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Robert Skidelsky

Robert Skidelsky

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Robert Skidelsky is a member of the British House of Lords, Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at Warwick University, and the author of a prize-winning three-volume biography of John Maynard Keynes. He began his political career in the Labour party, was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party, and served as the Conservative Party’s spokesman for Treasury affairs in the House of Lords until he was sacked for his opposition to NATO’s 1999 bombing of Kosovo. Since 2001, he has sat in the House of Lords as an independent. He has also served as a non-executive director of the American mutual fund Janus (2001-11) and the private Russian oil company PJSC Russneft (2016-21). He is the author of The Machine Age: An Idea, a History, a Warning (Allen Lane, 2023).

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  1. The Roots of Europe’s Immigration Problem
    skidelsky_Hasan MradDeFodi Images News via Getty Images)_immigration Hasan Mrad/DeFodi Images News via Getty Images)

    The Roots of Europe’s Immigration Problem

    Oct 17, 2024 Robert Skidelsky calls attention to the conditions that lead African migrants to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean.

  2. Britain’s Illusory Fiscal Black Hole
    skidelsky205_ BEN STANSALLAFP via Getty Images_starmer BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

    Britain’s Illusory Fiscal Black Hole

    Sep 18, 2024 Robert Skidelsky makes the case that policymakers should focus on stimulating economic growth rather than on budget cuts.

  3. The Enduring Appeal of Live Performance
    skidelsky204_Hiroyuki ItoGetty Images_live music Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images

    The Enduring Appeal of Live Performance

    Aug 21, 2024 Robert Skidelsky ponders why people prefer attending a concert or theater production to watching or hearing it at a distance.

  4. Labour’s Economic Plan Lacks Keynesian Ambition
    skidelsky203_Christopher FurlongGetty Images_rachel reeves Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

    Labour’s Economic Plan Lacks Keynesian Ambition

    Jul 24, 2024 Robert Skidelsky explains why the new government’s agenda is more of a gamble on growth than a concrete action plan.

  5. D-Day and the Threat of Total War
    skidelsky202_BettmannGetty Images_d-day Bettmann/Getty Images

    D-Day and the Threat of Total War

    Jun 17, 2024 Robert Skidelsky thinks understanding the causes and consequences of past global conflicts is crucial to preventing another one.

  1. hamada69_The Washington PostGettyImages_trump_speech The Washington Post/Getty Images

    Countering Trump’s Politics of Fear

    Koichi Hamada calls for a new set of policies that responds to, rather than dismisses, US voters’ legitimate fears.
  2. galen5_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpcongress Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Where Are the Democrats?

    Reed Galen lambasts the party for sitting by and watching America implode, in the misguided hope of winning the midterms.
  3. moyo34_Spencer PlattGetty Images_NYSE Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Signs of a US Recession

    Dambisa Moyo catalogues several indicators suggesting that the world's largest economy is headed for a slump.
  4. goldberg32_Spencer PlattGetty Images_USshipping Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Trump’s Trade War

    Less than two months into his second presidency, Donald Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on America’s three largest trading partners, with much more to come. This strategy not only lacks any credible theoretical foundations; it is putting the US on a path toward irrevocable economic and geopolitical decline.

  5. ruf1_MANAURE QUINTEROAFP via Getty Images_data center Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Frugal AI Alone Won’t Fix AI’s Energy Problem

    Boris Ruf explains why shifting the responsibility for reducing AI’s carbon footprint to end users is counterproductive.
  6. GettyImages-2176801438 TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP via Getty Images

    The Global South’s Path to Economic Resilience

    Anwar Ibrahim

    Today's profound global uncertainty is not some accident of history or consequence of values-free technologies. Rather, it reflects the will of rival great powers that continue to ignore the seminal economic and social changes underway in other parts of the world.

    explains how Malaysia and other middle powers are navigating increasingly uncertain geopolitical terrain.
  7. buchholz23_UCGGettyImages_ozempic_wegovy UCG/Getty Images

    America’s “HIP” Economy

    Todd G. Buchholz sees developments and breakthroughs in health, information, and power as grounds for optimism.
  8. velasco157_Robert GauthierLos Angeles Times via Getty Images_USborder Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

    Andrés Velasco reflects on the tragic fate of the country that took him in as a teenage refugee from Augusto Pinochet's Chile.
  9. chellaney185_Charly TriballeauGettyImages_unga_russia_ukraine_vote Charly Triballeau/Getty Images

    The Global Divide Over the Ukraine War

    Brahma Chellaney urges all parties to adopt a realistic approach to a deadlocked conflict and negotiate accordingly.

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