Capitalist Bonanza: Share Buybacks Reached Record High in 2021

Share buybacks hit a record high in 2021, enriching investors and executives at the expense of the working class.

The Democratic Party and Capitalism’s Economic Contradictions

The Democratic Party is promising that its spending packages will rejuvenate the economy. And that has helped the party bewitch the Left and dampen mass struggle in the United States. But the economic situation today — riven by fundamental, explosive contradictions — shows that those promises are built on sand, and that we need to reject the Democrats and organize for an independent, revolutionary struggle.

Tariffs to Fight Climate Change? It’s a Capitalist Ruse

At COP26, the leading capitalist countries are pushing the idea of tariffs on certain exports as a way to reduce emissions. But these proposals are really about shoring up Western capitalism’s ability to compete with China.

Job Growth or Job Decline, It’s All About Capitalist Exploitation

A recent Wall Street Journal editorial affords a look into the argument the capitalists are having within their class about the most recent Labor Department jobs numbers.

Snap Canadian Elections Change Nothing

Prime Minister Trudeau achieved nothing with his snap election and faces the same problems in getting Canada’s capitalist economy going as before.

Competition, Monopoly, and Exploitation under Capitalism

While signing an executive order to expand competition and crack down on monopolistic practices, Joe Biden said that “capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation.” His statement reflects a long-standing assumption among both classical and more left-leaning economists alike that increasing monopolization is the source of increasing exploitation under capitalism. What do they get wrong? Economist Michael Roberts explains.

Inflation, Interest Rates, and Debt

Accelerating inflation may be an issue right now in the U.S. and other recovering capitalist economies. But for capitalism, profitability is the real benchmark and that can be hit by wage rises on the one hand and interest rises on the other.

The Productivity Crisis

In his latest piece, Michael Roberts takes a look at the crisis in productivity and the failures of Keynesian economics over nearly a hundred years.

New Unemployment Numbers Reveal the Truth about Economic Recovery

Skeptical about capitalist claims that we will soon be “flush with cash” and out boosting the economy? The latest weekly increase in claims for unemployment benefits shows the real truth about the system of exploitation the working class confronts every day.