SecRubio/sta...

New Internationalist is an excellent magazine, and they need support to keep doing their work: brilliant independent journalism with a commitment to internationalist values. Please consider donating and subscribing. @newintermag.bsky.social www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-new-i...

We know of a man who was caught publishing dozens of AI-generated articles in academic journals. The journal that caught him pursued a ban not only from that journal but also from all journals by that publisher. This is a major crisis and it seems the consequences will be severe.