Established as a landmark victory for the climate movement, the CCC promised to hold governments to account. Today, it is understating the danger of climate chaos and impeding the radical action needed, says IAN SINCLAIR
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Rebuild Britain: for socially responsible public finance
Reviewing a new pamphlet, FAWZI IBRAHIM asserts the need for public expenditure in which private finance is strictly regulated and constrained, allowing the Bank of England to fund government expenditure without the risk of inflation
The Bank of England
The real ‘humanitarian threat’ isn’t Cuba but the United States, where poverty, lack of healthcare and illiteracy abound, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
ROGER McKENZIE draws attention to the much-neglected oral traditions of the global South that define the identity – and therefore the liberation – of its custodians
Labour movement history in Britain shows workers secured reforms through collective pressure and political representation, rather than being gifted from above, writes KEITH FLETT
CLAUDIA WEBBE looks at how Britain’s Nato ally has upped the stakes in its effort to silence domestic dissenting voices
HOW a government funds its expenditure is a question that all countries face. It is not confined to capitalist economies. It applies to Cuba as well as to Britain and the US.
Government expenditure invariably exceeds its income whether by design as a result of investment decisions, or due to natural disasters or war. Governments with a sovereign currency (and Britain is such a country, unlike those who are inside the EU) can simply print money to fund expenditure. However, that will lead to inflationary pressures on prices, at least in the short term, as general demand for resources increases.
Traditionally, governments have borrowed money from the private financial market through the issuance of bonds. Money is thus taken away from private finance into the hands of the government to spend.
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