Capitalism

PM Scott Morrison said Australia would achieve net zero by 2050 ‘the Australian way’. It is pure spin, argues Petrina Harley.

There was no altruism in the speed in which pharmaceutical companies developed successful vaccines. The very future of capitalism relied on science’s ability to keep the wheels turning, argues William Briggs.

Man begging

Asia’s billionaires have increased their wealth by 74% while 148 million others in the region have been pushed into poverty since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, writes S Arutchelvan.

Thirty years since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War the promised peace and harmony has been illusive, writes William Briggs.

 

The COVID-19 catastrophe presents a challenge of planetary proportions. You would expect it would elicit a response drawing on all our skills, compassion and collective resources. But Andrew Smart argues we are seeing the opposite.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been promoting “can do capitalism” when Australia needs policies that treat all equally, argues Stuart Rees.

Wherever the forces of destruction attempt to cut down trees, pollute our air and water, and rip away the earth for minerals, women have been leading the resistance, writes Jess Spear.

Racism is not fundamentally about individual behaviour – although often that’s how people experience it. Lavanya Thavaraja argues that it is central to the institutions of Australian capitalism.

In Less is More, Jason Hickel has written a readable book that seeks to promote hope rather than doom in the era of the Anthropocene or, more appropriately, the Capitolocene, writes Hans Baer.

There was a sense of relief as former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire was forced to quit, but why is it that racists, or apologists for racism, often escape the consequences, asks Jacob Andrewartha.

When Indian cricketers reported racist abuse during the recent Sydney test match, Australia’s ugly racism hit the headlines again. Sue Bull argues the media has an interest in muddying the connection between capitalism and racism.

Many Australians watched the shit-show of the recent United States elections and questioned the level of democracy in that country. Alex Bainbridge asks if there's much of a difference here.