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Financialization, deregulation and securitization transactions
Before the 1980s, banks couldn’t use people’s deposits as collateral for investments. Banks were not allowed to use their customers’ deposits to invest them. Up until the early 1980s, when you owned a share in a company, a building or a field and wanted to buy or sell other shares, the state levied transfer duties.…
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All equal before the law?
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Animal Farm – George Orwell In theory, in countries that have established human rights, we would all be equal before the law. In practice, there are people who are always above the law. In France, the “grandes écoles” (elite universities) teach their students…
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Losing sight of the “big picture” while fixated on a detail
Thinking selfishly of a small profit, of a small measure and closing one’s eyes to the overall plan is to rush towards one’s own downfall and that of others. Believing that one will be spared is an illusion. One must think of the general interest, of the vision of society as a whole when one…
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Canada: elbows up is not enough
Canada. “Sortons les coudes”: le nouveau cri de ralliement des Canadiens– La liberté: https://www.laliberte.ch/articles/sortons-les-coudes-le-nouveau-cri-de-ralliement-des-canadiens-993528 Why did Justin Trudeau resign? He was legitimate since he had been elected by Canadians. If he doubted his legitimacy, he could have organized referendums on specific issues instead of speculating and making it personal. Politicians, please! Do not make the same…
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Left-wing policy’s lack of action doesn’t pay off
Barack Obama, Olaf Scholz, François Hollande, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Kier Starmer, Anthony Albanese, Pedro Sanchez, Justin Trudeau do not propose a vision. They do almost nothing for the people. Their only quality is that they’re not as bad as the others. It leads nowhere, gives no direction. This strategy doesn’t pay off, and…
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A European leap forward is needed
Since Trump is back in power, the United States is no longer an ally of democratic countries. Donald Trump and his government regularly echo Putin’s theses and call themselves predators. 1. The USA has claimed that it wants to take over Greenland, Panama and Canada against the will of the people. 2. Trump and Putin…
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Ayn Rand is popular today; but her ideas lead to destruction, what are the solutions?
Ayn Rand’s ideas have grown since the early 2010s. Between 2012 and 2020, her book Atlas Shrugged was the second biggest seller in the USA after the Bible, thirty years after her death. Friday essay: We all live in the world of Ayn Rand, egomaniac godmother of libertarianism. Can fiction help us navigate it? –…
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Restricting individual wealth
The Gracchi brothers brothers, Gaius and Tiberius, were tribunes, the equivalent of our deputies, and they wanted to tackle the problems of the time. The rich were few in number but owned almost all the land. As they produced all the cereals, they agreed among themselves to set a high price and brought in foreigners…
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Working class racism
The working class has existed since the mid-18th century, with the Industrial Revolution in the UK. It consisted of a population of peasant origin uprooted geographically to the centers of production, with no control over the use of their time. The wages of this working class only enabled them to survive and reproduce. This class…
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The richest 1% are at war with the rest of the world
“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” Warren Buffett – Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/123058-there-s-class-warfare-all-right-but-it-s-my-class-the “Terrorism is the war of the poor. War is the terrorism of the rich.” Ustinov Peter: https://www.grainesdepaix.org/fr/ressources/sinspirer/aphorismes/le-terrorisme-est-la-guerre-des-pauvres-la-guerre-est-le-terrorisme-des-riches What does this war involve? In France, as elsewhere, the role of national education…