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Robert Skidelsky

Robert Skidelsky

Writing for PS since 2003
222 commentaries

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.

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  1. samadashvili3_ GIORGI ARJEVANIDZEAFP via Getty Images_georgia elections GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP via Getty Images

    The End of Georgia’s European Dream?

    Salome Samadashvili

    Initial evidence suggests that the victory of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party in the recent parliamentary election reflects widespread fraud. If the West fails to support democratic opposition parties in challenging the results, Georgia’s 30-year-old democracy could come to an end.

    urges Western leaders to take steps to halt the country’s slide into authoritarianism.
  2. grigaitedaugirde1_Alex GottschalkDeFodi Images via Getty Images_icc Alex GottschalkDeFodi Images via Getty Images

    Belarus in the Dock

    Gabija Grigaitė-Daugirdė & Aarif Abraham explain why Lithuania is requesting an International Criminal Court investigation into its neighbor.
  3. jschwartz1_EonerenGetty Images_sustainabilityfinance Eoneren/Getty Images

    Where Financial Innovation Meets Sustainable Development

    Jordan Schwartz explains why new instruments must be standardized and integrated into developing countries’ economic policies.
  4. rzlawrence1_MEGAN JELINGERAFP via Getty Images_us manufacturing MEGAN JELINGER/AFP via Getty Images

    No President Can Revive US Manufacturing Employment

    Robert Z. Lawrence explains why there is no going back to the heyday of middle-class factory jobs for low-skilled workers.
  5. bailey1_The Washington PostContributorGettyImages_election_polling_screen The Washington Post/Contributor/Getty Images

    Is Political Polling Broken?

    Michael A. Bailey urges pollsters to stop thinking in terms of random samples and instead focus on diagnosing non-response bias.
  6. fischer221_MAXIM SHIPENKOVPOOLAFP via Getty Images_BRICSputinxi Maxim Shipenkov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

    Don’t Dismiss the BRICS

    Joschka Fischer thinks it would be a serious mistake for Western strategists to ignore the bloc and what it represents.
  7. krueger80_PUNIT PARANJPEAFP via Getty Images_india PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images

    Can India Become a Developed Economy by Mid-Century?

    Anne O. Krueger urges policymakers to resume key structural reforms and streamline regulations that stifle business activity.
  8. posner36_Scott OlsonGetty Images_trumpsupporters Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Why Many Workers Now Vote Republican

    Eric Posner explains how the failures of neoliberalism came to benefit the traditional party of business.
  9. ito41_Takashi AoyamaGetty Images_japan election Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images

    Japan’s Electoral Stalemate

    Takatoshi Ito considers the political and economic implications of the ruling bloc’s loss of its parliamentary majority.

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