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Robert Skidelsky

Robert Skidelsky

Writing for PS since 2003
219 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. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. The Myth of Central-Bank Independence
    skidelsky201_Leon NealGetty Images_BOE Leon Neal/Getty Images

    The Myth of Central-Bank Independence

    May 20, 2024 Robert Skidelsky thinks the time has come to transfer power from technocrats back to elected officials.

  4. The Language of Political Control
    skidelsky200_Getty Images_speech Getty Images

    The Language of Political Control

    Apr 19, 2024 Robert Skidelsky views recent linguistic innovations as manipulative efforts to compel “correct” thought and perception.

  5. Post-Capitalist Pessimism
    skidelsky199_In Pictures Ltd.Corbis via Getty Images_capitalismprotest In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images

    Post-Capitalist Pessimism

    Mar 21, 2024 Robert Skidelsky laments the absence of a redemptive political vision adequate to the public's growing economic disillusionment.

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  1. velasco150_PAUL ELLISAFP via Getty Images_voting PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images

    In Praise of First-Past-the-Post

    Andrés Velasco explains why Britain’s electoral system is better than all the plausible alternatives.
  2. slaughter105_JACK GUEZAFP via Getty Images_womenwagepeace Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

    Peacebuilding in the Middle East Requires Women

    Anne-Marie Slaughter & Xanthe Scharff argue that negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians must no longer be the province of men.
  3. varoufakis117_JULIEN DE ROSAAFP via Getty Images_macron JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images

    Macron and Europe’s Centrists Are Out of Good Options

    Yanis Varoufakis shows that an intractable economic conundrum lies behind the current impasse in French politics.
  4. quesada3_ Lokman Vural ElibolAnadolu via Getty Images_immigration Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Immigration Does Not Start at the US Border

    Carlos Alvarado-Quesada laments the failure of Republicans and Democrats alike to address the root causes of migration.
  5. landau4_Getty Images_AI money Getty Images/Anton Petrus

    Will AI Kill Off Money?

    Jean-Pierre Landau considers some of the underappreciated implications of an economy run entirely by machines.
  6. op_krauze1_Fine Art ImagesHeritage ImagesGetty Images_spinoza Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

    A Philosopher for Our Times

    Enrique Krauze shows that, given rising illiberalism, the seventeenth-century thinker Baruch Spinoza is as relevant as ever.
  7. snower8_Getty Images Getty Images

    A New Worldview for Troubled Times

    Dennis J. Snower proposes four principles to guide policymaking and global negotiations in the age of climate change.
  8. moyo29_Carl CourtGetty Images_FTSE Carl Court/Getty Images

    Navigating Today’s Frothy Financial Markets

    Dambisa Moyo offers a basic framework for assessing the risk of new bubbles and their potential spillover effects.
  9. asadullah16_ MUNIR UZ ZAMANAFP via Getty Images_bangladesh MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images

    An Arab Spring for Bangladesh?

    M. Niaz Asadullah argues that young protestors could help the country chart a democratic course and achieve sustainable growth.

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