Author: orneladegasperin.com

Ha-Joon Chang describes how rich countries are denying and preventing the same policies that made them rich to begin with – protectionism and tariffs. He argues that after getting rich, developed nations used the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization for “ladder kicker”, which he thinks is the biggest obstacle to poverty alleviation. Ha-Joon Chang also has a bunch of economics lecture series open from his Cambridge classes, called Economics for People. He won me from the trailer, where he says that economists (I could argue it applies to other academics and not just economist) have megalomania: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaNTRFOkp0Q&list=PLmtuEaMvhDZbNVIDHA-MTVH0sLb5HP7Pn&ab_channel=NewEconomicThinking

We have understood the climate crisis for decades, but progress to prevent the most significant catastrophe in human history is still lacking. The same goes for policies regarding smoking. Why is this? This book chronicles how certain experts have actively skewed the discourse, the science, and delayed needed action, both on actions related to the climate crisis and on tobacco regulations. Also check this interview from Planet Critical: https://youtu.be/UZk4Xjn6tEY?si=oRoglHgGZ3JvY368

Capitalism is incompatible with limiting and tackling global warming – and the political right understand this very well. They have known this very well for decades, and that’s why they’ve worked so hard on misinforming the public, inflating the uncertainties, the costs of action, etc. Because they knew the real truth: on a capitalist world, we cannot address this catastrophe. Naomi writes extremelly compellingly, engaging, and interesting way.

As timely now as ever, Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman break with tons of data and logic how the corporate-backed mass media are ideological institutions that carry system-supportive propaganda function. Starting from basic descriptions, like the simple fact that mass media institutions are profit seeking institutions, and thus they must align with the financial interests of the owners such as corporations and investors. Importantly, most of the profit comes from advertising, not from subscriptions or sales, meaning they must align with the advertisings’ interests. Indeed, the media are not selling news to the readership, instead, the readership is the product, and the buyer are the advertisement companies.  Check out an illustrated summary of Manufacturing consent here: https://seanmichaelwilson.weebly.com/manufacturing-consent---illustrated.html, a discussion on it on Jacobin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z_4HdnUdHA&t=193s&ab_channel=Jacobin, and a documentary I really enjoyed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li2m3rvsO0I&t=3491s&ab_channel=InquiretheMind

Kids create philosophy on their own. This book follows both the author’s kids, as well as conversations with other kids, and then takes you into the history of the philosophical theories that kids develop. From the question how did a cat got a flea? From another cat? And that one, and the one before… ? Up to his own child answering a question Scott couldn’t answer himself to his own father: what does it mean to be a philosopher? (it’s the art of thinking, his kid stated). Scott argues that kids are the most creative thinkers out there. He also engages with topics like slavery, colonialism, the holocaust, sexism, trans rights, and discusses how to engage these topics with kids, and how kids engage and construct arguments surrounding these difficult…