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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. przybylski2_Alexander KoernerGetty Images_germanyarmy Alexander Koerner/Getty Images

    Europe’s Democrats Must Forge a Will to Fight

    Wojciech Przybylski & Goran Buldioski think European leaders' most urgent security task is to nurture citizens' resolve to defend their countries.
  2. mazzucato81_Tomas CuestaGetty Images_javiermileichainsaw Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images

    Governments Are Not Startups

    Mariana Mazzucato & Rainer Kattel

    By trying to running the state like a private business, Elon Musk and other anti-government types are creating a mess that someone else will have to clean up. Governments and businesses serve vastly different purposes, answer to different constituencies, and operate on entirely different timelines.

    explain why ongoing efforts to run the state like a business are doomed to fail.
  3. jkerry2_Ozgun TiranAnadoluGettyImages_black_sea Ozgun Tiran/Anadolu/Getty Images

    Dumping Biomass in the Ocean Is Not a Climate Solution

    James Kerry & Lisa Levin warn against the commercialization of unproven climate interventions like one targeting the Black Sea.
  4. eichengreen202_ Stefan Wermuth - WPA PoolGetty Images_churchillsterling Stefan Wermuth/WPA/Pool/Getty Images

    Sterling’s Past and the Dollar’s Future

    Barry Eichengreen

    US President Donald Trump says he wants to preserve the dollar's international role as a reserve and payment currency. If that's true, the history of pound sterling suggests he should be promoting financial stability, limiting the use of tariffs, and strengthening America's geopolitical alliances.

    applies three lessons from prewar Britain that the Trump administration appears determined to ignore.
  5. wei69_Alex WongGetty Images_trumptariffs Alex Wong/Getty Images

    Trump’s Misguided Tariff Formula

    Shang-Jin Wei criticizes the US administration's crude calculations, which disregard textbook macroeconomic principles.
  6. chellaney186_SAI AUNG MAINSAI AUNG MAINAFP via Getty Images_myanmarearthquake Sai Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images

    The US Must Change Course on Myanmar

    Brahma Chellaney outlines a policy approach that would promote stability, rather than perpetuating criminality and violence.
  7. fedyk10_Thierry MonasseGettyImages_ec_rearm_eu_annoucement Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

    Europe Must Move Faster to Defend Itself

    Anastassia Fedyk, et al. outline four steps European leaders can take to accelerate rearmament and mitigate the Russian threat.
  8. guzman19_Tomas CuestaGetty Images_milei Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images

    Will the IMF Get Played by Javier Milei?

    Martín Guzmán worries that the Fund will damage its credibility by issuing another politically motivated loan to Argentina.
  9. velasco158_Spencer PlattGetty Images_rustbelt Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    There Is No Method to Trump’s Tariff Madness

    Andrés Velasco sees no merit in any of the rationales the White House has advanced for launching a global trade war.

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