https://znetwork.org/author/jasonhickel/ Independent Left News, Analysis, Vision and Strategy Sat, 17 Jan 2026 14:45:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://znetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/cropped-Z_logo_512-32x32.png https://znetwork.org/author/jasonhickel/ 32 32 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/is-china-doing-colonialism-in-africa/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/is-china-doing-colonialism-in-africa/#respond Sat, 17 Jan 2026 14:45:52 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1293593 Western politicians and journalists often claim that China is doing “colonialism” in Africa. This narrative has roots in US government discourse going back nearly two decades, and is exemplified by a US Congressional hearing that was held under the headline “China in Africa: The New Colonialism?” In the same year, the US business magazine Forbes claimed the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/is-china-doing-colonialism-in-africa/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-is-delinking/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-is-delinking/#respond Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1291609 The concept of delinking has gained traction recently among some political movements in the global South, including with an international conference in Mexico on this topic that took place last month. What is delinking, and how can it be achieved? Delinking was best described by the Egyptian economist Samir Amin. He started from the observation [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-is-delinking/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/the-struggle-for-development-in-the-21st-century-capitalism-imperialism-and-eco-socialism/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/the-struggle-for-development-in-the-21st-century-capitalism-imperialism-and-eco-socialism/#respond Sun, 21 Sep 2025 12:27:48 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1288857 Jason Hickel, a leading anthropologist and a key theorist of the global de-growth movement, gives the GRIP Annual Lecture 2025 at the University of Bergen. In this lecture, he presents his exciting new work on global inequality. How exactly do dynamics of capital accumulation and unequal exchange in the contemporary world actively prevent development in [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/the-struggle-for-development-in-the-21st-century-capitalism-imperialism-and-eco-socialism/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/imperialism-and-global-inequality/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/imperialism-and-global-inequality/#respond Thu, 18 Sep 2025 15:57:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1288713 In this episode, I’m joined by economic anthropologist Jason Hickel, author of The Divide: Global Inequality from Conquest to Free Markets (W.W. Norton, 2018), to discuss the complex and interconnected relationship between imperialism—both past and present—and global economic inequality. We examine why mainstream liberal frameworks for understanding the divide between rich and poor countries inevitably fall short, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/imperialism-and-global-inequality/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/1288412/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/1288412/#comments Thu, 11 Sep 2025 15:58:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1288412 Governments globally are failing to combat climate change because they prioritise profit over the planet — for real change, the capitalist mode of production must be overhauled. The climate movement is at an impasse. It has notched up impressive achievements over the past years, mobilising hundreds of thousands of people in marches and protests, and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/1288412/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/our-addiction-to-growth-will-lead-to-civilisational-collapse/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/our-addiction-to-growth-will-lead-to-civilisational-collapse/#respond Mon, 01 Sep 2025 15:27:25 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1288010 Our politicians don’t agree on much, but one thing most of them agree on is that growth is universally good. Grow the pie, they assure us, and there will be more to go around. Our guest on Downstream this week could not disagree more. Professor Jason Hickel argues that the mindless pursuit of Gross Domestic [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/our-addiction-to-growth-will-lead-to-civilisational-collapse/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-real-reason-the-west-is-warmongering-against-china/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-real-reason-the-west-is-warmongering-against-china/#respond Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:58:02 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1287980 Over the past two decades, the posture of the United States toward China has evolved from economic cooperation to outright antagonism. US media outlets and politicians have engaged in persistent anti-China rhetoric, while the US government has imposed trade restrictions and sanctions on China and pursued military buildup close to Chinese territory. Washington wants people [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-real-reason-the-west-is-warmongering-against-china/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-does-the-us-support-israels-crimes/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-does-the-us-support-israels-crimes/#comments Sat, 30 Aug 2025 16:20:14 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1287955 Why does the US support Israel’s genocidal crimes against the Palestinian people, even in the face of overwhelming international condemnation, at massive expense, and to the point of totally debasing the very frameworks of human rights and international law that it pretends to uphold? People fall back on narratives about the power of AIPAC in [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-does-the-us-support-israels-crimes/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/reorganizing-production-to-serve-life-not-profit/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/reorganizing-production-to-serve-life-not-profit/#respond Tue, 26 Aug 2025 16:01:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1287767 On 15 May 2025, economic anthropologist, degrowth theorist, and author of popular works such as Less is More Jason Hickel delivered a provocative lectio magistralis as part of the Third Annual GRIP Lecture at the University of Bergen, sponsored by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation’s Brussels Office. In his presentation on “The Struggle for Development in the Twenty-First Century”, Hickel [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/reorganizing-production-to-serve-life-not-profit/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/degrowth-is-a-gateway-into-socialist-thought-for-the-21st-century/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/degrowth-is-a-gateway-into-socialist-thought-for-the-21st-century/#respond Sat, 16 Aug 2025 12:11:16 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1287397 This conversation between JASON HICKEL, professor at the Institute for Environmental Science & Technology (ICTA-UAB) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and ANDREW AHERN, a New England-based ecosocialist writer and activist, marked the 5-year anniversary of Jason’s book, Less is More. It ranges widely over debate in ecosocialist thought and strategy, as well as the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/degrowth-is-a-gateway-into-socialist-thought-for-the-21st-century/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/why-capitalism-cant-save-us/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/why-capitalism-cant-save-us/#respond Sun, 03 Aug 2025 12:35:01 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1286885 My guest today is Jason Hickel, Professor at the Institute for Environmental Science & Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and author of two books: The Divide and Less is More. We discuss why a growth-based capitalist economy is incompatible with a livable planet, and what a truly democratic, post-capitalist economy could look [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/why-capitalism-cant-save-us/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/climate-socialism/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/climate-socialism/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2025 11:10:52 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1285039 I am writing this message to the millions of people who have been involved in the climate movement over the past several years. This movement has been an incredible force, thanks to your courage, passion and commitment. It has created a new public consciousness and a powerful sense of popular will. These are major achievements. [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/climate-socialism/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-capitalism-is-fundamentally-undemocratic/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-capitalism-is-fundamentally-undemocratic/#comments Sat, 03 May 2025 15:40:04 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283304 It is common in Western discourse to claim there is a natural connection between capitalism and democracy. Sometimes the two concepts are virtually fused together. I always find this odd because I value democracy, but there is nothing democratic about capitalism. Yes, many of us live in democratic political systems, where we get to elect national leaders [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-capitalism-is-fundamentally-undemocratic/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/jason-hickel-we-need-a-real-progressive-alternative-a-democratic-ecosocialist-movement/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/jason-hickel-we-need-a-real-progressive-alternative-a-democratic-ecosocialist-movement/#respond Fri, 25 Apr 2025 15:57:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1282968 As the global economy crashes yet again, wars and genocides rage, and fascism appears to be on the rise, the exchange of ideas taking place at the Festival of Debate in Sheffield in April and May takes on new urgency. On the programme this year is economic anthropologist Jason Hickel, with a talk titled Degrowth – A 21st [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/jason-hickel-we-need-a-real-progressive-alternative-a-democratic-ecosocialist-movement/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/no-israel-is-not-a-democracy-2/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/no-israel-is-not-a-democracy-2/#respond Sat, 05 Apr 2025 13:53:15 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1282038 US politicians like to say that Israel is “the only democracy in the Middle East”. But Israel is not a democracy. Not by a long shot. In fact, it functions as one of the most undemocratic countries in the world. Israel exercises total control over the West Bank and Gaza. These territories have no actual [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/no-israel-is-not-a-democracy-2/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-limits-of-basic-income/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-limits-of-basic-income/#respond Sun, 23 Mar 2025 15:17:08 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1281433 Universal basic income (UBI) has captured the attention of many progressives over the past several years. Simply put, it’s the idea that every citizen should receive an unconditional transfer of money on a regular basis, ideally sufficient to meet their basic needs. UBI has been promoted by a range of prominent figures, from Thomas Piketty to Pope Francis, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-limits-of-basic-income/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/studies-show-strong-public-support-for-chinas-political-system/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/studies-show-strong-public-support-for-chinas-political-system/#respond Sat, 22 Mar 2025 15:43:18 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1281389 Conventional narratives in the West claim that the government in China lacks popular legitimacy and only retains power through coercion. But existing evidence from the two main studies on this question – both conducted by established Western institutions – shows the opposite. These studies demonstrate that the government in China enjoys strong popular support, and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/studies-show-strong-public-support-for-chinas-political-system/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/no-the-united-states-is-not-a-beacon-of-democracy/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/no-the-united-states-is-not-a-beacon-of-democracy/#respond Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:19:50 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1280816 On March 4, Bernie Sanders published a statement saying “For 250 years, the United States has supported democracy”, expressing his concern that the Trump administration has taken an authoritarian turn that violates a centuries-long tradition of US democratic principles at home and abroad. This is not uncommon to hear from US politicians. Biden routinely referred to the US as [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/no-the-united-states-is-not-a-beacon-of-democracy/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/new-data-on-global-poverty/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/new-data-on-global-poverty/#respond Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:18:01 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1280120 Researchers have developed new and more robust ways to measure global extreme poverty, based on people’s access to essential goods. Jason Hickel, Michail Moatsos and Dylan Sullivan show that this data presents a more complex – and more troubling – story of poverty than existing narratives would suggest. In international development circles, most people are familiar with the World Bank’s [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/new-data-on-global-poverty/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/capitalism-inequality-and-the-myth-of-catch-up-development/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/capitalism-inequality-and-the-myth-of-catch-up-development/#respond Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:11:04 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1277708 Prevailing narratives in international development hold that poorer countries can and will “catch-up” with richer countries through the process of capitalist growth. But catch-up development is an illusion and is impossible for several reasons having to do with the structure of the capitalist world economy. Capitalism in the core states relies on patterns of net [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/capitalism-inequality-and-the-myth-of-catch-up-development/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/new-afterword-for-the-divide/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/new-afterword-for-the-divide/#respond Mon, 02 Dec 2024 17:39:32 +0000 The Divide was first published in 2017.  In the years since, many people have written to me, or approached me during public events, to share the impact it had on them.  I am always grateful for this. And yet as a researcher, I look back on the text now and wish that it could include [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/new-afterword-for-the-divide/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/gaza-genocide-empire-with-jason-hickel/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/gaza-genocide-empire-with-jason-hickel/#respond Mon, 11 Nov 2024 16:57:31 +0000 Dr. Jason Hickel explains Israel’s role as US proxy, and how the genocide in Gaza is intentional and necessary for imperialism. ]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/gaza-genocide-empire-with-jason-hickel/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/why-a-liberated-palestine-threatens-global-capitalism/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/why-a-liberated-palestine-threatens-global-capitalism/#respond Sat, 12 Oct 2024 15:45:41 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1273587 Why is Palestine at the center of the climate and colonial struggle? How are capitalism and the ecological crisis linked? Who really benefits from the exploitation of resources in the Global South? At the Transnational Institute’s Ignite Festival in 2024, Jason Hickel argues that the Global North—the “Imperial Core”—is responsible for the excess emissions and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/why-a-liberated-palestine-threatens-global-capitalism/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-central-banks-can-use-credit-guidance-to-force-capitalism-to-stop-climate-change/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-central-banks-can-use-credit-guidance-to-force-capitalism-to-stop-climate-change/#respond Thu, 22 Aug 2024 17:15:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1271208 It is clear to everyone that decarbonization is happening far too slowly. Even the best-performing high-income countries are not reducing their emissions fast enough to achieve the Paris Agreement objectives—not even close. And one big reason is that even though renewables are now routinely cheaper than fossil fuels, they are still not nearly as profitable. Returns on [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-central-banks-can-use-credit-guidance-to-force-capitalism-to-stop-climate-change/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/jason-hickel-and-yanis-varoufakis-a-vision-for-the-future/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/jason-hickel-and-yanis-varoufakis-a-vision-for-the-future/#respond Thu, 06 Jun 2024 15:59:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1267458 This podcast is released alongside the acclaimed new docuseries ‘In The Eye Of The Storm — The Political Odyssey Of Yanis Varoufakis’. Watch it here: http://www.eyeofthestorm.info Dr. Jason Hickel is an economic anthropologist, author, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. To find out more, go to: https://www.jasonhickel.org Yanis Varoufakis is an economist, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/jason-hickel-and-yanis-varoufakis-a-vision-for-the-future/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/climate-energy-and-natural-resources/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/climate-energy-and-natural-resources/#respond Thu, 09 May 2024 15:56:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1266096 Speech by Jason Hickel, Professor at ICTA-UAB and Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE, at the 50th Anniversary Congress in Havana. Thank you to PI for organizing this event, and thank you to our Cuban hosts, who have kept this revolution alive against extraordinary odds.  The US blockade against Cuba, like the genocide in Gaza, is [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/climate-energy-and-natural-resources/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/accelerationist-possibilities-in-an-ecosocialist-degrowth-scenario/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/accelerationist-possibilities-in-an-ecosocialist-degrowth-scenario/#respond Sat, 23 Dec 2023 17:10:17 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1259717 I want to make a brief intervention here to highlight an aspect of degrowth climate mitigation strategy that has so far been inadequately developed.  It is widely understood that scaling down less-necessary forms of production can contribute substantially to decarbonization, in two direct and obvious ways. First, it directly reduces emissions in addition to what [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/accelerationist-possibilities-in-an-ecosocialist-degrowth-scenario/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-double-objective-of-democratic-ecosocialism/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-double-objective-of-democratic-ecosocialism/#comments Fri, 06 Oct 2023 15:59:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1255386 We face a double crisis as the twenty-first century unfolds. On the one hand, it is an ecological crisis: climate change and several other Earth System pressures are exceeding planetary boundaries to a dangerous extent. On the other hand, it is also a social crisis: several billion people are deprived of access to basic goods [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-double-objective-of-democratic-ecosocialism/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/the-double-objective-of-democratic-ecosocialism/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/the-double-objective-of-democratic-ecosocialism/#respond Mon, 21 Aug 2023 15:24:42 +0000 The title of this week’s episode is taken from an article to be published in September’s Monthly Review. The author, Jason Hickel, talks to Steve about the topic in his third visit to the podcast. Before we look at the double objective of ecosocialism we must analyze the double crisis we’re facing – ecological and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/the-double-objective-of-democratic-ecosocialism/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/on-technology-and-degrowth/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/on-technology-and-degrowth/#respond Mon, 10 Jul 2023 15:25:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1249138 I want to address a problem that seems to arise repeatedly in public discussions about green growth and degrowth. Some prominent commentators seem to assume that the debate here is primarily about the question of technology, with green growth promoting technological solutions to the ecological crisis while degrowth promotes only economic and social solutions (and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/on-technology-and-degrowth/feed/ 0