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Robert Skidelsky

Robert Skidelsky

Writing for PS since 2003
215 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. 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.

  2. The UK Labour Party’s Green-Energy Debacle
    skidelsky197_Leon NealGetty Images_UKgreen Leon Neal/Getty Images

    The UK Labour Party’s Green-Energy Debacle

    Feb 19, 2024 Robert Skidelsky explains why the threat of climate change outweighs the risks of increased public spending.

  3. Robert Skidelsky on Keynes, AI, the future of work, and more
    mmuniz2_Malte MuellerGetty Images_AIrobot Malte Mueller/Getty Images

    Robert Skidelsky on Keynes, AI, the future of work, and more

    Feb 6, 2024 Robert Skidelsky argues that the best way to secure supply chains is peace, highlights three grave risks posed by artificial intelligence, challenges the notion that science and religion should be regarded as opposites, and more.

  4. Britain’s Post Office Scandal and the Rule of Law
    skidelsky195_ Dan KitwoodGetty Images_post office Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

    Britain’s Post Office Scandal and the Rule of Law

    Jan 18, 2024 Robert Skidelsky explains why Western countries are finding it increasingly hard to address official misconduct.

  5. How to Prevent an AI Apocalypse
    strain14_artificial intelligence drug development_ai Getty Images

    How to Prevent an AI Apocalypse

    Dec 19, 2023 Robert Skidelsky thinks that regulating artificial intelligence is not enough to rein in potentially dangerous technologies.

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  1. bloomberg7_Chris HondrosGetty Images_UScaloriesmenu Chris Hondros/Getty Images

    What Can Stop the Shortening of American Lives?

    Michael R. Bloomberg shows how a loss of public trust in public-health professionals is undercutting US life expectancy.
  2. roach163_ROBERTO SCHMIDTAFP via Getty Images_mikegallagher Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

    American Sinophobia

    Stephen S. Roach warns that fear has driven US policymakers to level a litany of unsubstantiated charges against China.
  3. kabubomariara2_Gerald AndersonAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_motherkenya Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Africa’s Prosperity Depends on Achieving Gender Equality

    Jane Kabubo-Mariara outlines steps policymakers can take to redistribute unpaid domestic work among households and communities.
  4. lacroix2_ Michael GonzalezGetty Images_texasUSflags Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images

    Texas and the Perpetual Crisis of American Federalism

    Alison L. LaCroix

    By asserting its right to pursue an immigration policy at odds with that of the US federal government, Texas is reviving a constitutional debate that recurred throughout the early nineteenth century, culminating in the Civil War. It is an ominous reminder that the perpetuation of the Union can never be taken for granted.

    highlights the constitutional threat posed by the state's attempt to impose its own immigration policy.
  5. james216_Dave Tschorn Dave Tschorn

    Europe’s High Noon

    Harold James

    With Ukraine depleted and overstretched, and with Russia posing a security threat to the Baltics and Europe more broadly, diplomatic and strategic coordination is more necessary than it has been since the end of the Cold War. Yet political leaders in Europe and the United States look too weak to rise to the occasion.

    worries that Western political leaders lack the will to take the risky decisions that security demands.
  6. alkuwari1_Getty Images_AI governance Getty Images

    A Breakthrough Opportunity for Global Governance

    Mubarak Al-Kuwari, et al. propose new international institutions to confront today’s AI-regulation and peacebuilding challenges.
  7. fubini11_Antonio MasielloGetty Images_meloni Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

    Why Is Europe Moving Rightward?

    Federico Fubini considers why nationalist parties are gaining ground in countries that renounced nationalism decades ago.
  8. krebs2_Omer MessingerGetty Images_germanygaspricesafd Omer Messinger/Getty Images

    Who’s Afraid of Price Controls?

    Tom Krebs & Isabella M. Weber explain why Germany's economy is paying dearly for the government's failure to cap energy costs in 2022.
  9. mazzucato64_BRUNO FAHYBelgaAFP via Getty Images_pandemic BRUNO FAHY/Belga/AFP via Getty Images

    How to Save the Pandemic Treaty

    Mariana Mazzucato explains what it will take to prevent or minimize the costs of future contagious outbreaks like COVID-19.

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