Author: Citizen Rat

I teach courses in Economics and International Relations at Shawnee State University, a small public University in Southern Ohio. I also teach and train in Shotokan Karate.The opinions expressed on this blog are my own opinions and do not represent the views of my University or any other organization.

Democrats and Foreign Policy: Round 2

The recent    controversy    surrounding   Ilhan Omar   has  got me thinking more about both the Democrats and Republicans on foreign policy.  In reflecting on her comments, I am inclined to agree that her reference to "Benjamins" was at best, an unthinking resort to anti-Semitic tropes.  An     interesting article    in The Atlantic makes the argument that this kind of statement makes the sort of public discussion we need to have about Israel … Continue reading Democrats and Foreign Policy: Round 2 →

The Democrats’ Foreign Policy Problem

If one begins from the premise that the goal is to replace Donald Trump with a Progressive Democrat in 2020, there are  good reasons not to support Tulsi Gabbard in her Presidential bid. Then again, there are also  good reasons not to support Kamala Harris,   or for that matter, any of the erstwhile  centrist alternatives. My point … Continue reading The Democrats’ Foreign Policy Problem →

Evolutionary Political Economy and Philosophy

In this entry I will lay out a short, preliminary sketch of some philosophical problems in Evolutionary Political Economy. The reader may wish to note that this is part of a planned book length project on evolutionary political economy and that the problems I am writing about today are intended to form at least part … Continue reading Evolutionary Political Economy and Philosophy →

Janus: What is all this fuss Abood?

On June 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a vote of 5-4, ruled in Janus that a provision of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act  which allowed public employee Unions to negotiate "fair share fees" violated the First Amendment rights and the right to free Association of public employees (see also Ohio Revised Code 4117 ). … Continue reading Janus: What is all this fuss Abood? →

The Greatest Trick of the Devil

In a recent Article in American Affairs, economist Phillip Mirowski presents an interesting and cogent argument that Neo-liberalism is a well organized, well funded, and quasi-coherent vision of political economy. He argues for the existence of what he terms a Neo-liberal Thought Collective (NTC) which only partially overlaps with Neo-Classical Economics.  In Mirowski's view, the … Continue reading The Greatest Trick of the Devil →

Are some ideas not worth debating?

In an article in  the AAUP's Journal of Academic Freedom, noted historian Joan Wallach Scott draws a distinction between the protections afforded by Academic Freedom and the First Amendment. The distinction is an important one: the claim to protection for academic freedom  rests on a claim to expertise in one's discipline. In contrast, the First Amendment … Continue reading Are some ideas not worth debating? →

Economic History and Inquiry

I'm still thinking through the issues related to my last blog post and my research project, today's post will be rather short. Since I have some free time this week, I decided to do a little browsing and came across these two interesting articles on Economic History and Historical methods written by economists. The Historian's … Continue reading Economic History and Inquiry →