The role of globalisation after the 2008–2009 financial crises has fundamentally altered the economic landscape around the world. Excessive dependence on exports to the United States and the European Union has long been identified as a problem for developing countries. Product and market diversification should be part of any trade or development strategy. The fall […]
globalization
Posted inGeneral
Tracking the aftermath of the financial crisis
In Aftermath: The Cultures of the Economic Crisis (Oxford, 2012), Manuel Castells, Joôa CaraÇa, Gustavo Cardoso (editors) and a number of colleagues from the social sciences set out to provide some insight into the financial/economic crisis that flared up in 2008 (and has still not run its course). More than that, as the title of […]
Posted inNews/Politics
How networking is transforming politics
The study of networks and its widening influence on international relations and global governance has grown incrementally over the past two decades. This as a result, out of an area of research that began, somewhat sceptically, to critically engage the ever evolving concept of the “state” within a 21st century context. Although defined differently depending […]
Posted inBusiness
Capitalism or socialism? We have no choice
It is not surprising that South Africans have trouble thinking straight. The poor live in a state of anxiety and insecurity, while high crime rates have led to a fortress mentality among the rich. Fear and anger permeate our opinions and shape our politics. The haves persist in the shadow of Zimbabwe’s ruin; the have-nots endure, […]
Posted inGeneral
Fanon and resistance
Critical psychologist Desmond Painter, writing on the 50th commemoration of Frantz Fanon’s untimely death, says: “Fanon was interested in forging new categories of thought, new subjectivities and new modes of being and becoming. To this end, he challenged European thought [and the cultural and political category of ‘Europe’ as such] with a forceful refusal — […]
Posted inGeneral
A young philosopher of note
I have had the privilege of becoming acquainted with the work of a young Iranian-American philosopher, Farhang Erfani, along various avenues, and what a pleasure it has been. In addition to papers published by him in philosophical journals, he recently published a book, “Aesthetics of Autonomy – Ricoeur and Sartre on Emancipation, Authenticity, and Selfhood” […]