In part two, Michael Hudson discusses his new book “The Collapse of Antiquity.” Hudson challenges the traditional beliefs about the fall of the Roman Empire, arguing that it was caused by a financial crisis brought on by excessive debt, wealth inequality, and the concentration of economic power. Hudson draws parallels to modern-day economies and highlights the dangers of financialization and wealth concentration.
We get a first look at the new book by renowned political economist Michael Hudson on the age-old battle between creditors and the real economy. Ancient Rome refused to adopt the practices of debt forgiveness and land redistribution previously understood to be essential. Instead, they instituted a rigid pro-creditor legal system, assassinating anyone who remotely threatened it–including Tiberius Gracchus, Julius Caesar, and Jesus. The empire devolved into a rentier economy, ultimately collapsing from within. Today’s neoliberal establishment increasingly defends this failed state framework, even as the same disastrous dynamics intensify.
Eddie Conway, a fearless fighter for working people everywhere, died on February 13th. Eddie was a Black Panther who was unjustly imprisoned for 44 years. In his honor we republish a series of biographical interviews hosted by Paul Jay, first released in 2015.
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, we republish his speech, Why I am Opposed to the War in Vietnam.
The Ukrainian missile that hit Poland and was first attributed to Russia was one of the most dangerous moments since the Russian invasion. Daniel Ellsberg says as it was for Kennedy in 1962 in Cuba, so it is now for Putin in Ukraine. There is no actual national security threat, only a threat to the leader’s domestic political survival. That does not mean the danger isn’t real.
Was the ‘62 U.S. blockade of Cuba justified? Is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine justified by the potential of nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory? Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov says the situations are “similar“. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Daniel Ellsberg joins Paul Jay on theAnalysis.news.
The Soviet Union became dependent on easy energy sales, and consumer production stagnated, says Sommers. Gorbachev’s democratic and economic reforms supposedly meant to head towards a European style social-democracy, but instead created conditions for the rise of the oligarchs and the free for all of the ‘90s. Jeffrey Sommers joins Paul Jay on theAnalysis.news.
“Terror and tyranny in the USSR arose more from war and the demands of state security services required to survive, and the paranoid politics it enabled, rather than any “inevitable” path from the socialist path taken,” writes Jeffery Sommers. He joins Paul Jay on theAnalysis.news to discuss the end of the Soviet Union.
By opposing deep democratic reforms from below, Gorbachev laid the groundwork for privatization and the looting of the 1990s. Buzgalin joins Paul Jay on theAnalysis.news.
Jay discusses his interviews with Sen. Bob Graham, who chaired the joint congressional investigation into the events of 9/11 and was the chair of the Senate intelligence committee. Graham outright accused Bush and Cheney of facilitating the 9/11 attacks. Jay also discusses his interviews with former NSA official Thomas Drake who says intercepts that could have prevented 9/11 were never acted on. Paul Jay was a guest on Law and Disorder, hosted by Michael Smith.
This interview was originally recorded on October 18, 2021.
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