Welcome to The Gods That Failed blog.
Our new book was published on 5 June by The Bodley Head, and we've set this up to give ourselves, and the public, the chance to learn about and discuss the economic crisis that we're currently all facing.
It's high time people realised how and why we've reached the state we're now in. The Gods that Failed argues that we need a new system: instead of an increasingly risk-prone, privatised, profit-driven economic model overseen by a largely unaccountable and speculation-obsessed elite, we need an economy that is run and regulated in the interests of ordinary people.
Posted by Editors on June 13, 2008 at 10:55 am
Shell workers today begin a strike that could leave one in ten pumps dry, say the Telegraph. While many complain that drivers are overpaid, they insist that their wages have not risen since 1992.
In chapter 3 of The Gods that Failed, Larry and Dan discuss the strikes of the 70s and 80s, and the correlation between the development of the free market economy and strike action. They quote Bernard Levin:
‘Has he [Edward Heath] any idea what a man earning £20 a week feels when he sees speculators about to make untold millions by befouling Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden and indeed any other bits of any other city they can get their hands on?’ (Times, May 30 1972)
Despite government warnings not to panic buy, the Times reports a rush on petrol stations yesterday.
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Posted by Editors on June 12, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Agence France-Presse report that yesterday’s surge in oil prices is receding. Read the full article here.
In chapter 7 of The Gods that Failed, Larry and Dan outline the four distinct phases of a speculation bubble: 1) A change in the economy causes a rise in asset prices; 2) overseas speculators buy up shares, driving the price higher; 3) in the rush to buy, speculators throw caution to the wind; 4) an inevitable collapse as credit tightens.
It happened to the housing market - could it be going the same way with oil?
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Posted by Editors on June 11, 2008 at 11:40 am
According to the Independent, the price of oil could hit $250 per barrel in the foreseeable future. Read the full article here.
Update: On the evening of Jun 11, oil prices nearly peaked at $140 a barrel, in a wave of speculative buying. Read Larry’s article here.
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Posted by Editors on June 10, 2008 at 10:14 am
The imminent collapse of the housing market brings the threat of a wider market crisis of low demand and high inflation. Read Larry’s article here.
The Telegraph reports similar fears, with factory charges up 8.9% since last year. Read the full article here.
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Posted in Latest News, The Credit Crunch, Housing, Background, Food prices, Fuel Prices | No Comments » ^ Top
Posted by Editors on June 3, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Over the past twelve months, the price of crude oil has almost doubled, as this BBC graph shows.
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Posted by Editors on June 2, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Read Dan Atkinson’s article on the high price of oil - which looks set to level out at $140 a barrel - and how it’s happened, in the Mail on Sunday.
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Posted by Editors on May 23, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Listen to Larry talk about the soaring oil prices and what this might mean for the economy here.
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Posted by Editors on May 22, 2008 at 5:45 pm
The BBC had this story on May 22nd on soaring oil prices, which have more than doubled in the past year.
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