The emphasis of this discussion is that we need to prioritize the development of a proper transportation foundation, one that serves the needs and offers benefits to a broad share of, if not the entire, population before adding in those types of technologies that primarily benefit only a small segment of the population.
Continue readingAuthor: Matthew H. Benton
Lecturer of economics at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. He teaches courses in urban economics and planning, economic development, public economics, and natural-resource & environmental economics. His research deals with post-growth economics and sustainability, materialism and happiness, and economics education. He received his doctorate in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2011 and has been living and teaching in Bangkok since that time.
Economists and Corporations: Partners or Opponents?
Economists should challenge corporate power, not be cheerleaders for it; because corporations are anti-social, anti-democratic, and extractive institutions which contradict the most fundamental normative theories that are taught in principles, intermediate, and advanced courses.
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Capitalism and Democracy: Investors Prefer Stable Authoritarianism to “Dirty Democracy”
In this extended essay, I challenge recent political commentary claiming a mutually supportive relationship between capitalism and democracy, I shed light on the propaganda system surrounding such beliefs, and I argue that the Hong Kong protests stem from something deeper than defense of democracy – mainly capitalism at its core.
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Anti-Colonial Imperialism: A Critical Omission of the U.S. Development Model
While Americans have achieved on average a high relative standard of living and have enjoyed numerous freedoms compared to other countries, I argue that America is an inappropriate model of development, because it is an unsustainable model built on empire, which many countries cannot, and I would argue should not seek to, emulate.
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Suggested Principles for Rationing Road Space in Bangkok to Deal with Congestion
If the residents of Bangkok are serious about reducing commute times for all commuters, not just motorists, I suggest we take an honest look at the root of the problem and then I will offer some technical and non-technical solutions. One solution, in principle, is simple. Let’s start by removing all users so we begin with an empty road. Who should be the first to be allocated road space?
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Self-Labeled “Capitalists” Who Do Not Quite Understand Capitalism
If society is to have any constructive discussion about our economic system and possible institutional changes for a better, more sustainable, future, we need to reach a mutual understanding about the system we currently have. Part of the problem stems from economics education, in which the term capitalism is rarely used.
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Economists Should Promote Self-Esteem Through Non-Consumptive Means
Promoting self-esteem through non-consumptive means is more economic in the sense that it does not take as much energy and material throughput to achieve the same goal, nor does it come at the mental health cost of unrecognizably lowering self-esteem only to raise it back to a baseline level through the consumption of products.
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Why History and Philosophy are Critical for Teaching Economics
Why are historical and philosophical context important for teaching economics? It depends what the goal of economics education is. If the goal is to use economics to promote the current economic system, then it makes sense to abstract from value questions in teaching, because the underlying values of the system are already built into the mainstream economics curriculum. If the goal is to use economics education to help society, then it is important for a number of reasons.
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Protected: Does Singapore’s system of having stricter laws on crimes cause more harm than good?
Protected: What are the problems with the Japanese media?
Protected: The underestimated noxious drawbacks of urbanization
Protected: Is The Cause Of Homelessness Individual Fault Or Systematic flaw
Protected: Military service should not be mandatory – the case of “Rordor” in Thailand
Protected: The use of aviation taxes for railway subsidies
The broken concept of ESG investing
Protected: Ethnic Segregation: How should governments approach it?
Why cars should be banned from cities
Protected: An Excess of Red Tape has Halted Copenhagen in its Battle Towards a Green Transformation
Protected: How dangerous is a smart city?
Spain shows their showcase role with the introduction of 30 km/h speed limits in urban areas: Why further implementation is necessary
The Criticism Of The IMF’s Role In Greece’s Crisis
Pornservative ? How the West has changed and exploited on the Thai culture.
Protected: Should Japan restart using nuclear power?
Protected: Why the Dutch government should look to nuclear energy to achieve it’s climate goals.
Protected: The costs of war on terror: impact on development
Protected: The Ideal Tokyo Train System: Increased Capacity and Extension of Section
Protected: Sihanoukville : Cambodian hope at the mercy of Chinese gold
Protected: European Taxonomy: the need for “real” green funding
Protected: Climate activism in Germany: A discussion full of bias in need of reframing
Protected: BLM for or against Black communities
Protected: Paris 2024 Olympics : a promise of sobriety and local development
Protected: The race of Paris to reach its energetic goals by 2050 is bound to fail
Live well make art: community arts and culture as a solution to urban health and crime in the United Kingdom
Protected: Car-free cities : a realistic solution to urban pollution
Protected: Hourly vs Daily wage, Is this the time to change?
Protected: What Japan should do now to correct income inequality within Japan.
Protected: <strong>Australia’s declining water quality: The myth of free market environmentalism</strong>
Protected: Night Public Transport – A Solution Or A Challenge To Gender Equality?
Protected: Prospects for alleviating Tokyo’s population concentration brought about by telework and inflationary improvements.
Political Narratives and Corruption: The Case of Ireland
Protected: Bangkok needs to focus on its walkability — here’s why
Protected: Ride-Hailing And Delivery Services are a Curse, not a Blessing
<strong>Education increasing or reducing the inequality gap?</strong>
Protected: Eco-districts: the access to urban ecology
Protected: Thailand will never escape middle-income traps.
Protected: Waste management is just as big of a problem in high income areas as in low income areas
Protected: Why America should not construct a border wall
Protected: Why should we not rely on governments and politicians to solve climate issues?
Protected: Urban growth in African cities : a challenge for a sustainable development.
Protected: As a response to global warming becoming a burning issue, European cities are starting to turn greener
Allocation of infrastructure investments in Thailand
Protected: Are elections in Japan no longer necessary?
Protected: The dismal outcomes of tourism
The Price of Friendship: As Chinas investment in Africa slows what has been accomplished?
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The topic of the essay is very interesting, it highlights an alternative perspective on tackling urban crimes. It is well…
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The arguments you bring up to advocate for the reduction of privatisation of the educational sector are highly relevant. However,…
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Very interesting essay and I agree with you that the IMF and its policies in Greece had brought many negative…
I believe that such micro-mobility’s succes depends on the city and the way its transportation infrastructure has been planned over…
I agree that the privatisation of education has clearly become a problem for education overall. The fact that school teachers…
Very interesting to look at a solution for crime and an improvement in health through the usage of art. I…
Very interesting article! However, what Daryl mentions is interesting about what does Madrid offers as a solution. There are barely…
very interesting topic especially for europeans experiencing the life in Bangkok for a few months. I think you could write…
I really like your perspective and I think you make some really good points regarding different topics. Such as, climate…
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