Editorial

The current issue of transform! european journal for alternative thinking and political dialogue introduces some innovations. There are two changes: first, a change of organisation and of technical coordination behind the scenes....

The Left and the European Parliament

It is considered good form in some leftist circles – particularly the “far left” – to look down on the European Parliament: “What are you doing in this mess?”; “Decisions are taken elsewhere”; “Any change is illusory”… I...

The Return to Primitive Accumulation. Using Complex Financial Instruments

One of the marking features of the period that begins in the 1980s is the use of extremely complex instruments to engage in new forms of primitive accumulation.  Global firms that outsource hundreds of thousands of jobs to...

“A Billion Dollars to Save the Global Economy”. Crisis Summit in London

The group of economically most powerful states (the G20) have agreed on a package of measures to combat the global financial and economic crisis. The host of the summit, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, interpreted the larger...

Faced with a Crisis, Will the EU Manage to be More Than the Sum of its Parts?

In the course of its development the EU has been confronted by various complex contradictions which gave rise to specific solutions. Each of these stages involved institutions and agreements which left their mark on later...

The Mission of the Icelandic Left: Rescue the Welfare State

Steingrímur Sigfússon, the Minister of Finance and the leader of the Left-Green Movement, in conversation with Ruurik Holm from transform! europe on the financial crisis of Iceland. The wind of the North Atlantic has started...

Transparency, Financial Crisis and Tax Havens

Transparency has been a major topic ever since the explosion of the financial crisis. There are several reasons for this. We need more transparency in order to make the global financial system stabler, more predictable and...