Smedley D. Butler’s War Is a Racket  remains one of the most provocative short critiques of modern political economy. Written in the interwar period, the book argued that war often serves organized economic interests more than public welfare. Although the text emerged from a different historical environment, its central claim has regained relevance in a century marked by financialized capitalism, global defence supply chains, digital surveillance, platform infrastructures, an

Gold has long occupied a special place in economic thought, financial behavior, and political symbolism. It is commonly described as a “safe-haven” asset, meaning an asset expected to preserve or increase value during periods of stress. Yet contemporary evidence suggests that gold’s safe-haven character is not absolute. Rather, it is conditional, shaped by the type of crisis, the structure of financial markets, real interest rates, inflation expectations, exchange-rate dynami

Public discussion about global debt often uses a dramatic comparison: the world owes several times more than it produces in one year. This statement sounds alarming, but it is often misunderstood. Debt is a stock  measured at a point in time, while gross domestic product (GDP) is a flow  measured over a period, usually one year. Comparing the two can be useful, but only if the comparison is interpreted correctly. A debt-to-GDP ratio above 100% does not mean that all debt must

Europe’s sharp political, diplomatic, and economic sensitivity to disruptions in Gulf energy routes often appears disproportionate when measured only by direct crude oil dependence. Yet such a view misunderstands how contemporary energy security functions. Europe is not merely a consumer of oil and gas volumes; it is embedded in a wider international system shaped by shipping lanes, maritime insurance, benchmark pricing, financial expectations, sanctions structures, military

One of the most enduring debates in international relations concerns the relationship between ideology and interest. Do states act mainly according to belief, identity, and declared values, or do they ultimately follow strategic necessity? This article examines that question through the case of Marc Rich, the Iranian oil trade, and the long and often paradoxical relationship between Iran and Israel after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The study does not treat the Marc Rich stor

Development economics and the study of global inequality remain central to understanding the present world. In recent years, the field has moved beyond narrow measurements of growth and income toward broader questions involving institutions, global production systems, education, finance, migration, state capacity, technological change, and social reproduction. At the same time, older concerns have returned with fresh urgency: why do some countries industrialize while others r

Economic thought has never been static. It has evolved in response to changing forms of production, new technologies, political struggles, institutional transformations, and shifts in global power. From the classical concerns of Adam Smith about markets, labor, and moral order to present debates about artificial intelligence, automation, data, and platform capitalism, economics has repeatedly redefined its key questions. This article examines the long historical movement of e

Author:  D. Hart Affiliation:  Independent Researcher Abstract Although the global economy has changed dramatically since the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, many of today’s public debates still rely on ideas developed by classical and early modern economic thinkers. Discussions about free markets, state intervention, labor exploitation, comparative advantage, innovation, inequality, and crisis are often framed through concepts associated with Adam Smit

Author:   L. Kareem Affiliation:  Independent Researcher Abstract The question of source reliability has become more urgent in economic research. Students, early-career researchers, journalists, and policy writers now work in an information environment shaped by digital abundance, platform competition, institutional branding, and generative artificial intelligence. The problem is no longer simple scarcity of information. It is the opposite: an overproduction of data, reports,

Author:  D. Mercer Affiliation:  Independent Researcher Abstract Economics is often introduced to students through formulas, models, and exam-focused summaries. While these tools are useful, they can make the field appear narrower than it really is. Economics is not only about prices, markets, inflation, or growth. It is also about power, institutions, inequality, labor, culture, development, technology, and the social meanings attached to value. For this reason, students nee

Author: Nadia El-Khatib Affiliation: Independent Researcher Abstract The regulation of international business has become one of the defining challenges of the twenty-first-century global economy. As multinational enterprises expand across jurisdictions, they encounter multiple systems of rules, soft-law standards, and governance expectations that shape how they produce, trade, innovate, and compete. Contrary to the view that regulation is purely technical or neutral, this art