Issue 488 of New Internationalist
Reader-owned global journalism
December 2015
10 economic myths
Does repeating a thing make it true?
The followers of mainstream economic dogma must surely think ‘Yes’. After the financial crash of 2008 and the malaise ever since, they haven’t changed their tune much. Their prescriptions don’t work but the patients – you or me – are still
being dosed with ‘freemarket’ medicine.
We’ve worked on this edition in the spirit of providing something of an antidote. The economic bottom line is inevitable, say the powers that be.
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And finally... Ramin Bahrani
The system is rigged, but it can be changed, the US-Iranian film director tells Malcolm Lewis.
Myth 7: Financial regulation will destroy a profitable banking sector
Why should financial markets be accountable only to themselves? asks David Ransom.
Myth 6: Fossil fuels are more economically viable than renewables
Not if you look at the environmental costs, says Dinyar Godrej.
In search of lost soldiers
Families of missing POWs are still waiting for answers after 44 years, says Jas Uppal.
Myth 5: The private sector is more efficient than the public sector
There is no evidence of greater efficiency, explains Dinyar Godrej.
Myth 4: Economic migrants are a drain on rich world economies
Migration follows a demand for labour - and benefits the receiving country, writes Dinyar Godrej.
Myth 3: Taxing the rich scares off investors and stalls economic performance
Taxation creates prosperity just as much as private enterprise, says David Ransom.
Economic Myth 2: Deficit reduction is the only way out of a slump
Don't rely on those who caused the crash to resolve it, argues David Ransom.
Myth 1: Austerity will lead to 'jobs and growth'
It's wrong to sell austerity as a cure for economic woes, says Dinyar Godrej.
Past issues
You can see our whole archive on the past magazines page.
The crisis of loneliness
A world to win
The cost of greed crisis
Take back the land
Whose railway is it anyway?
Rivers of life
How we stop Big Oil
Jailbreak: reimagining justice
Romani lives matter
Shifting horizons: the future of work
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