I analyse emergency policy-making in three circumstances: the sovereign debt crisis of 2011, the Covid crisis of 2020, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine of 2022. Decisions taken under the influence of fear are the least inclined to progressive principles and participatory democracy.
Making the poor pay more
From the pandemic to the Ukrainian war, policy decisions have resulted in de-facto regressive taxation. Support is gained by qualifying diverging opinions as the enemy’s. Instead, governments should implement significant redistribution plans.
What went wrong, Mr Lenin?
The fall of communism is deeply related to the most impractical assumption of the second welfare theorem. For this to work, the planner must have perfect knowledge of everybody’s preferences about every good.
Some thoughts on Western values
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, I propose some reflections that have accompained my growth.