Another European financial crisis brewing

The next crisis will be triggered by the mounting bad debts of commercial banks

Another European financial crisis brewingA new financial crisis is brewing in Europe, one that will prove as devastating as the last economic crisis. This one will also be centered in southern Europe, only, this time, instead of being triggered by the rising debt of the region’s governments, it will be triggered by the mounting bad debts of commercial banks.…

Why Britain’s exit from the EU wouldn’t make sense

Brexit proponents fail to recognize how important Europe is to Britain's economy, and how critical Britain is to Europe's stability

Why Britain’s exit from the EU wouldn’t make senseVoters in Britain will determine the fate of the European Union on June 23. A decision to ‘Brexit' – leave the 28-nation EU – could have far-reaching implications for Britain and the world. Arguments for Britain leaving the EU tend to focus on seemingly irrational fears: fear of being swamped by foreign immigration, fear of British…

From Trump to Brexit, it’s all about nationalists vs. globalists

The tension between nationalists and globalists is very real and we’ll have to live with the consequences of how it turns out

From Trump to Brexit, it’s all about nationalists vs. globalistsScratch the surface on many of today’s contentious topics and you’ll find the clash between nationalism and globalism at the heart. While some people worry that the concept of national sovereignty and control is being eroded, others see such a development as a feature rather than a bug. To the nationalist, preserving national identity and…

Could the UK actually leave the European Union?

The UK’s relationship to what is now called the European Union has always been ambivalent

Could the UK actually leave the European Union?With Scotland’s independence referendum in the rear-view mirror, the UK is on course for another mass public consultation, perhaps even as early as this coming June. The question will be direct: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union? This is known in media parlance as Brexit,…

Greece is an example of the failure of modern economics

The intellectual divorce between economics and political science led to the Greek crisis

Greece is an example of the failure of modern economicsEconomics is a subject with a long and distinguished pedigree, featuring such towering intellectuals and philosophers as Plato and Aristotle to economists like Sir James Steuart and Francois Quesnay, the Frenchman who gave the study its modern foundations. Unfortunately, the discipline split into two distinctive subject areas in the 20th century – economics and political…

Greece is learning what giving up sovereignty really means

Absent its own currency and the ability to conduct an independent monetary policy, no country can be really sovereign

Greece is learning what giving up sovereignty really meansAs I write this, the Greek drama is at its umpteenth crisis point. Will it go over the brink this time? If it does, could it conceivably take the euro with it? And what in heaven’s name is going on in Europe – purportedly the world’s most sophisticated polity. Theoretically, the 1648 Peace of Westphalia…

Napoleon’s Waterloo was 200 years ago

But it may have been better for Europe if he had won

Napoleon’s Waterloo was 200 years agoJune is a big month for historical anniversaries. Last week, I wrote about the 800th birthday of Magna Carta – the medieval charter that’s often described as seminal to the development of parliamentary democracy. This week, it’s the Battle of Waterloo, the clash that finally ended the Napoleonic era. It all happened on June 18,…
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