Douglas, Gesell, and the Economic Ethics of Ezra Pound
The poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a moralist who regarded economics as key to understanding human society, and thereby to solve most social problems. He became a prolific writer of economic texts, in which he espoused the ideas of two economists: Major Clifford Douglas’ social credit and national dividend, and Silvio Gesell’s perishable currency. Pound’s economic thought reflects deep philosophical and moral roots. However, it is unfortunate that, of Pound’s economic lessons, the morally most compelling ones are also those less economically sound.
Approaching Pound’s Fascism: Development of an Ideologue
This chapter analyzes some of the longer-term drivers for Pound’s turn toward European fascism between the wars, especially with respect to his artistic experiences and interest in ‘social credit’ economics. Critical discussions of Pound’s work on the ‘Malatesta Cantos’ is presented for its influence upon his later politics, as is his Fascist ‘conversion’ during winter 1932–33 — culminating with his only meeting with Mussolini on 30 January 1933 — reflected in his 1935 (but written in February 1933) study, Jefferson and/or Mussolini.
Gender Pay Gap in the European Union Labor Market
The participation of women in the European Union labor market has been increasing over recent years, putting an end to the notion that women are a marginal part of the labor force. However, such increased integration of women into paid work has neither ended the traditional gender divide between jobs nor it translated into gender equality in terms of economic opportunity and economic participation in the labor market. The purpose of the paper is to briefly discuss the gender pay gap in the EU labor market. The paper defines gender pay gap and provides a brief theoretical overview of the underlying causes of such pay asymmetry between men and women. Statistics provided for EU 25 reveal that the current policy attempts to reduce such a gender asymmetry still lack improvement in practice. The paper concludes with selected policy suggestions aiming to make a progress in the issue of the gender equality in pay.