Category Archives: Social values

Coffee Break: Unstable Climate-Unstable Economy, Gambling and the Decline of Sport, the Last of the Great Men of Molecular Biology, and SNAP

Part the First: Financial Stability and Climate Instability. Or, could a climate-related shock trigger a recession? This is a question that could be asked only by an economist, or two, as in Advancing research on financial stability and climate-related financial risk, an editorial last week in Science: Climate change–related natural disasters such as floods, fires, […]

This entry was posted in Coffee Break, Environment, Global warming, Social policy, Social values on November 14, 2025 by KLG.

More and More Young People Disengaged from Work and Social Contact

Unemployment among young graduates has hit a sustained high level in many countries, which will produce further social and economic harm.

Venezuela Symbolizes for the U.S. What Palestine Does for Israel

The ideological currents behind U.S. aggression against Venezuela and Israel’s war on Palestine are the same: Yoram Hazony’s neo-nationalism

This entry was posted in Coffee Break, Politics, Social values on November 13, 2025 by Curro Jimenez.

The ‘Supercenter’ Effect: How Massive, One-Stop Retailers Fuel Overconsumption − and Waste

To confirm prejudices some of you may habor: supercenters are bad! No wonder retailers love the format.

This entry was posted in Guest Post, Income disparity, Social values, The destruction of the middle class on November 11, 2025 by Yves Smith.

Russia’s Choices as It Brings Ukraine to the Brink with Electricity War, Takes Pokrovsk

Even with Russia’s domination undeniable as its electricity attacks turn off power all over Ukraine, Russia still has complex choices to make.

This entry was posted in Doomsday scenarios, Economic fundamentals, Energy markets, Europe, Politics, Russia, Social values on November 10, 2025 by Yves Smith.

Military Moral Injury, Violence, and the Parable of the Guinea Worm

The casual US celebration of violence runs into the reality that those required to inflict it regularly suffer deep inner damage.

This entry was posted in Doomsday scenarios, Guest Post, Social policy, Social values on November 10, 2025 by Yves Smith.

Coffee Break: Wither Sport, Unwellness, Chimpanzee Metacognition, The Sokal Hoax, and a Political Temblor

Part the First: Wither Sport in This Modern World? The World Series ended last week with two games for the ages. These were the only MLB baseball games I watched all season, and as a baseball man of the old school, I picked well. Both games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue […]

This entry was posted in Coffee Break, Health care, Politics, Science and the scientific method, Social policy, Social values on November 7, 2025 by KLG.

Mamdani’s Win and the Price of Urban Life: Why City Voters Are Seeking Change

The soaring costs of city life appear to be sending urban voters toward progressive leaders who promise relief, both in the U.S. and globally.

Tracing a Line Between Israeli Pager Attacks and Ukraine Collapse to the Tennessee Munitions Factory Explosion that Killed 16 Workers in an Impoverished Region of the U.S.

The so-called ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ goes up in smoke.

Trump’s Deportations Are Causing Farm Labor Issues. He Hasn’t Presented a Viable, Long-Term Solution.

Trump has cast the H-2A program as a quick help for farmers. At the same time, the program has been suspended during the government shutdown, which could cause production problems.

This entry was posted in Banana republic, Commodities, Social policy, Social values on November 3, 2025 by Conor Gallagher.

SNAP, the Nation’s Largest Food Aid Program, Is About To See Cuts. Here’s What You Should Know.

A court ruling will force the Administration to use emergency funds for SNAP benefits. But the money will run out in weeks. What then?

Coffee Break: Political Grownups, Bending Time, CDC at Sea, Snakebites, and AI Again

Part the First: Where Have All the Grownups Gone? Corey Robin is always worth reading (the first edition of The Reactionary Mind is much better than the second), and lately he has been more active publicly, here asking about the grownups: For a long time now, I’ve thought that you’re never really a grownup until […]

This entry was posted in Coffee Break, Environment, Social policy, Social values, Species loss on October 31, 2025 by KLG.

Big Employers Using AI to Decimate White Collar Jobs; What Happens When Real Incomes, Employment, and Social Compacts Erode?

Big companies are cutting white collar jobs, because AI, and warn more is to come. What does this mean for the economy and social stability?

Nationalism – Good or Bad?

Richard Murphy argues that it’s long past time to stop equating all nationalism with Nazism and instead embrace a form of nationalism based on the politics of care.

How Will Capitalism End? Essays on a Failing System

Upon reading this collection of essays (the title of this post) from Wolfgang Streeck and then contemplating our current world, The Second Coming of William Butler Yeats comes to mind: Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon […]

This entry was posted in Doomsday scenarios, Free markets and their discontents, Politics, Social policy, Social values, The dismal science on October 29, 2025 by KLG.

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