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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. toubeau1_ Maja HitijGetty Images_marzvonderleyenweber Maja Hitij/Getty Images

    Europe’s New Power Trio

    Simon Toubeau foresees Friedrich Merz, Ursula von der Leyen, and Manfred Weber boosting the bloc’s security and economy.
  2. ostry6_Anadolu GettyImages_canada_axe_the_tax Anadolu/Getty Images

    Canada Must Learn From the Green Backlash

    Jonathan D. Ostry calls for climate policies to reflect social realities, instead of being based solely on economic efficiency.
  3. moyo33_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_USstockmarket Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    Will There Be a Sustained US Market Selloff?

    Dambisa Moyo identifies several indicators that investors and business leaders should keep an eye on.
  4. ahuq7_Jim WatsonGettyImages_trump_executive_order Jim Watson/Getty Images

    Trump’s Tariffs Are Illegal, but That Won’t Matter

    Aziz Huq sees an unlawful trade war as a window into America’s crumbling constitutional order.
  5. phassan1_Nava JamshidiGetty Images_afghanistanwomen Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images

    Let Afghan Women Lead

    Palwasha Hassan & Shafiqa Khpalwak urge the international community to support some of the world's most repressed yet tenacious people.
  6. sierakowski116_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpvancezelensky Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Saving Ukraine

    By choosing to side with the aggressor in the Ukraine war, President Donald Trump’s administration has effectively driven the final nail into the coffin of US global leadership. Unless Europe fills the void – first and foremost by supporting Ukraine – it faces the prospect of more chaos and conflict in the years to come.

  7. op_livingston6_cienpies_handsmoney cienpies/Getty Images

    Abundance and Its Discontents

    James Livingston

    For most of human history, economic scarcity was a constant – the condition that had to be escaped, mitigated, or rationalized. Why, then, is scarcity's opposite regarded as a problem?

    asks why the absence of economic scarcity is viewed as a problem rather than a cause for celebration.
  8. elerian175_Spencer PlattGetty Images_nyse Spencer Platt/Getty Images
    Free to read

    What Role for the Bond Vigilantes?

    J. Bradford DeLong, et al. consider whether the return of the “bond vigilantes” will become a persistent issue for major economies
  9. blanchard17_Money SharmaGettyImages_von_der_leyen_modi Money Sharma/Getty Images

    Maintaining Progress in a Post-American World

    Olivier Blanchard & Jean Pisani-Ferry identify four big global challenges that can still be tackled through “coalitions of the willing.”

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