Legal Corruption: the Cause of the Global Economic Crisis?
The multi-million dollar bonuses that American International Group (AIG) is handing over to nameless “executives”, after accepting billions in US taxpayer bailout money is, understandably, causing a great deal of alarm in the media and American public in general.
This massive misallocation of wealth, and the government’s inability or unwillingness to prevent it, is exposing a system of “legal corruption”. As Errol P. Mendes explains, the ability of economic elites to influence the political oversight and regulation of their activities through lobbying led directly to the current economic crisis.
Mendes concludes with a call to fiscal responsibility, a concerted effort to root out corruption (including so-called “legal corruption”), and some way to encourage ethical behaviour among elites.
Obama: Another Nobel Scandal
It is high time to have a discussion about this prize and bring it closer to what Alfred Nobel wanted it to be.
Statement on the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
Obama should use the moral support of the Nobel prize to bolster his efforts to eliminate nuclear arms in our time.
Barack Obama: a new beginning?
Johan Galtung reviews the monumental challenges that Barack Obama will face as the 44th president of the United States, as well as the intense support he is likely to receive from his own citizens and the international community.