Skip to main content

Robert Skidelsky

Robert Skidelsky

222 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).

Sort by: Show:
  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. reynolds1_Bill PuglianoGettyImages_trump_industrial_policy Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

    Trump’s Industrial Policy Is More Continuity Than Disruption

    Elisabeth Reynolds thinks that rebuilding America’s manufacturing base has become a central pillar of the US economic agenda.
  2. bp oligarchy Photo by JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

    Oligarchy in America

    Though Donald Trump attracted more support than ever from working-class voters in the 2024 US presidential election, he has long embraced an agenda that benefits the wealthiest Americans above all. During his second term, however, Trump seems committed not just to serving America’s ultra-rich, but to letting them wield state power themselves.

  3. elerian177_WPA PoolGettyImages_reeves_speech WPA Pool/Getty Images

    Give the UK Growth Agenda a Chance

    Mohamed A. El-Erian sees promise in the current government’s economic-policy plan despite its imperfections.
  4. tharoor199_ Sonu MehtaHindustan Times via Getty Images_shahieidgah Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

    Islam on Trial in India

    Shashi Tharoor warns that efforts to replace centuries-old mosques with Hindu temples could trigger communal violence.
  5. reichlin39_da-kukGetty Images_dollarcrypto da-kuk/Getty Images

    Will Crypto Save the Dollar?

    Lucrezia Reichlin asks whether the Trump administration's stablecoin strategy can preserve the greenback's global hegemony.
  6. op_pei3_Hulton-Deutsch CollectionCORBISCorbis via Getty Images_zhouenlai Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images

    The Tragedy of Zhou Enlai

    Minxin Pei

    The reputation of China's longest-serving premier has fared far better than that of the Maoist regime he faithfully served. Zhou's political survival skills enabled him to survive many purges, and even to steer Mao away from potential disasters, but he could not escape the Chairman's cruelty, even at the end of his life.

    reflects on the complicated life and legacy of the renowned diplomat who was Mao Zedong’s dutiful lieutenant.
  7. velasco156_Alex WroblewskiGettyImages_dnc_harris_buttons Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

    How Liberals Lost America

    Andrés Velasco attributes Donald Trump’s return to power to Democrats’ embrace of both moral neutrality and moral preachiness.
  8. halland10_TERJE PEDERSENNTBAFP via Getty Images_norwayukraineaid Terje Pedersenntb/AFP via Getty Images

    Norway Should Cede Its War Windfall to Ukraine

    Håvard Halland & Knut Anton Mork say that the government's justifications for its war profiteering are disingenuous and short-sighted.
  9. bhide11_Anthony KwanGettyImages_deepseek Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

    Is DeepSeek Really a Threat?

    Amar Bhidé explains what a purported Chinese AI breakthrough does and does not mean for the industry.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.