Thursday, April 25, 2002

Marx in the marketplace Michael Prowse reviews Marx's Revenge by Meghnad Desai. "Many people imagine that markets and democracy represent a final destination, the highest imaginable development of social organisation. After the Berlin Wall collapsed, Francis Fukuyama expressed this insight pithily with his claim that "history had ended". But if Marx was right, capitalism, like feudalism, will go under once it has exhausted its potential. And the irony about recent efforts to deregulate economies is that they will hasten rather than retard this process." "So long as capitalism was shackled - by high taxes, tariff barriers, capital controls and so forth - its development was stymied. The truest friends of socialism, Desai thus hints, are the conservative leaders who liberalised markets. They restarted the historical process that will lead, ineluctably, to a socialism that is genuine because spontaneous rather than imposed by revolutionary upstarts." 1:27:02 PM  Google It!  comment  []

The prince and the president Crown Prince Abdullah, ruler of Saudi Arabia, has arrived at President George Bush’s ranch in Texas against a backdrop of virulent anti-American protests across the Middle East. America’s support for Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians brings political headaches to all its Arab allies "Of all the region’s countries, it is Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil-exporter, and site of Islam’s holiest shrines, whose stability has caused the most nail-biting since September 11th. The 5,000 princes and princesses of the House of Saud have to cope with their own dynastic squabbles while managing a population that is growing by 3% a year and accommodating a clergy that has helped foster the Saudi extremists who went to fight in Afghanistan. The aloof, spendthrift and corrupt ruling elite are thus vulnerable to domestic pressure to resist American demands. That greatly complicates American policy, and in particular its desire to replace Iraq’s Saddam Hussein." 1:23:47 PM  Google It!  comment  []

Leaders fail to reach agreement on resource-rich Caspian Sea "Presidents of the five states bordering the Caspian Sea failed to agree Wednesday on how to divide its wealth, leaving the vast undersea oil and gas reserves untapped." "During the talks, Iran said it wanted to maintain its 50 percent share, and Putin publicly did not spell out Russia's position clearly. The other three want a share based on national sectors." "The Caspian oil has taken on strategic importance as Western nations seek alternatives to Persian Gulf oil. Meanwhile, both Russia and Iran want to counter a buildup of American military influence in Central Asia that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States." 12:52:17 PM  Google It!  comment  []

Japanese Get Upbeat News on Economy "Ebullient they are not, not by a long way yet. But Japanese consumers expressed a marked improvement in their outlook in a new survey released today by the Japanese government, and analysts are calling it a positive sign that the stumbling Japanese economy is beginning to find its feet again. On a scale where 50 is the dividing line, with pessimism below and optimism above 50, the government's quarterly index of consumer confidence jumped to 38.4 in the survey, conducted in mid-March. That was up from 36.9 in mid-December." "One great frustration for economists and political leaders trying to revive the Japanese economy has been consumers' extreme caution. Avid savers even in boom times, Japanese consumers have reacted to recession by snapping their wallets shut, pushing prices down and driving retailers to the wall." 12:42:54 PM  Google It!  comment  []