Resources for learning more about Economics and Politics

[Max_V]

Hi friends,

In the process of learning more about the world and expanding my knowledge, I’ve come to the conclusion that my understanding of economics and politics is relatively the lowest. 

I was wondering if you have recommendations for resources that teach me about these topics. Be it books, courses, perhaps youtube channels, etc. I’m probably going to also pick an extra course in university to learn more, but for now I wanted to make sure I get a better unbiased base that I can work from. 

All help is appreciated, thanks! 

[Jj13]

Nassim Nicholas Taleb's books have great insights.

I also love listening to Daniel Schmachtenberger and Jordan Hall. They offer a kind of metaperspective.

[Milos Uzelac]

Michael Hudson is a very critically oriented economist and has also real experience in consulting with American banks and his book "Superimperialism: The Origins and Fundamentals of U.S. World Dominance" first published in 1972., was also bought to be read by the Defense Department, State Department, White House, and CIA officials. He might not be the best start for novices in the topic of economics and politics (though I myself think that I am still one as well with my current knowledge and logic and learning capabilities) but I think his work is very important for illuminating better how the political and economic dimensions of the world work and he is, I think, worth the visit at some point at the learning curve. Here is an article and video within it where he discusses his concepts and the contents of his book.

https://mronline.org/2021/02/09/michael-hudson-changes-in-super-imperialism/

"The reason that I’m writing a new version of Super Imperialism is that I was asked to by China, and I thought, “As long as they want to bring out a new translation and basically an update of the book, I might as well do it in English too.” I bought the rights back from Pluto and in about two or three months I will be reissuing the English language edition. The context for de-dollarization today by China, Russia, and other countries is basically “How do you make an alternative to an international financial order that really was designed from the beginning to benefit the United States in its own self-interest?”

Here is a more critically oriented towards the U.S. news source and article, where Michael Hudson also discusses his concepts and book.

https://thegrayzone.com/2021/05/12/new-cold-war-super-imperialism-michael-hudson/

"Well, I had originally wanted to call my book “Monetary Imperialism.” The publisher wanted to call it “Super Imperialism,” in 1972 because it was really the US moving towards a unipolar order, where it was not competing with other imperialisms; it wanted to absorb European colonialism, absorb European imperialism, and really be the single unipolar power.

And of course, that is what really has come about. The United States is trying to become the only dominant power in the world. And in today’s Financial Times [on May 5], one of the reporters said, it’s as if the United States wants to be the world’s absentee landlord and rent collector. So we’re dealing with a monetary and a rentier phenomenon."

"This new and completely revised edition of “Super Imperialism” describes the genesis of America’s political and financial domination.

Michael Hudson’s in-depth and highly controversial study of U.S. financial diplomacy explores the faults built into the core of the World Bank and the IMF at their inception which — he argues — were intended to preserve the US’s financial hegemony. Difficult to detect at the time, these problems have since become explicit as the failure of the international economic system has become apparent; the IMF and World Bank were set up to give aid to developing countries, but instead many of the world’s poorest countries have been plunged into insurmountable debt crises.

Hudson’s critique of the destructive course of the international economic system provides important insights into the real motivations at the heart of these institutions – and the increasing tide of opposition that they face around the world.

Michael Hudson is an independent Wall Street financial economist. After working as a balance-of-payments economist for Chase Manhattan Bank and Arthur Anderson in the 1960s, he taught finance at the New School in New York and is presently Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. He has published widely on the topic of US financial dominance, as well as “Trade, Development and Foreign Debt” (Pluto 1992) and has been an economic adviser to the Canadian, Mexican, Russian, and US governments, and to the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

“Michael Hudson’s brilliant shattering book will leave orthodox economists spluttering. Classical economists don’t like to be reminded of the ugly realities of Imperialism. Hudson is one of the tiny handful of economic thinkers in today’s world who is forcing us to look at old questions in startling new ways.” — Alvin Toffler, best-selling author of “Future Shock” and “The Third Wave”

‘One of the most important books of this century. It is the first work to synthesize the new and different forms which capitalist imperialism has assumed since Lenin.’ — Terence McCarthy, Columbia University

Also, I have just found the 2003 re-published edition of the full book in pdf for free here:

https://michael-hudson.com/books/super-imperialism/

Edited May 22, 2021 by Milos Uzelac

[Samjc543]

Accessible and integral ride through the core Marxist theory. It will help debunk the many straw-man arguments against Marxism we absorb growing up in (post) cold-war capitalist societies.

 

Seminal work on behavioural economics, where human psychology meets economics and decision-making.

 

 

[Max_V]

Thank you guys! Will check out the things you have provided.

Also, for anyone that is interested, 'Khan academy' is pretty helpful with refreshing on basics of the topics I mentioned. An awesome service, worth checking out.