What Robert Skidelsky said around the 19th or 20th minute is exactly it: the entire point of what is now the European Union, beginning with its originating organization, the European Coal and Steel Community ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Coal_and_Steel_Community)......was to focus the energies of European countries AWAY from war and towards commerce, to improve the well being and prosperity of European people.
Fast forward to 2025 and we have an EU led by intellectually challenged tools that are carrying water for the US warmongering neocons, and are putting European nations in DEBT, and burning Europeans's personal savings (pension funds) too, to wage a needless war.
The entire thing is insane.
And yet you cannot find even this fact, let alone a critque of this problem, in the headlines of any manjor European news media. Nor even a major European UNIVERSITY at this point.
Its a tragic march to mass stupidity and needless war.
In 1971 the US could no longer service its debts as they fell due, ie. it could no longer exchange it to gold. Then Nixon "temporarily" suspended the USD being covered by gold. To continue to be able to run big debts the US introduced the Petrodollar which became more generally the reserve currency scheme (in a different way then under the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement). This held the exchange rate and desirability of the dollar high, which again supported imports vs Exports and domestic manufacturing. Under this scheme, the American middle class shrunk from 61% to 48%. The median age of the first home buyer rose from late 20s to now 38 (UK: 34) It does not get higher as else there are not enough years to pay the mortgage off. Then we are talking about the rise and rise of US debt, state, corporate and private. Inability to pay debts by private citizens rises uninterruptedly since 2021. Federal budget deficits go directly into consumption and not into investment. Those debts helped the US to boast of "a fantastic economy" during the last couple of years. Probably not sustainable for a longer period.
Anyway, a recession is impending, which is because the US has a recession every four to seven years. The problem with recessions in the US is, that the growth peak - measured in a four year moving average to even it out - has since the 1950s never been as high as it was after the recession before.
A word about reserve currency: if you want to have your currency as reserve currency, you need to run a deficit. I don't think, eg., the Chinese would like that.
Here is "President Nixon Address to the Nation Outlining a New Economic Policy: "The Challenge of Peace" from 15 August 1971 (the "temporary" bit somewhere after 8:30)
Great to hear from Lord Sidelsky on this subject, a beacon of common sense amongst a cacophony of economically immature parvenus
Really excellent discussion - thanks Glenn!
I have admired your work since day one Glenn, we need to expand your interviews in the search for peace or at least living without wars
Thanks for your great work Glenn!
We've shared the link on our daily report.
A Skeptic War Reports
https://askeptic.substack.com/
What Robert Skidelsky said around the 19th or 20th minute is exactly it: the entire point of what is now the European Union, beginning with its originating organization, the European Coal and Steel Community ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Coal_and_Steel_Community)......was to focus the energies of European countries AWAY from war and towards commerce, to improve the well being and prosperity of European people.
Fast forward to 2025 and we have an EU led by intellectually challenged tools that are carrying water for the US warmongering neocons, and are putting European nations in DEBT, and burning Europeans's personal savings (pension funds) too, to wage a needless war.
The entire thing is insane.
And yet you cannot find even this fact, let alone a critque of this problem, in the headlines of any manjor European news media. Nor even a major European UNIVERSITY at this point.
Its a tragic march to mass stupidity and needless war.
In 1971 the US could no longer service its debts as they fell due, ie. it could no longer exchange it to gold. Then Nixon "temporarily" suspended the USD being covered by gold. To continue to be able to run big debts the US introduced the Petrodollar which became more generally the reserve currency scheme (in a different way then under the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement). This held the exchange rate and desirability of the dollar high, which again supported imports vs Exports and domestic manufacturing. Under this scheme, the American middle class shrunk from 61% to 48%. The median age of the first home buyer rose from late 20s to now 38 (UK: 34) It does not get higher as else there are not enough years to pay the mortgage off. Then we are talking about the rise and rise of US debt, state, corporate and private. Inability to pay debts by private citizens rises uninterruptedly since 2021. Federal budget deficits go directly into consumption and not into investment. Those debts helped the US to boast of "a fantastic economy" during the last couple of years. Probably not sustainable for a longer period.
Anyway, a recession is impending, which is because the US has a recession every four to seven years. The problem with recessions in the US is, that the growth peak - measured in a four year moving average to even it out - has since the 1950s never been as high as it was after the recession before.
A word about reserve currency: if you want to have your currency as reserve currency, you need to run a deficit. I don't think, eg., the Chinese would like that.
Here is "President Nixon Address to the Nation Outlining a New Economic Policy: "The Challenge of Peace" from 15 August 1971 (the "temporary" bit somewhere after 8:30)
https://youtu.be/0BVj2gT6CgI
Here is Kim Iversen talking to Prof Richard Werner about the introduction of the Petrodollar
https://youtu.be/vm3cpCCFQiQ