Michael Roberts blog
Blogging from a Marxist economist
Recent Analysis
The demographic future and labour
Meeting the social needs of the world’s population through the production of goods and services depends on the amount of labour employed (in numbers and hours) and on the productivity of those of employed. Under capitalism, of course, what matters more is the profitability to the owners of the means of production from employing workers…
China: zig zagging
China is in deep trouble. Its zero-COVID policy has failed; the economy has slowed to a halt; it now has a falling and fast-ageing population; it is in the midst of a property and debt crisis; so it is heading for a permanent, low productivity growth stagnation like Japan. Xi’s leadership is in crisis as…
Davos 23: going pear-shaped
This week, the jamboree of the rich global elite of the World Economic Forum (WEF) has started again after the COVID interregnum. Top political and business leaders have flown in on their private jets to discuss climate change and global warming, as well as the impending global economic slump, the cost of living crisis and…