Critical Takes Newsletter No 3
Newsletter: 7 September 2024
UK elections, trade unions in Kenya and profits on a damaged planet
This newsletter comes to you in a cheerful mood because the United Kingdom, where Critical Takes is based, has just voted out one of its worst governments in modern history.
In the autumn, once the new Labour government has got its feet under the desk, Critical Takes will look at what this might mean for the power of the UK’s multinational corporations. For now, it’s fair to say that the signals are mixed: Labour wants more private investment to make the UK’s economy bigger, an aim which has traditionally implied lax oversight and tax subsidies for private profits, but also wants more effective regulation, higher wages and a more activist economic policy by the state. Watch this space!
New takes in June:
Julius Okoth looked at the obstacles which hamper Kenya’s trade unions from acting as a radical counter-balance to corporate power, focussing on the tea industry.
I argued that the growing crisis of climate and nature will put an end to the assumption of limitless profit growth; we should consider what this will mean for multinationals.
Coming soon on Critical Takes:
- Democratic public ownership as an alternative to private capital and top-down statism.
- Why challenging corporate power is an urgent feminist agenda.
Interesting takes in other places:
A US jury finds Chiquita Brands International, whose bananas you may have eaten, liable for having financed paramilitary death squads in Colombia. It’s a victory for victims and their families after 17 years of legal struggles, says Earthrights International.
This take from the Break Down in the UK points out that a “just transition” away from fossil fuels actually has to be a) a transition and b) just, yet the oil industry is already trying to co-opt this term while continuing to expand oil and gas production.
This article from The Hindu on the poverty wages of tea workers in Sri Lanka is good reading alongside Julius Okoth’s comment on tea in Kenya for Critical Takes.
Like to write for Critical Takes? Please read this.
Till next time, good luck with your work!
The Editor