Michael Tanzer

Globalizing the Economy: The Influence of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank

In this talk I want to focus on three issues. The first is the relationship between globalization and the nation state. The second is the relationship between the nation states of the world on the one hand and the IMF and World Bank on the other. The third is the historical context of globalization, and in particular its development within a long period of economic stagnation.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

The International Oil Industry: Recent Changes and their Implications for Mexico

A number of interrelated changes in the five years since the Cold War ended have had a negative impact on Third World oil producers. First, the continuing stagnation of the world economy and the shift toward other energy sources have slowed the growth in demand for oil products. Second, the Communist bloc, which once offered material support for Third World countries trying to develop their own oil resources, has collapsed. Third, this collapse has accelerated a trend toward privatization in the oil industry, as state ownership has been labelled a failure and private ownership touted as the only way forward. The result of all these factors has been that Third World countries, including those of the former Communist bloc, have been opened up to the international oil companies on a scale not seen since the 1950s, and on terms which are a throwback to that era of oil company dominance. In short, the balance of power between these companies and the Third World countries has shifted sharply to the companies. How and why this shift has taken place and its implications for Mexico are the subject of this article. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Radical versus Liberal Environmentalism

Review of Making Peace with the Planet by Barry Commoner. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

An Invaluable Work

Review of The World Social Crisis: Its Impact on the Underdeveloped Countries, Its Somber Prospects, and the Need to Struggle if We Are to Survive by Fidel Castro.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

The State and the Oil Industry in Today's World: Some Lessons for Puerto Rico

This paper deals with a topic on which I have written and worked for many years as an economic consultant to governments of underdeveloped countries and states in the United States. This topic has enormous implications for the future of many underdeveloped countries, and not least for Puerto Rico. Accordingly, the focal point will be the potential and actual role of governments of underdeveloped countries in the area of oil exploration and development, and the lessons that can be drawn for Puerto Rico.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.