Maxime Desmarais-Tremblay

The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering

The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory

@leaypi.bsky.social Le socialisme moral c'est l'idéal du libéralisme sans le capitalisme @college-de-france.fr

That which is for me through the medium of money - that for which I can pay (i.e., which money can buy) - that am I myself, the possessor of the money. The extent of the power of money is the extent of my power. Money's properties are my - the possessor's - properties and essential powers. Thus, what I am and am capable of is by no means determined by my individuality. I am ugly, but I can buy for myself the most beautiful of women. Therefore I am not ugly, for the effect of ugliness - its deterrent power - is nullified by money. I, according to my individual characteristics, am lame, but money furnishes me with twenty-four feet. Therefore I am not lame. I am bad, dishonest, unscrupulous, stupid; but money is honoured, and hence its possessor. Money is the supreme good, therefore its possessor is good. Money, besides, saves me the trouble of being dishonest: I am therefore presumed honest. I am brainless, but money is the real brain of all things and how then should its possessor be brainless? Besides, he can buy clever people for himself, and is he who has [In the manuscript: "is. - Ed.] power over the clever not more clever than the clever? Do not I, who thanks to money am capable of all that the human heart longs for, possess all human capacities? Does not my money, therefore, transform all my incapacities into their contrary?

A bit long but here’s Marx from the 1844 manuscripts providing an exposition of Goethe and Shakespeare on the power of money that all happens to sum up exactly where we are right now. (Reminded of this passage by Epstein’s capture of prominent academics.)

The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought Special Issue on ESHET 2024 Conference Graz. Volume 32, Issue 6 of The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

The new issue of EJHET contains in-depth reviews of the new translation of Marx’s Capital, the Correspondance of Saint-Simon, as well as a book by Plouviez on French debates on inheritance in the 19th century, and one by Mbeki on Kalecki @thomaslalevee.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/toc/rejh20/3...

Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:

1. History of Mathematics
2. Group theory
3. A critique of pure reason
4. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
5. Introduction to moral and political philosophy

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Stay free

It's worth mentioning that he did his PhD at the University of Minnesota where he was supervised by Hugo Sonnenstein, before both of them moved to Northwestern in the 1970s

American approval of President Trump's immigration policy fell to its lowest level since his return to the White House in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, with a majority of Americans saying his crackdown on immigration has gone too far reut.rs/4k2SJgC

The cover of the book

A photo of Hont in 1987; he is sitting with a book and gesturing

Forthcoming: Seven hitherto unpublished papers by István Hont in "Political Economy from Pufendorf to Marx: Culture, Needs, and Property Rights" (@universitypress.cambridge.org), ed. Lasse S. Andersen with Béla Kapoussy and Richard Whatmore @standrewsiih.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/books/p...

In the 1970s and 1980s, Guesnerie helped to build bridges between mathematical economists in France and in the USA, as archival evidence can testify. @undercoverhist.bsky.social @jmtallon.bsky.social @nbrisset.bsky.social @pse.bsky.social

As I learned about the passing of Roger Guesnerie this morning, I came across a reference written by Leonid Hurwicz in support of Guesnerie's application for a position of Directeur d'étude at the EHESS in 1978. K Arrow also wrote in support. Guesnerie was elected to a position the following year

Picture of Stefanie Stantcheva at the AEA awards ceremony

Congratulations to @s-stantcheva.bsky.social for the very well deserved John Bates Clark medal! #ASSA2026

CfP: Philosophy and Economics conference (Nancy, 21-22 May 2026). Extended deadline for abstracts: 16 Jan. Any proposition at the intersection of philosophy and economics will be reviewed. 👇 philoeco2026.sciencesconf.org

Il n'y a en effet pas de nécessité. Et nombreux grands-parents pensent à l'avenir de leurs petits enfants. Mais en ce moment, certainement au UK, et peut-être aussi en France, les politiques sont trop tournées vers les retraités et la santé et pas assez vers l'éducation et la transition.

En tout cas, c'est une division politique au UK. Mais ce n'est pas clair comment on peut agir sur cet état par les politiques (autrement que baisser l'âge du droit de vote). Au moins c'est important d'être conscient qu'une société dominée par les vieux n'oriente pas les politiques vers l'avenir.

Je pense que l'idée est que les parents de jeunes enfants seraient plus préoccupés par l'avenir, possiblement la transition, l'éducation et la croissance. Alors que les retraités se préoccupent de la santé et de l'indexation de leur rentes.

2) Mais, il est très difficile de rehausser le taux de natalité par les politiques publiques. Les coûts d'opportunités individuels reflètent des facteurs sociaux à tendences lourdes.

D'autre part, en termes de politiques publiques: 1) Qu'on fasse plus de bébés aujourd'hui n'aurait pas d'impact significatif sur la trajectoire des émissions de GES à horizon du siècle, mais pourrait orienter la politique plus vers l'avenir (plutôt que de débattre sans fin des retraites) (2/3)

J'y ai trouvé deux points d'intérêt. D'une part, je trouve ça fascinant de mettre les choses en perspective à très long terme. Comme l'astronomie, c'est une fascination contemplative. (1/2)

David Runciman · Are we doomed? The End of the Species Are we doomed to die out? We find ourselves at the only point in the history of the species when the rate of population...

Thought-provoking review essay by Runciman. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Welcome to the age of zero-sum politics A stalled economic conveyor belt is behind the rise of anti-system, anti-growth parties on both the right and left

www.ft.com/content/30a4... Very good frame from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com

La Commission européenne propose de renoncer à l'interdiction totale des voitures neuves à moteur thermique dès 2035 Bruxelles veut autoriser les constructeurs à proposer "d'autres types de technologies après 2035" pour une part limitée de leurs ventes, d'après le commissaire européen Stéphane Séjourné.

💩💩💩 en permettant l'importation des véhicules chinois, le problème serait réglé... www.franceinfo.fr/monde/europe...

The Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University is now accepting applications for the 2026-27 Visiting Scholars program.
For a complete description of the program and how to apply, please visit the Center website:

hope.econ.duke.edu

Come join us!

Covid scheme fraud hit almost £11bn but much 'beyond recovery', report says The response to the pandemic led to "enormous outlays of public money which exposed it to the risk of fraud and error", a report says.

Much of £11bn Covid scheme fraud 'beyond recovery', report says www.bbc.com/news/article...

Larry Summers’ sexism is jeopardizing his power and privilege, but the entire economics profession hinders progress for women In 2024, only about 1 in 3 newly minted economics Ph.D.s were women.

This piece I wrote for @theconversation.com argues that the Summers/Epstein debacle reflects what the data show: systemic bias in the economics profession’s practices and culture. That bias influences who succeeds and who is sidelined. #EconSky theconversation.com/larry-summer...

Oui mais vous n'avez pas pensé aux chercheurs qui utilisent cette base pour faire des analyses bibliométriques? 🤦🏻‍♂️C'est une source importance pour l'histoire de la science contemporaine!

I am catching on past episodes, but found this one parochial. Swiss citizens also have cantonal and municipal direct votes. They distinguish between initiatives and referendums. Also, the phrasing of referendum question led to huge debate in Canada 1990s. Catalan ref could have been discussed...

Cycling journeys up by 43% in London, TfL report suggests Cycling journeys have increased to more than 1.5 million daily this year, according to a new report.

Some good news: Cycling journeys up by 43% in London, report finds www.bbc.com/news/article...

The Guardian Opinion Another Cop wrecked by fossil fuel interests and our leaders' cowardice - but there is another way Genevieve Guenther The fingerprints of Russia and Saudi Arabia are all over the decision text in Brazil. But a group of nations led by Colombia and the Netherlands offer hope

My latest: #COP30, global climate politics, and what happens next — for @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

in the immediate future, I expect it will lead to more in person surveys. Like chatgpt lead to more in-class exams. my experimental econ colleagues are now doing most of their experiments with online participants...maybe they will have to come back to in situ labs.