ACFM: How Does Sovereign Debt Work?
How and why do countries borrow money? Heidi Chow, executive director of Debt Justice, provides the big picture on ACFM.
Tag: debt
ACFM: Trip 49: Debt
From easy credit to debt jubilees, what does it means to owe and be owed? The ACFM gang find out.
Red Flags: My Partner Is Broke. Should I Pay His Rent?
Sophie K Rosa
Sophie K Rosa tells a woman wondering how to help her broke boyfriend that, while sharing resources can be a way to put your politics into practice, reciprocity and communication are key.
Opinion: The Greek Left Had One Chance and Blew It
Yannis-Orestis Papadimitriou
The leader of Greece’s main leftwing political party resigned on Thursday following a catastrophic general election defeat. That’s what happens when you promise revolution and deliver a whole lot of nothing, writes Yannis-Orestis Papadimitriou.
Report: The DWP Is ‘Unlawfully’ Chasing People to Pay Back Benefits Claimed in Lockdown
Sophie K Rosa
Claimants who relied on universal credit during the pandemic have had threatening letters and phone calls from private debt collectors following a Kafkaesque ID checking process.
Analysis: Student Loans Are Now Even More of a Scam
Aaron Bastani
The student loan system is changing again. What do the prospective reforms mean? And will they undermine the economic value of going to university? Aaron Bastani takes a look.
The Bastani Factor: Was Jesus Christ a Socialist Revolutionary?
For conservatives he is viewed as a source of inspiration, with some even claiming he was an advocate of the free market. But what did Jesus really preach two thousand years ago? Despite the rise of the religious right in recent decades, Aaron Bastani asks whether the central figure in the Christian faith was in […]
Planet B: Planet B: Jayati Ghosh on Escaping the Debt Trap
Fighting climate breakdown means facing up to the imperial hierarchies of debt, as development economist Jayati Ghosh explains.
Planet B: Planet B: Everything Must Change – Debt
In the final episode, we ask why climate reparations could be crucial to securing a global Green New Deal.
Report: Workplace Strikes in the US Are Surging – But Workers Have a Difficult Path to Victory
Luis Feliz Leon and Maximillian Alvarez
Discontent fuelled a notable uptick in strikes in the US last month, dubbed ‘Striketober’. Rather than simply celebrating this increase in worker militancy, the left must focus on turning this moment into a movement.
Long Read: Yes, China’s Debt Bubble Might Burst – But the Government Has Far Bigger Problems
James Meadway
With Chinese property giant Evergrande on the brink of collapse, the Communist party is being forced to reckon with the reckless economic model that enabled it.
Analysis: David Graeber Was Right: A Debt Free World Is Possible
Andrew Ross
David Graeber played a vital role in the debt cancellation movement, showing everyone, from activists to policymakers, that mass debt cancellation is not only possible now, it's been happening for centuries. This is the first article in our series exploring the life and ideas of David Graeber on the first anniversary of his death.
Analysis: What Does the European Super League Furore Tell Us About Modern Capitalism?
Aaron Bastani
The brief life and early death of the European Super League captured the political possibilities of the coming decade: dissent will emerge from the most unlikely places, governments will involve themselves in ways once unthinkable and a gilded elite will be left increasingly unsure of its footing.
Opinion: Now Isn’t the Time for a General Tax Hike – We Need to Target Those Who’ve Profited From the Pandemic
Ann Pettifor
The left must be wary of flatly equating tax increases with post-pandemic recovery. In today’s budget, Rishi Sunak should go after the few whose wealth has increased over the past year, argues economist Ann Pettifor.
Opinion: What Do We Owe?
Adrienne Buller
Rightwingers have spent years arguing that the cost of climate action puts an unfair burden of debt on future generations. In the third piece of a series on climate breakdown and alienation, Adrienne Buller argues we need to rethink how we understand intergenerational responsibility.
Opinion: Big Banks Are Holding the Global South to Ransom. Here’s How We Stop Them
Daniel Willis
Covid-19 has made the colonial debt trap even more dangerous for public health in the Global South. It’s time to demand genuine debt cancellation, writes Daniel Willis.
Analysis: What Would Jesus Do? Cancel the Rent
Francis Brewer
The UK is facing a massive, and avoidable, debt crisis. Throughout history, the cancellation of debts has been used as a safety valve against social and economic collapse - and now's the time to reopen it. If it’s good enough for Christ, argues writer and activist Francis Brewer, it’s good enough for us.
Opinion: No, the Tories Aren’t Ever Going to ‘Balance the Books’
Aaron Bastani
This year’s deficit could be three times higher than that of 2009-10, at the height of the global financial crisis. For Rishi Sunak to talk of paying down the debt is not only a retreat to cliché - it’s a withdrawal from reality, argues Aaron Bastani.