System Change

Articles

Balshazzar’s Feast, the US dollar and the 'Invisible Hand'

1 week ago | annpettifor.substack.com | Ann Pettifor

My dear friend Frances Coppola and I were walking home last week and discussing empires - as girls do - when she reminded me of the tale of Balshazzar’s Feast. I had to confess to not having read Chapter 5 of Daniel (he of the Lion’s Den) in the Torah, or what Christians call the Old Testament. So let me recap…Daniel, a captive of the Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian empire, had witnessed both the power and the decline of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule.
Globalisation has shattered. What next?

3 weeks ago | annpettifor.substack.com | Ann Pettifor

Greetings dear, and loyal readers. Apologies for the radio silence. There are several reasons: I am working closely with the publisher on the intense editing stage of my book and trying to ensure that it acknowledges and incorporates the instability and insecurity wrought by Trump. The hope is to send it to bed before the end of May. This week I’ve struggled over a presentation to the Progressive Economy Conference - UK Economic Policy in the Age of Trump - at University of London’s SOAS campus.
Will the US bond market blow up the Global Casino?

1 month ago | annpettifor.substack.com | Ann Pettifor

Will another failure of the shadow banking system blow up what I call the Global Casino? And what will be the impact on households, firms and governments? The US bond market is tanking as the Bloomberg chart below shows. We need to stop talking trade, and start talking US Treasuries. Trump has aimed a wrecking ball at the global financial system Everyone is talking trade. Trade imbalances, trade tariffs and trade tensions. Trade it turns out, is truly scary. Trade wars lead to real wars.
The Trump Shock: A Lehman’s moment

2 months ago | annpettifor.substack.com | Ann Pettifor

Do not underestimate the gravity of the Trump Shock of 2nd April, 2025. Above all, do not underestimate the impact it will have on your pension, your investments, possibly your job, and your economy - wherever you may be. System Change is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Will Donald Trump tame the Global Casino?

2 months ago | annpettifor.substack.com | Ann Pettifor

As my ever-so-patient readers know, I am writing a book, that if I had the rights, would be titled: Fight the Power of the Global Casino. My publisher demurs, and is consulting the marketing department. In the meantime the truly back-breaking graft of writing about economics in an intelligible way keeps me away from this site.
Don’t be fooled. They lie as easily as they breathe.

Feb 24, 2025 | annpettifor.substack.com | Ann Pettifor

This image is lying to you. The two mentally unstable men shown here are desperate for your attention, but are not what they purport to be. They claim to be ‘logging’ professionals hell bent on hacking away at the thick undergrowth of government red tape and regulation, excessive state spending and waste. They are lying. These two men are acting on behalf of global capital and using their money, power and metaphorical chainsaws as demolition tools to smash up democratic states - across the world.
A Pan-African Payments Union

Feb 9, 2025 | annpettifor.substack.com | Ann Pettifor

The world is on the verge of a climate abyss, the UN has warned. Yesterday’s Guardian survey of climate scientists concluded that “the stakes could not be higher” and that scientists suffer “personal anguish at the lack of climate action” by world leaders. Mohamed Adow, from Power Shift Africa, agrees: It’s good to see the experts who follow climate most closely sharing their horror at the lack of action from governments.
War!

Feb 9, 2025 | annpettifor.substack.com | Ann Pettifor

A film company is preparing to make a biopic of John Maynard Keynes, and I have been invited to help deepen their understanding of his economics - a great honour. As part of my preparation I have been re-reading his great classic: The Economic Consequences of the Peace- a text that has been translated into a large number of languages, and that over the last hundred years is the only economic text never to have fallen out of print. Quite an achievement.
JD Vance and the Globalisation Set

Feb 9, 2025 | annpettifor.substack.com | Ann Pettifor

By choosing JD Vance as his vice-presidential pick, Trump has made crystal clear his anti-globalisation, anti-establishment, anti-strong dollar, anti-democracy, anti-abortion and pro-Wall St. credentials. What does not make sense to many is why Trump’s vice-Presidential choice of the ‘blue collar’ senator, JD Vance, is backed so enthusiastically by libertarian billionaires Peter Thiel and Elon Musk - both massive beneficiaries of financial globalisation.
Big Government & The Threat of Stranded Assets

Feb 9, 2025 | annpettifor.substack.com | Ann Pettifor

Before I begin, may I wish you, my subscribers, hearty thanks for your support through 2024. May I also offer my sincere hope that every one of you will have a safe, peaceful and fulfilling year in 2025. This post is about the third great challenge likely to confront the global economy in 2025.