Social unrest & population growth

From the First Industrial Revolution in England to the present, Malthusian (Rev. Thomas Malthus 1766-1834) arguments as a pretext for grossly unequal income distribution, rise in poverty amid economic growth, and to deflect focus from a socially unjust political economy to the issue of there are ‘too many people, too few resources’ in the world. [...]

US income pyramid and the American Dream

The US economy is valued at approximately $15 trillion dollars. The population is estimated at 310 million, of which an estimated 14% (45 million) lives below poverty (about one-third of Hispanics and Blacks live below poverty). Although the US was the world’s richest country in the late 1940s, the income distribution was not much different [...]

Policing the Eco-Policies

One of the most interesting paradoxes of city planning in Himalayan region is that, in spite of being ecologically rich and heritage rich countries, major cities in the region are most neglected. It is evident that the cities in the mountainous part of Himalayan region have grown rapidly in terms of their population sizes, but [...]

China to replace us as world’s no.1 economy

Just a few months ago, I wrote on the prospects of China’s economy when it replaced Japan as the world’s second largest behind the US. Relying primarily on IMF studies that speculated how China would surpass the US economy within the next two decades, I then argued that the state-directed Chinese economy was easily leaving [...]

Johannesburg faces rat plague

A health disaster looms as Johannesburg rubbish piles up from 3-week sanitation-workers’ strike Lucas Kunene, the DA Candidate in Ward 65 (Malvern in East Johannesburg) says he has seen rats running around the suburb as he canvasses. Kunene recently retired as Manager of Environment Health in Johannesburg and is an expert in this field. Blog [...]