Economics for the general reader

Economics professor, John Quiggin, continues with his Economics in Two Lessons text. A draft piece he has made available at the crooked timber blog for comments and critiques, which may lead to a tightening up of the text directed at the general reader. (The privatisation of public enterprises is a timely topic.)

In the current post, Public Services: Excerpt from Economics in Two Lessons, Quiggin provides a link to the draft text to date, and in pdf format.

A slight investment of time should bear rich fruit, and confirm nagging doubts on the honesty of economic analysis so often proffered by the corporate MSM. The internet offers many rewards, and inexpensively – this is but one powerful example.

Wonder Woman?

Many should recall that the United Nations Organisation had selected as its inspiration, as role model for all women and girls a famous woman, a fictional woman, Wonder Woman. That cartoon character, half-naked, is ever decked out in a bikini made from a tiny US flag, and wearing tall black boots – and the UN officials saw no problem with that.

Fortunately protests would lead to the withdrawal of that offensive character – obviously nowhere in the whole wide world was there any woman, a living person who could serve as inspiration, as role model. Yet, throughout the year there has been ample evidence of the existence of such women – in this case, Latin America.

Which brings us to this recent post in TeleSUR, Indigenous Women Led Environmental Struggle in 2016. A brief introduction,

Women are leading the struggle in Latin America against environmental destruction as well as Indigenous rights, but they often face assassination, jail, threats and violence.

They not only fight against gender inequality, but also demand wider societal transformation of a patriarchal system that doesn’t work for them as women — even though it is working exactly how it’s supposed to.

These women are engaged in life-threatening struggles, yet their battles seldom attract the attention of the corporate Western media – and for obvious reasons. That UN officials should have overlooked such role models is something of an indictment of the corporate (and other) drift of that organisation. Yes, Wonder Woman.