Yascha Mounk and Branko Milanovic discuss what his famous elephant curve says about the ills—and the gains—of globalization, how the left’s concern with inequality is being turned against its concern with internationalism, why economic causes of populism are often expressed in cultural ways, and how a determination to increase the financial and educational endowments of ordinary citizens can combat inequality and boost their living standards.
8 December 2017
Social Europe: Inequality More Than Matters
In fact, the OECD highlights that reducing inequality by one Gini point would translate into an accumulated increase in growth of 0.8% during the following five years. In this respect, Europe has moved in the opposite direction. Between 2005 and 2015, the Gini coefficient rose from 30.6 to 31 and income disparities between the top and bottom 20% have increased from 4.7 to 5.2. As the proportion of people at risk of social exclusion is closely related to income inequality, poverty has grown constantly since 2005, and between 2008 and 2014 several member states experienced an increase in inequality in terms of household disposable income.
While one of the five goals of the Europe 2020 strategy aspired to reducing by at least 20 million the number of people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion (from 115.9 million in 2008 to 95.9 million in 2020), in 2015 these citizens already accounted for 117.6 million in the EU-28. Moreover, 32.2 million disabled people were at risk of poverty and social exclusion in 2010, as well as 26.5 million children, taking the overall percentage to unacceptably high levels (23.7%). The rise in inequality since the economic crisis has especially impacted women, exacerbating poverty among them and excluding them even more from the labour market.
Several factors have contributed to getting us into this situation. The extensive changes in the labour market should be at the centre of our worries: the proliferation of “atypical” jobs, the weakening of collective bargaining, the deterioration in working conditions, increased temporary working, and policies of internal wage devaluation. In short, the labour market has stopped being a stable source of prosperity for many people.
The Atlantic: Frank Lloyd Wright's Striking Pop-Cultural Legacy
These TV and film settings span decades and genres, from science fiction to horror to fantasy. But they have one crucial connection: They all either filmed in, or were directly inspired by, one private residence in Los Angeles: the Ennis House, built in 1924 by Frank Lloyd Wright. Stone-colored and covered with intricately patterned tiles, it looms imperiously from atop the Los Feliz hills—and, as the Historic American Buildings Survey described it in 1969, “appears from the distance as a tremendously large monument rather than a two-bedroom dwelling.” [...]
The architect thought that an experimental construction technique with concrete—already a relatively common building material, and available in do-it-yourself form for use at home—might be the key. He didn’t particularly like concrete, writing in his autobiography that it was “the cheapest (and ugliest) thing in the building world.” But he did understand the material’s potential and challenged himself to make it beautiful, posing the hypothetical, “Why not see what could be done with that gutter-rat?” [...]
Regardless of the countless times the Ennis House has been immortalized on film, Wright’s textile-block structures were not the big break the architect was looking for. Hollywood contacts were not enough. Wright headed back east and would not build in California again for years. He would briefly go into bankruptcy the year after Ennis, taking him into the difficult years of the Great Depression. [...]
The house is somber in other ways, as well. While the architect’s knowledge of the Mayans was superficial and arguably appropriative, perhaps he knew—he was always careful with the small details—that they typically used their temples as tombs. That built-in mood, more than anything, may explain the success of the Ennis House: It could fit any bill as a location, as long as it was home to monsters, villains, or anti-heroes. Though many kinds of movies and shows used it as a setting, pulpy, genre projects in particular gravitated to its unusual cinematic possibilities.
Slate: Visions of Fire
So what’s the problem in highlighting the combustible nature of such a seemingly reckless and shortsighted move? Surely such warnings are warranted given both the history of Palestinian resistance and current regional dynamics. But focusing so insistently on a potential Arab backlash elides the actual illegality of this move. United Nations Resolution 478, passed in 1980, deemed Israel’s claim that Jerusalem is the “complete and united” capital of Israel to be in violation of international law and urged member states to withdraw diplomatic missions from the city. Jerusalem is a contested city, at the heart of the dilemma over the two-state solution, and as some of the commentary has in fairness pointed out, this move is likely to prove an enormous obstacle to peace and good faith between Palestinians, Israelis, and the United States. Furthermore, Jerusalem’s eastern half has been under illegal occupation by the Israeli government since 1967. The construction of illegal settlements and the demolition of Palestinian homes continues unabated and has even seen an uptick in recent years. To recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel legitimizes these illegal actions. These factors should be at the forefront of any opposition to Trump’s policy rather than fear of backlash.
Focusing on the potential mobs of angry Arabs reacting to the decision further reinforces stereotypes about, well … angry Arabs. In an era of divisive rhetoric, often directed particularly toward Arab and Muslim communities—much of it stoked by this president—employing the fear of rioting Arabs as a reason for opposing particular policies is, forgive me the metaphor, playing with fire. Opponents of this policy should not be using the same fear of Muslim violence used to justify the Muslim ban, no-fly lists, and other discriminatory policies.
There is also a more insidious message being sent by warnings about the potential for a “third intifada” in response to President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem, one that has long haunted, not just the conflict over Palestine and Israel but also other instances where human rights, civil rights, and sovereignty are violated. When we focus on violence as the only preventive force against unjust policies, we reinforce the notion that violence is the only effective means of resistance. Perhaps more often than not, these assessments prove to be accurate, but it’s a dangerous game and only aids those who see no point in working toward peace at all.
Quartz: In Gujarat, a moment of reckoning for Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi
Now, Gujarat is set to vote again in a two-phase election on Dec. 09 and Dec. 14, with the results for all the 182 seats to be declared on Dec. 18. But the going’s gotten tougher for Modi’s BJP, which has ruled the state for 22 straight years now. Gandhi, meanwhile, has managed to make his presence felt, though nobody’s counting on this necessarily translating into electoral gains. [...]
Gujarat is India’s third-most industrialised and fourth-most urbanised state. It accounts for 7.6% of India’s GDP and has consistently grown at a faster rate than the country itself. But most importantly, it is Modi’s home state and its economic development has for long been his calling card. [...]
Meanwhile, for the battered and bruised Congress, this could be the last chance at regaining some respectability. If it wins—a humongous “if,” that is—redemption could be instant (and recent polls do underscore this possibility). In fact, even if the party loses but considerably improves its tally from the last time (60 out of 182), it would be a shot in the arm. [...]
The Dalit anger may not effectively translate into electoral trends considering that they form less than 8% of Gujarat’s population—and that, too, mostly scattered across the state. However, some of them may be looking to join hands with other agitated communities to make a mark. [...]
“Modi is today inaugurating projects that he first inaugurated in 2002, then in 2007, and yet again in 2012. People are asking why projects are not being completed? Even his showpiece monument, the big Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue (slated to be the world’s largest statue), is being built in China. So what happened to Make in India? This is a joke,” said Lalji Desai, general secretary of the Congress party in Gujarat. “No wonder there is anger in almost every section of the Gujarat society.”
Quartz: The Louvre Abu Dhabi acquires Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi'
While the buyer may curiously be described as “a little known Saudi Prince” with no history as an art collector, the painting’s new home will thankfully be public to all. The Louvre Abu Dhabi announced on Twitter that“Salvator Mundi” will hang on its walls—a da Vinci in the Gulf to rival the “Mona Lisa” back at the Louvre’s Paris home base. The painting’s acquisition fits nicely with Abu Dhabi’s larger attempt to assert itself as a cultural hotspot for international tourists. What’s more, it’s helping prove that there are far more reasons to visit the UAE than luxury shopping malls and the skyscrapers of Dubai.
In addition to the Louvre franchise—which opened in November in and already features an impressive permanent collection of over 600 pieces—Abu Dhabi also has an outpost of New York University and plans to open a branch of New York’s venerable Guggenheim Museum. The UAE’s national museum, The Zayed National Museum, is also slated to open in the city (though it is fraught with delays and a recent falling out with the British Museum, who was meant to co-curate its collection). All three museums feature serious architectural bona fides: The Louvre was designed by master French architect Jean Nouvel; Frank Gehry is behind the Guggenheim; and Norman Foster is the name behind the Zayad Museum. [...]
It’s no secret that the UAE is embroiled in a simmering geopolitical conflict, having recently cut ties with neighboring Qatar as part of a plan to isolate the gas-rich nation in partnership with other Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt. While this instability may not necessarily affect daily life for Emiratis, studies show that regional instability can impact tourism numbers—particularly if tensions (or headlines about those tensions) peak during a prime booking season. According to 2015 data from the WTTC, political instability can take the largest hit on a nation’s tourism arrivals, with an average recovery time of 26.7 months, compared to just 13 months for terrorism, 21.3 months for disease outbreak, and 23.8 months for environmental disaster.
openDemocracy: Brexit, Ireland, and the revenge of history
The reality is that Theresa May now has two choices. She can either risk the collapse of her own government. Or she can pave the way for a ‘hard Brexit’ – that’s Britain crashing out of the EU in April 2019 without a trade deal, and all the disastrous consequences that follow. [...]
Earlier this year, openDemocracy revealed that the DUP received £435,000 from a mystery donor to campaign for Brexit. The secret donation – three times as much as the DUP has ever spent on an electoral campaign in its history – attracted particular controversy because almost none of the cash was spent in Northern Ireland. Yet a little-known law which applies to Northern Ireland, and not the rest of the UK, allowed the donors(s) to remain anonymous. Clearly, this was a flagrant abuse of the outdated ‘security’ reasons for donor secrecy in Northern Ireland. The upshot? Theresa May’s government is being propped up, as it negotiates Brexit, by a party funded by secret Brexit donors. [...]
It is not only May’s government that comes out of this looking weak and, frankly, stupid. Throughout the EU referendum campaign, the question of what would happen to Ireland’s enormous, open border was barely addressed. It was clear that leading Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson, now the UK’s gaffe-prone Foreign Secretary, had given it not a moment’s thought. But neither, it seemed, had the Remain camp. As part of ex-PM David Cameron’s ill-fated ‘Project Fear’, British voters were served a daily diet of warnings about economic armageddon and little else. The British press, for the most part, did little to probe the question of Ireland further either – perhaps most unforgivable of all, given the supposed role of the fourth estate.
Politico: Bratislava is for losers
It’s been a rough few weeks for Slovakia. First, its capital is passed up as the new host of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) after Brexit in favor of Amsterdam. Then its finance minister, Peter KažimÃr, resigns from the race for the Eurogroup leadership — a position that would have given the country a real seat at the table, for once.
Slovaks reacted to the bad news from Brussels with overblown self-flagellation. Bratislava, much of Slovakia’s commentariat agreed, was a terrible place to live — who would want to move there from London? And KažimÃr was an awful candidate who is not doing enough to stabilize public finances at home (notwithstanding this year’s deficit, expected at around 1.29 percent of GDP) and has not been able to eradicate tax fraud in the country. [...]
There are grounds for optimism. Neither outcome — no matter how disappointing — sparked the outrage at “traitors” or out-of-touch cosmopolitan elites that usually follows controversial decisions out of Brussels. Not even Slovak politicians who harbor very little affection for the EU used the occasion to criticize the bloc. [...]
Slovakia will never be a large country and wield a voice comparable to that of Poland, let alone Germany or France. But it can be an influential country if it matches a commitment to EU integration with effective domestic reforms to update its public administration, health care and education systems. And if Slovak leaders also have a clear vision and strategy of what they are trying to accomplish in Europe.
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