Does capitalism have to be bad for the environment?
Ecologists and environmental scientists often take “overpopulation” and the subsequent exploitation of natural resources as the point of departure in their prognoses of environmental crises. While refusing to look beyond what seems to be the roots of the malaise, they argue that overpopulation compounded with unbridled industrial activity leads to environmental disasters such as global warming, climate change, acid deposition, soil degradation, air and water pollution. There is no denying that overpopulation, and indeed, the […]
Is Democracy Intrinsic to Economic Development? Harvard Economics Review, May 2016
Harvard Economics Review, May 2016. Masoud Movahed is a Researcher in development economics at New York University. He contributes to, among others, Harvard International Review, Foreign Affairs, Yale Journal of International Affairs, the World Economic Forum and Al Jazeera English. Over the past three decades, debate around the trade-off between democracy and development has acquired more visibility in academic circles. More so, in light of the spectacular economic growth rates that the authoritarian regimes in […]
”The Optimism of the Intellect: Erik Olin Wright’s Real Utopias Project” Palgrave Encyclopaedia of the Possible
When radical critics of capitalism become desperate for empirical models that embody their aspirations, wishful thinking can triumph over sober assessments. The complementary danger is cynicism; there is great cachet among intellectuals in debunking naïve enthusiasm. What is needed, then, are accounts of empirical cases that are neither gullible nor cynical, but try to fully recognize the complexity and dilemmas as well as the real potentials of practical efforts at social empowerment. – Erik Olin […]