Excellent essay on the legacy of Polanyi, identifying his Christian socialist roots.

The poster used for the debate between the candidates for the EU Commission presidency. That a nation with such a rich history like Italy accepts to be part of a soulless technocratic club that hasn’t just harmed us — but clearly despises us — is beyond baffling. Povera Italia.

On the 60th anniversary of his death, Karl Polanyi’s profound synthesis of socialist economic theory and communitarian cultural values still represents the most powerful critique of — and alternative to — market liberalism ever produced.

My latest:
unherd.com/2024/04/karl-p…

Indeed a brilliant book, as well as a brilliantly written article to carry its still highly important content into public discourse. As so often, kudos to Mr Fazi.

For Karl Polanyi, market liberalism’s attempt to subordinate society to the logic of market represented an ontological break with much of human history. Prior to the 19th century, the human economy had always been “embedded” in society.

My latest:
unherd.com/2024/04/karl-p…

On the 60th anniversary of Karl Polanyi’s death, I’ve written about the enduring legacy and growing relevance of his ideas — and why his Christian-socialist critique of market liberalism still remains one of the sharpest ever produced.
unherd.com/2024/04/karl-p…

'Nel 60° anniversario della morte di Karl Polanyi, ho scritto dell'eredità duratura e della crescente rilevanza delle sue idee – e del perché la sua critica cristiano-sociale al liberalismo del mercato rimane ancora una delle più acute mai prodotte.'

Cri_thepatriot

China Spokesperson Wang Wenbin hits back:
- 'NATO bears unshirkable responsibility for the crisis [in Ukraine]. It should reflect on the role it has played, stop the blame game, and truly do something to enable the political settlement of the crisis'
no.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/lcbt/wjbfy…

A good read 📚

Polanyi’s The Great Transformation remains one of the sharpest critiques of market liberalism ever. The belief that society should be organised through self-regulating markets represents an ontological break with much of human history, he said.
My latest:
unherd.com/2024/04/karl-p…

‘Karl Polanyi’s masterpiece The Great Transformation arguably remains the sharpest critique of market liberalism ever written.’

Thomas Fazi: 👇 buff.ly/3JAAo9a

It's truly admirable, I could never do it. Blinken accusing China of providing tools to Russia 'to kill innocent women and children.'

I would never be able to do it. Money is money, power is power, but at some point you gotta say 'sorry, I cannot do this' and resign.

Not…

When masked paramilitary police starts to arrest eminent university professors on campus ground for defending positions like 'thou shalt not mass murder children', maybe you should start questioning a thing or two about what your society has become...

Amidst U.S. campus crackdowns on peaceful protests, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Irene Khan warns: “The Gaza crisis is truly becoming a global crisis of the freedom of expression [destined], to have huge repercussions for a long time to come.” [Full article:…

Norm Finkelstein addresses Columbia students. Doesn't give a barn-burning speech. Instead, soberly lectures on the need for messages to resonate, now is the time to persuade 80% of Americans, and criticizes activists for extremist ambiguous slogans.
youtube.com/watch?v=3qnU6c…

The fact that so many conservatives still pander to the free-market myth is one of the major reasons for the failure of the populist right to successfully challenge the status quo in recent years.

BREAKING: German police have raided and banned a peaceful pro-Palestine protest camp outside the German parliament and arrested a MERA25 Deutschland member and activists from other organisations.

MERA25 Deutschland's Johannes Fehr, who was present when it happened, shares his account.