<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Solidarist Economics by Matthew Mrnaçaj]]></title><description><![CDATA[My personal Substack]]></description><link>https://www.solidaristeconomics.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8Hd6!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8ecc5cf7-99df-4ead-956a-640811b0eb5c_1024x1024.png</url><title>Solidarist Economics by Matthew Mrnaçaj</title><link>https://www.solidaristeconomics.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 11:04:16 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Matt M]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[matthewmrn9085@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[matthewmrn9085@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Matthew T. Mrnaçaj]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Matthew T. Mrnaçaj]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[matthewmrn9085@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[matthewmrn9085@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Matthew T. Mrnaçaj]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[The Iran War's Economic Shockwaves: What to Expect]]></title><description><![CDATA[Assessing the economic impact of the war from a Solidarist economics lens.]]></description><link>https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/the-iran-wars-economic-shockwaves</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/the-iran-wars-economic-shockwaves</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Matthew T. Mrnaçaj]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 08 Mar 2026 14:22:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png" width="1408" height="683" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:683,&quot;width&quot;:1408,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:2127431,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/i/190241758?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4186e2a6-4511-4371-9b4f-20c74beeed5e_1408x768.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THp5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb533de7e-7266-4680-9fbc-641672ea3e29_1408x683.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Operation Epic Fury launched on February 28, 2026, and has since been escalating to more and more of a war.  Whatever the outcome of the war may be, it is very clear that the economic effects of it will reverberate throughout the world - even here in the United States.  </p><p>In this briefing, I will share some important updates so that you can understand what is happening and why (spoiler alert!) gasoline prices will rise even more (despite already climbing about 35% from just last week).  Many events have already transpired that seem to have different progressively worse economic effects. To illustrate this, I will present the sections as a series of punches in terms of their impact on the economy.</p><p><strong>Before I continue, the most powerful weapon in this world that can end all wars is not a hypersonic missile or a nuclear weapon.  It is prayer. I ask that you pray for an end to this war, all wars, and all sufferings due to war.</strong> </p><p>Now&#8230;</p><h4><strong>The Strait of Hormuz: What is it and why is it important?</strong></h4><p>The Strait of Hormuz is an extremely narrow choke point in the Persian Gulf that sits between Iran and the Arab peninsula where approximately 20% of the world&#8217;s crude oil traverses - in addition to natural gas and other materials / general cargo.  Specifically, tankers from Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Iran, and others have to pass through here just to deliver to ports around the world.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kzEq!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kzEq!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kzEq!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kzEq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kzEq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kzEq!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png" width="1200" height="600" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/af9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:728,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:9319990,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/i/190241758?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kzEq!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kzEq!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kzEq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kzEq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf9e18f1-ece3-4594-907b-b1c947191b70_3339x1669.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Screenshot taken from Google Earth. Strait of Hormuz is circled in red.</figcaption></figure></div><p>The map I obtained from the IMF below shows the traffic flows of tankers that traverse the Strait of Hormuz:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q88G!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q88G!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q88G!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q88G!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q88G!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q88G!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png" width="1200" height="575.2747252747253" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/bbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:698,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:1258664,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/i/190241758?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q88G!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q88G!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q88G!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q88G!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbbad2c86-ea84-4d65-a26c-4c55afca36d7_5434x2605.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">From IMF PortWatch: &#8220;Map shows the volume of tanker traffic flows at risk of being affected by the recent disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Affected traffic flow is tracked for each port visited after transiting the Strait of Hormuz. These estimates are based on AIS data.&#8220;</figcaption></figure></div><p></p><h4><strong>The Jab: Blocking The Strait of Hormuz</strong></h4><p>As of February 28, the Iranian IRGC have completely shut off any travel through this Strait - even attacking at least two vessels (probably more by this point) trying to traverse it. </p><p>Here is a visualization I made using ship arrivals in the Strait of Hormuz confirming that the IRGC are enforcing their blockade:</p><div id="datawrapper-iframe" class="datawrapper-wrap outer" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ktExa/1/&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0be6566a-794c-4b02-a5ec-25f09f0129bc_1220x848.png&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url_full&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f192a320-7de1-4b0e-9b6b-8b759b6120f8_1220x918.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:464,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Strait of Hormuz - Ship Arrivals&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Create interactive, responsive &amp; beautiful charts &#8212; no code required.&quot;}" data-component-name="DatawrapperToDOM"><iframe id="iframe-datawrapper" class="datawrapper-iframe" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ktExa/1/" width="730" height="464" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script></div><p>The drastic decline in tankers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz means that there will be less oil and gas available on the market in the short term.  While only a fraction of this oil and natural gas comes to the United States, gas prices will still rise since crude oil is a globally traded commodity.  My initial modeling shows that if crude oil hits $120 / barrel, there will be an additional 20% increase in the price of gasoline. </p><h4><strong>The Uppercut: Rising Maritime Insurance Rates</strong> </h4><p>With rising risk, comes rising rates:</p><div id="datawrapper-iframe" class="datawrapper-wrap outer" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/bb2Pm/1/&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/df3f9d24-cbe4-4c59-919c-9b1d6db3e154_1220x778.png&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url_full&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/085b8113-74a6-4900-9fca-0bf5993a3974_1220x902.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:457,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Estimated Maritime Insurance Rates for Strait of Hormuz&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Estimated Average Maritime Insurnace Rates for Strait of Hormuz&quot;}" data-component-name="DatawrapperToDOM"><iframe id="iframe-datawrapper" class="datawrapper-iframe" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/bb2Pm/1/" width="730" height="457" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script></div><p>The numbers on their face seem low - we are talking about less than 5% of a vessel&#8217;s value - however, the increase is astonishingly high: about an 1,100% increase in the rate! Of course, most vessels are not paying this - they can&#8217;t use it anyways - but it does show that maritime insurance markets in the region are essentially unraveling since it appears there is no legitimate way to price in the fundamental uncertainty of traveling through the region (by definition). </p><h4><strong>The Knockout: Gulf Energy Shutdowns</strong></h4><p>Even if we assume that the war ends within the next week and the Strait of Hormuz is open with insurance rates functioning as they did prior to the operation, there is still a huge problem: the shutdowns of the energy infrastructure. </p><p>To assess this, I found confirmed closures / operational slowdowns that were due to the war and split them out by shutdown type: </p><p>1.) Those due to direct strikes </p><p>2.) Precautionary shutdowns as a result of the conflict</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-HSE!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-HSE!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-HSE!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-HSE!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-HSE!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-HSE!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png" width="1200" height="861.2637362637363" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:1045,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:390162,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/i/190241758?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-HSE!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-HSE!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-HSE!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-HSE!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43ae9038-639e-47a3-8e5d-89a3b7414e54_2425x1741.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>These shutdowns are as of the time of my writing (March 8, 2026) so it is very possible that more shutdowns can occur as the war continues - whether due to direct strikes on the facilities or as a precaution since it is both a safety and a financial risk to operate a facility in the Gulf. </p><p>This is not only going to affect gasoline prices but will also affect the prices of anything that uses crude oil as an intermediate good (a lot of things). In other words, it is highly likely that we will see a general increase in the price level within a few months just from this operation. </p><p>The effects of these would be especially hard on European nations that rely on imported LNG (liquified natural gas) from the Gulf. To add insult to injury, it appears that Turk Stream and Blue Stream are also under threat from Ukraine while Russia appears to prefer to abandon Europe&#8217;s energy market entirely. </p><p>In that scenario, Albania is one of the few countries that will not have to worry about LNG prices for electricity since nearly 100% of their electricity is from hydropower.</p><h4><strong>The Potential Overkill: Financial Crisis and the Bursting of the AI Bubble</strong></h4><p>I won&#8217;t go into too much detail on this one since I am trying to keep this brief, but essentially the Gulf nations invest a significant amount of their trade surplus funds into US equities.  If - for whatever reason - they decide to withdraw their capital from US equities, this could spark a real financial crisis&#8230;especially since it could be the catalyst that bursts the AI bubble.  This is because many funds are overexposed to AI stocks (known as the Magnificent 7 or MAG 7) and resultingly would be the first equities to take a hit since it is a matter of asset concentration - nearly a quarter of the S&amp;P 500&#8217;s value is from the MAG 7. That could of course cause a chain reaction that leads other over-leveraged institutional investors to dump their holdings which would undoubtedly include MAG 7, and this would continue and negatively affect nearly everyone&#8217;s retirement accounts in addition to credit (both private and not) as a whole. In other words, this would be a Minsky moment resulting from financial fragility over the years.  </p><p>This is still a tail-end scenario but it does seem more likely to occur since there already appear to be liquidity concerns in the private credit market (restricted withdrawals from Black Rock and others).</p><h4><strong>Solidarity</strong></h4><p>The economic impact from this war will be real and they will be felt throughout the world. As with nearly all energy crises, the ones hit hardest will be those </p><p>1.) over exposed to the energy coming from this region and</p><p>2.) the poor since they spend a greater portion of their income on gasoline.</p><p>This is also why gas taxes and &#8220;climate&#8221; taxes are met with fierce opposition: it is a regressive tax that hurts the needy. A lot of people rely on driving their used truck with all of their equipment daily just to make a living for themselves and their family - any spike in their transportation costs will almost certainly be absorbed by them&#8230;in two ways: </p><p>1.) they pay higher gasoline prices at the pump so now have less money</p><p>2.) they lose potential work since their current and prospective clients are cutting back due to the rise in gasoline prices and general increase in living standards that result.</p><p>In an extreme situation where credit access is prohibited, this means that person has to cut back on many things (some of which might even be necessities). However, most will fill the gap through credit and pay the exorbitant interest rates (the sin of usury!).</p><h4>Conclusion</h4><p>Overall there are a lot of events happening and it seems like things are getting crazier rather than calmer by the hour, so I wanted to provide this brief economic assessment now. Things are constantly changing but - like I said above - even if the war were to end tomorrow, we would still feel the economic pain: albeit it would be less than if it continues.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Solidarist Economics by Matthew Mrna&#231;aj! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Christ's Mass]]></title><description><![CDATA[A poem on the Nativity. Merry Christmas!]]></description><link>https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/christs-mass</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/christs-mass</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Matthew T. Mrnaçaj]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 25 Dec 2025 01:15:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg" width="750" height="1095" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1095,&quot;width&quot;:750,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:145543,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/i/182540132?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!txHU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa162022a-34db-4815-8e9c-d9192b4307c6_750x1095.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Adoration of the Shepherds by Philippe de Champaigne (1602&#8211;1674)</figcaption></figure></div><h3><strong>Christ&#8217;s Mass</strong></h3><div class="preformatted-block" data-component-name="PreformattedTextBlockToDOM"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published</label><pre class="text">In the darkest and coldest time of the year,

As the festival of lights drew near,

People commemorating the Temple;

From Rome roared the Universal Census,

and all trembled.

A poor husband and a Virgin with child in the &#8220;House of Bread&#8221;,

Shepherds arrive in awe as they keep their sheep fed:



The brightest hour in history still keeping us warm,

Jesus Christ, The Light of the World is born.

The true Temple now breathes;

Rome roared but Christ decrees: 

On St. Peter&#8217;s tomb will His Universal Church faithfully preach.

The Bread of Life enriching our impoverished lot,

The Good Shepherd has come to lead and feed His flock.
</pre></div><p> </p><h1></h1><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Solidarist Economics by Matthew Mrna&#231;aj! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Housing Crisis: A Solidarist Perspective]]></title><description><![CDATA[Part 1: What Mainstream Economists Get Wrong]]></description><link>https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/the-housing-crisis-a-solidarist-perspective</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/the-housing-crisis-a-solidarist-perspective</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Matthew T. Mrnaçaj]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 04:49:43 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJkx!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb69dcb4e-ba41-4dfd-a42f-596cd0dbc6f5_1024x1024.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" 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1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJkx!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb69dcb4e-ba41-4dfd-a42f-596cd0dbc6f5_1024x1024.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJkx!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb69dcb4e-ba41-4dfd-a42f-596cd0dbc6f5_1024x1024.png" width="1024" height="1024" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJkx!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb69dcb4e-ba41-4dfd-a42f-596cd0dbc6f5_1024x1024.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJkx!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb69dcb4e-ba41-4dfd-a42f-596cd0dbc6f5_1024x1024.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJkx!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb69dcb4e-ba41-4dfd-a42f-596cd0dbc6f5_1024x1024.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJkx!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb69dcb4e-ba41-4dfd-a42f-596cd0dbc6f5_1024x1024.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">An AI generated comic summarizing the housing crisis</figcaption></figure></div><h3><strong>The Mainstream Cause:</strong> <strong>Supply</strong></h3><p>Mainstream economists and real estate professionals have essentially united in informing the public that the cause of the unaffordable housing market is a supply of homes that is way too low and insufficient to meet demand.  The solution they then propose is to build more homes - typically multifamily units - in order to increase the level of supply to meet the demand and thereby solve the crisis. These folk are known as YIMBYs - &#8220;Yes In My Backyard&#8221; - and advocate for drastic zoning reform and increasing (typically multifamily) development.  They also claim that homelessness is caused in a huge part because there just is not enough housing for everyone.  This logic is built on efficiency, mainstream economic dynamics, and a simplistic view of markets: building more will lead to decreases in prices and rents, and the crisis will be resolved. There are some housing economists who understand - from their years of experience - that there are other factors related to financial markets such as interest rates and general credit conditions, however this is not the predominant view among YIMBY activists and associated economists. </p><p>Centered around the policy discussions is usually the definition of supply and demand.  For the most part, when mainstream economists and YIMBYs discuss demand, this almost always refers to the number of buyers in the market.  However, supply typically takes on one of two definitions for them: (1.) the number of sellers/houses for sale in the market at a given time (market supply), or (2.) the physical inventory of housing (housing stock). The idea is that building more units will increase supply - under both definitions - and therefore bring prices down.</p><p>The reasoning is premised on simple supply and demand curves that one could expect to find in an introductory economics class: </p><div id="datawrapper-iframe" class="datawrapper-wrap outer" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/MP5ro/1/&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1eec82a8-89cc-4ab0-acf3-9fc4ff2e57fd_1220x740.png&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url_full&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/31f4b615-22c5-4411-a0f1-f28629b9c6ac_1220x810.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:395,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Econ 101: Supply and Demand Chart&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Create interactive, responsive &amp; beautiful charts &#8212; no code required.&quot;}" data-component-name="DatawrapperToDOM"><iframe id="iframe-datawrapper" class="datawrapper-iframe" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/MP5ro/1/" width="730" height="395" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script></div><p>Increasing the supply causes the prices to come down since, in these models, &#8220;equilibrium&#8221; prices are always determined by the intersection of supply and demand.</p><p>If this simplistic analysis is true, we would expect to see the following in the data: </p><p>when, </p><p>1.) demand is high and supply is low &#8594; prices &#8593;</p><p>2.) demand is low and supply is high &#8594; prices &#8595; </p><p>Furthermore, if there truly is a housing shortage, we would also expect to see the physical housing inventory failing to keep pace with population growth. </p><p>Well, what does the data show? </p><h3><strong>Why The Mainstream is Wrong</strong></h3><p><strong>Economics</strong></p><p>Using data from Redfin.com, I created a chart that shows how the number of suppliers and demanders has shifted over time since 2019:</p><div id="datawrapper-iframe" class="datawrapper-wrap outer" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/v4hIG/2/&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0265606f-d386-4b14-a7c8-ab43cbe079ee_1220x738.png&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url_full&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/31a8a6db-24d3-4c20-b9a9-63269df50446_1220x808.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:407,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;US Housing Market: Estimated Number of Buyers vs Sellers&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Create interactive, responsive &amp; beautiful charts &#8212; no code required.&quot;}" data-component-name="DatawrapperToDOM"><iframe id="iframe-datawrapper" class="datawrapper-iframe" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/v4hIG/2/" width="730" height="407" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script></div><p>As expected, the number of buyers surpassed the number of sellers in 2020-2022.  Since 2024, however, the number of sellers has greatly surpassed the number of buyers, and the gap appears to be widening. According to the YIMBY and housing economists, this should be great news for home buyers, right? That must mean prices have dropped substantially! Let&#8217;s see how much they have dropped since the beginning of 2024:</p><div id="datawrapper-iframe" class="datawrapper-wrap outer" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/rVHUI/3/&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f41c5cce-5192-41da-b117-542ae77b909c_1220x812.png&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url_full&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/aa9d1b17-cdf2-49df-924d-5c03b6f676cf_1220x946.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:478,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;S&amp;amp;P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Create interactive, responsive &amp; beautiful charts &#8212; no code required.&quot;}" data-component-name="DatawrapperToDOM"><iframe id="iframe-datawrapper" class="datawrapper-iframe" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/rVHUI/3/" width="730" height="478" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script></div><p>Since January of 2024, prices have actually increased.  It seems that having a surplus of sellers compared to buyers is not the death knell to the affordability crisis that many had hoped. Also, if market frictions prevent current supply from lowering prices, as some might argue, this raises a critical question: why would <em>additional</em> supply overcome these same frictions?</p><p>Furthermore, the YIMBYs would most likely object to the fact that this national-level data obscures geographic variation, and that the story should change if we analyzed individual housing markets alone since prices may rise in some regions while supply grows in other regions. To address this, I found data on the Charlotte, NC metropolitan area and the results are essentially the same. First the market:</p><div id="datawrapper-iframe" class="datawrapper-wrap outer" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/QTLsF/1/&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7526884d-b262-4423-9f43-20c0c4c7af49_1220x738.png&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url_full&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/52dc6a9d-7e3d-4f8b-b6bc-afdd29918c56_1220x858.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:432,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Charlotte, NC Housing Market: Estimated Number of Buyers vs Sellers&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Create interactive, responsive &amp; beautiful charts &#8212; no code required.&quot;}" data-component-name="DatawrapperToDOM"><iframe id="iframe-datawrapper" class="datawrapper-iframe" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/QTLsF/1/" width="730" height="432" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script></div><p>And then the increase in prices since 2024 (despite the huge and growing gap between sellers and buyers):</p><div id="datawrapper-iframe" class="datawrapper-wrap outer" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/c8Kmm/1/&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/bdccde3b-0d1e-4ee8-8ba0-e3e199afece1_1220x812.png&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url_full&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a0d8ab27-3911-48c3-b137-b771ffeef4e3_1220x908.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:445,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;S&amp;amp;P CoreLogic Case-Shiller NC-Charlotte Home Price Index&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Create interactive, responsive &amp; beautiful charts &#8212; no code required.&quot;}" data-component-name="DatawrapperToDOM"><iframe id="iframe-datawrapper" class="datawrapper-iframe" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/c8Kmm/1/" width="730" height="445" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script></div><p><strong>Housing Stock Arguments</strong></p><p>&#8220;But wait,&#8221; you might say, &#8220;That is only looking at the first definition of supply that you provided. There are not enough housing units for the population: it has been decreasing over this time period!&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s where it gets more interesting.  If you look at the actual housing stock growth since late 2020 and compare it to the growth in the population level<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a>, you actually get a remarkable finding: </p><div id="datawrapper-iframe" class="datawrapper-wrap outer" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/5koIf/1/&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d60877d3-736a-4ff6-a022-7e7a38567959_1220x782.png&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url_full&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7d902ca7-894a-4bf9-9cab-dabeae5a6b5a_1220x906.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:457,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Housing Inventory vs Population Level Growth Since 2020&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Housing inventory increased more than the population level since 2020&quot;}" data-component-name="DatawrapperToDOM"><iframe id="iframe-datawrapper" class="datawrapper-iframe" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/5koIf/1/" width="730" height="457" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script></div><p>Since 2020, <strong>the growth in the housing inventory has surpassed the growth in the population level</strong>.  How could that be if the YIMBYs are correct? </p><p>Furthermore, we would expect to see a &#8220;shortage&#8221; in the data.  The magnitude of the &#8220;shortage&#8221; can be gauged by assessing the difference between the total housing inventory and the number of households<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a>.  This would show the total number of housing units in the country that are not being occupied: an approximation of the gross vacant stock.  </p><div id="datawrapper-iframe" class="datawrapper-wrap outer" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6UoTw/2/&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/994bf3a3-a426-46b9-8b5d-100ada449475_1220x796.png&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url_full&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7728ce7b-88b8-449d-b5ac-6c6e3a68ee4f_1220x920.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:457,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Vacancy Rate (Approximation)&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;The vacancy rate is always above 14 million units - even when late 2020 is included&quot;}" data-component-name="DatawrapperToDOM"><iframe id="iframe-datawrapper" class="datawrapper-iframe" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6UoTw/2/" width="730" height="457" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script></div><p>If the physical housing supply &#8220;shortage&#8221; did exist, this number would be close to zero or closing rapidly. Instead, it <strong>remains above 14 million!</strong> This undermines the idea that there are not enough housing units for the population level and households more generally.  </p><p><strong>A Caveat</strong></p><p>Maintaining a healthy supply of housing is important for the national economy. This post is not meant to attempt to argue that supply is not important, but rather provide evidence contrary to the mainstream narrative that the drastic cost of obtaining housing is all due to some market or physical shortage. It is clear that something more complex is occurring. </p><h3><strong>The True Cause&#8230;</strong></h3><p>Now that I have offered empirical evidence contrary to the mainstream view, I encourage you to subscribe and stay tuned for the second post, where I will discuss the true cause of the housing crisis that transcends basic supply and demand. This revolves around the fact that housing is not a commodity like beans or corn, but closer to an asset. As such, prices will depend not only on physical units built or available on the market at a given time, but on other factors including credit conditions, investor activity, and the increased level of financialization over time.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Solidarist Economics by Matthew Mrna&#231;aj! <strong>Please click the &#9825;</strong> and <strong>subscribe for free</strong> to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>Population level is used since this is the only part of the population that is actually in the market / can purchase or rent a house. The definition of population level, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is &#8220;the civilian non-institutional population, which includes people age 16 and older living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia who are not in the military or in an institution like a prison or a nursing home.&#8221;</p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-2" href="#footnote-anchor-2" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">2</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>Number of households is defined as all people who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence.</p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[St. Jude Thaddeus: The Patron Saint of this Substack]]></title><description><![CDATA[October 28]]></description><link>https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/st-jude-thaddeus-the-patron-saint</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/st-jude-thaddeus-the-patron-saint</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Matthew T. Mrnaçaj]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 04:00:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gN8N!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5d401d8b-a73b-4b90-8c91-55bc366d0826_475x612.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gN8N!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5d401d8b-a73b-4b90-8c91-55bc366d0826_475x612.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gN8N!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5d401d8b-a73b-4b90-8c91-55bc366d0826_475x612.jpeg 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5d401d8b-a73b-4b90-8c91-55bc366d0826_475x612.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:612,&quot;width&quot;:475,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:57193,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/i/177437287?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5d401d8b-a73b-4b90-8c91-55bc366d0826_475x612.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gN8N!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5d401d8b-a73b-4b90-8c91-55bc366d0826_475x612.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gN8N!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5d401d8b-a73b-4b90-8c91-55bc366d0826_475x612.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gN8N!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5d401d8b-a73b-4b90-8c91-55bc366d0826_475x612.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gN8N!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5d401d8b-a73b-4b90-8c91-55bc366d0826_475x612.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Today, I celebrate the feast day of my confirmation saint and (middle) namesake, St. Jude Thaddeus, and I officially establish him as the patron saint of this Substack. About two years ago, I had the blessing of being able to venerate the relic of his arm - the same one that shared the Eucharist with our Lord and the same one that worked countless miracles.</p><p></p><p>He is the patron of hopeless causes and a martyr for Love. As an Apostle of our Lord Jesus, he speaks only once in the Holy Gospels, when he recognizes Jesus as the Christ and wonders why He doesn't reveal Himself to the whole world (John 14:22). Furthermore, St. Jude authored the shortest epistle in the New Testament - a mere 25 verses filled with profound wisdom.</p><p>To honor him on his feast day, I give him the final word with his brief but powerful epistle:</p><p></p><p> <strong>The Epistle of St. Jude Thaddeus</strong></p><p>Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James: to them that are beloved in God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called. Mercy unto you, and peace, and charity be fulfilled. </p><p></p><p>Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common salvation, I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. For certain men are secretly entered in, (who were written of long ago unto this judgment,) ungodly men, turning the grace of our Lord God into riotousness, and denying the only sovereign Ruler, and our Lord Jesus Christ. </p><p></p><p>I will therefore admonish you, though ye once knew all things, that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, did afterwards destroy them that believed not: And the angels who kept not their principality, but forsook their own habitation, he hath reserved under darkness in everlasting chains, unto the judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrha, and the neighbouring cities, in like manner, having given themselves to fornication, and going after other flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. In like manner these men also defile the flesh, and despise dominion, and blaspheme majesty. </p><p></p><p>When Michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses, he durst not bring against him the judgment of railing speech, but said: The Lord command thee. But these men blaspheme whatever things they know not: and what things soever they naturally know, like dumb beasts, in these they are corrupted. Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain: and after the error of Balaam they have for reward poured out themselves, and have perished in the contradiction of Core. </p><p></p><p>These are spots in their banquets, feasting together without fear, feeding themselves, clouds without water, which are carried about by winds, trees of the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own confusion; wandering stars, to whom the storm of darkness is reserved for ever. Now of these Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying: Behold, the Lord cometh with thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to reprove all the ungodly for all the works of their ungodliness, whereby they have done ungodly, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against God. </p><p></p><p>These are murmurers, full of complaints, walking according to their own desires, and their mouth speaketh proud things, admiring persons for gain's sake. </p><p></p><p>But you, my dearly beloved, be mindful of the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who told you, that in the last time there should come mockers, walking according to their own desires in ungodlinesses. These are they, who separate themselves, sensual men, having not the Spirit. </p><p></p><p>But you, my beloved, building yourselves upon you most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto life everlasting. And some indeed reprove, being judged: but others save, pulling them out of the fire. And on others have mercy, in fear, hating also the spotted garment which is carnal. </p><p></p><p>Now to him who is able to preserve you without sin, and to present you spotless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the only God our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and magnificence, empire and power, before all ages, and now, and for all ages of ages. Amen. </p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Argentina Bailouts and Venezuela Boat Bombings: A Neo-Monroe Response to Chinese Encroachment in the Western Hemisphere]]></title><description><![CDATA[A brief realist geopolitical analysis from the perspective of a Solidarist economist.]]></description><link>https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/argentina-bailouts-and-venezuela</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/argentina-bailouts-and-venezuela</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Matthew T. Mrnaçaj]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 25 Oct 2025 13:07:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!judp!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F075dec67-1366-480a-bb58-cf75c8e1a7e4_1024x608.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!judp!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F075dec67-1366-480a-bb58-cf75c8e1a7e4_1024x608.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!judp!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F075dec67-1366-480a-bb58-cf75c8e1a7e4_1024x608.png 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/075dec67-1366-480a-bb58-cf75c8e1a7e4_1024x608.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;normal&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!judp!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F075dec67-1366-480a-bb58-cf75c8e1a7e4_1024x608.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!judp!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F075dec67-1366-480a-bb58-cf75c8e1a7e4_1024x608.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!judp!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F075dec67-1366-480a-bb58-cf75c8e1a7e4_1024x608.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!judp!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F075dec67-1366-480a-bb58-cf75c8e1a7e4_1024x608.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" 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y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Argentina Bailouts and Venezuela Boat Bombings: A Neo-Monroe Response to Chinese Encroachment in the Western Hemisphere</figcaption></figure></div><p>Turn on the TV over the past couple of months and you&#8217;ll see that the United States military has conducted repeated strikes on vessels off the coast of Venezuela on a nearly weekly basis, officially described as counternarcotics operations.  Additionally, the United States has provided Argentina with another bailout totaling $40 billion.  </p><p>In this article, I argue that these two events are actually connected and are part of a real shift in the United States&#8217; security strategy aimed at curbing China&#8217;s strong and growing influence in the Western Hemisphere. </p><p>But first&#8230;</p><p><em>To be clear, this analysis applies realist international relations theory to recent events in Latin America. I believe this framework best explains President Trump&#8217;s approach to foreign policy.  The goal of this analysis is to <strong>understand</strong> these events through the lens of rational hegemonic challenges under conditions of international anarchy - not to endorse or condemn them.</em></p><p>Now, let me first provide some history on the foreign affairs between the People&#8217;s Republic of China and the Western Hemisphere. </p><h3><strong>2005-2024: China&#8217;s Gradual Penetration of America&#8217;s Backyard</strong></h3><p>In 2006, China invested nearly $230 million in Argentina. Since then, they have invested approximately <strong>$30 billion</strong> more - notably in lithium mining, energy, and infrastructure projects (according to data compiled by Urdinez &amp; Myers (2024) although precise figures vary depending on the inclusion of announced versus completed projects).<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> </p><p>And that&#8217;s only in Argentina.  The below graphic visualizes China&#8217;s foreign direct investment (FDI) into key Latin American nations over the past 20 years:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BFKj!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BFKj!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BFKj!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BFKj!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BFKj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BFKj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png" width="1456" height="878" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:878,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:283258,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/i/176765102?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BFKj!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BFKj!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BFKj!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BFKj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42752bec-b52b-48e8-aa81-28970ced305a_1476x890.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Francisco Urdinez and Margaret Myers (2024) &#8220;Regional Repository of Chinese Investments in Latin America&#8221;, ICLAC and Inter-American Dialogue.</figcaption></figure></div><p>Most notable is the fact that China has focused predominantly on investments targeting energy and mining - many of which are lithium and solar - in the Western Hemisphere while simultaneously competing with the United States (the regional hegemon) specifically in these or adjacent industries. </p><p>In addition to FDI from China to those Latin American nations, Venezuela has received nearly half (49%) of all of Chinese development finance institutional (DFI) loans since 2005 - a testament to Beijing&#8217;s strategic commitment to the oil-rich socialist nation.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a></p><p>The trading relationship between China and the region is also very telling over this time period: </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sl-_!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sl-_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sl-_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sl-_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sl-_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sl-_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png" width="900" height="900" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:900,&quot;width&quot;:900,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sl-_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sl-_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sl-_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sl-_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1882f3f-b258-4386-8a64-90e4fca6ece0_900x900.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Additionally, China has built or supported many strategic structures.  The Center for Strategic &amp; International Studies released a report identifying ports - some even in Mexico - with considerable risk / Chinese influence.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-3" href="#footnote-3" target="_self">3</a>  </p><p>To make matters even more drastic, China, via an arm of their People&#8217;s Liberation Army (PLA), has been operating its own space station in Argentina since 2018 that many intelligence officials believe may also serve as a military spy base.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-4" href="#footnote-4" target="_self">4</a> </p><h3><strong>2025: The Regional Hegemon&#8217;s Neo-Monroe Response</strong></h3><p>This brings us to the year of our Lord 2025.  </p><p>The beginning of the year saw the peaceful transfer of power from the Biden administration to the Trump administration and - with that - a de facto <strong>regime change</strong>. </p><p>The new regime rejects the foreign policy liberalism of its predecessors and instead operates within a realist view and understanding of international relations.  Recognizing this shift is critical to understanding how President Trump&#8217;s administration approaches international challenges.  </p><p>As such, a new international relations paradigm necessitates a new National Defense Strategy - and Secretary of Defense Hegseth tasked the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, to lead the effort in preparing one.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-5" href="#footnote-5" target="_self">5</a></p><p>In late August, a draft of the National Defense Strategy was provided to Hegseth with a fundamental takeaway: defense should focus on the United States and the Western Hemisphere.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-6" href="#footnote-6" target="_self">6</a>  While this might seem like common sense for most people, this is a stark departure from the previous regime&#8217;s focus on containing or dealing with perceived threats in the East (notably Russia and China).  This update does not mean that we will not deal with the threats posed by these countries, but rather that we will focus on our geographic sphere of influence: the Western Hemisphere. </p><p>China&#8217;s strong and growing presence in the Western Hemisphere has been indirectly challenging the regional hegemon where it matters most for years. The difference is that now the hegemon&#8217;s regime is realist, and its strategy is to maintain its regional control while denying economic and military space to its identified chief adversary / hegemonic challenger.</p><h4><strong>Argentina</strong></h4><p>Argentina&#8217;s economic woes should come as no shock to anyone who has studied the economic history of the middle-income nation.  Sovereign debt defaults and sudden stops mark the nation&#8217;s recent history, and with the election of President Milei, the situation would only get worse as liberal economic policies of &#8220;tough medicine&#8221; austerity and (later revised) plans to dollarize the economy would essentially be paralleling the events that led to the 2001 default.  To add insult to injury, Milei&#8217;s crawling peg approach - an attempt to weaken the peso to the dollar - is failing and Argentina&#8217;s trade deficit has only been expanding: directly contributing to the depletion of foreign currency reserves.  </p><p>This is where China enters this year: they have an $18 billion currency swap arrangement to support Argentina&#8217;s (quickly depleting) reserves until 2026 - and the United States is clearly not happy with that.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-7" href="#footnote-7" target="_self">7</a>  As a response, the United States Treasury provided President Milei with an initial <strong>$20 billion </strong>currency swap package earlier this month which was later modified to include an additional <strong>$20 billion</strong> private investment<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-8" href="#footnote-8" target="_self">8</a> - a total of nearly <strong>double</strong> what China would have provided - to support Argentina&#8217;s peso and external obligations all in an effort to drive Argentina away from China&#8217;s economic sphere of influence.  </p><p>By supporting Argentina&#8217;s Milei, the United States is hoping - most likely even conditioning the credit swap and future private sector investment on - Argentina completely cutting its reliance on China.  </p><h4><strong>Venezuela</strong></h4><p>Venezuela has suffered a severe economic crisis since 2010, beginning under Hugo Chavez and continuing under Nicolas Maduro.  </p><p>In desperate need of economic support and a natural ideological ally of the Chinese Communist Party, Maduro has been strengthening his relationship with Chairman Xi Jinping over the years, but their relationship appears to have solidified this year.  </p><p>In early July, China signed over 600 bilateral agreements with Venezuela focusing on energy and infrastructure.  Additionally, on August 14th, while at the First Bolivarian Congress on Teacher Education, President Maduro showcased a direct satellite smartphone that Chairman Xi gifted him in which the two heads of state can communicate directly without worry of espionage<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-9" href="#footnote-9" target="_self">9</a>.  That very same day, President Maduro also met with the Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela, Lan Hu, to further discuss the economic and technological progress that China has a stake in. </p><p>In late August of 2025, China (via a private Chinese oil firm) initiated the development of two new oilfields expected to produce 60,000 barrels of crude oil a day by the end of 2026.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-10" href="#footnote-10" target="_self">10</a></p><p>The United States responded.</p><p>On September 1st, the United States initiated its campaign of blowing up boats off the coast of Venezuela that it claimed were drug-containing vessels. Later that day, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro publicly showcased the same phone that was gifted to him by Chairman Xi on TV and stated that &#8220;Americans can&#8217;t hack [it].&#8221;<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-11" href="#footnote-11" target="_self">11</a></p><p>In response to the attack, China dispatched a warship to the Caribbean (although it is technically only for medical use / support) shortly after that would visit a slew of countries in Central America: a clear challenge to Washington.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-12" href="#footnote-12" target="_self">12</a>  </p><p>Since then, the United States has continued to blow up boats off the coast of Venezuela and has even brought troops to the Caribbean: closer to Maduro. </p><p>It appears that the next major escalation - as of the time of this writing - will be a full-scale regime change operation.  This would have - in principle - the same effect of the timeless Monroe doctrine: deter (neo-) colonialism and assert the United States as the dominant hegemon in this hemisphere. </p><h3><strong>Conclusion</strong></h3><p>That concludes my realist analysis of the geopolitical situation in Latin America. While I have leveraged my economic background to understand the strategic logic, I plan to provide a true solidarist response that integrates Catholic Social Teaching, just war theory, and other ethical considerations.  Stay tuned and thank you for reading!</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z7lF!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dd089fb-19cb-4ae3-af38-3531284fd8a3_1024x608.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z7lF!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dd089fb-19cb-4ae3-af38-3531284fd8a3_1024x608.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z7lF!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dd089fb-19cb-4ae3-af38-3531284fd8a3_1024x608.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z7lF!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dd089fb-19cb-4ae3-af38-3531284fd8a3_1024x608.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z7lF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dd089fb-19cb-4ae3-af38-3531284fd8a3_1024x608.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z7lF!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dd089fb-19cb-4ae3-af38-3531284fd8a3_1024x608.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z7lF!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dd089fb-19cb-4ae3-af38-3531284fd8a3_1024x608.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z7lF!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dd089fb-19cb-4ae3-af38-3531284fd8a3_1024x608.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z7lF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dd089fb-19cb-4ae3-af38-3531284fd8a3_1024x608.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Argentina Bailouts and Venezuela Boat Bombings: A Neo-Monroe Response to Chinese Encroachment in the Western Hemisphere</figcaption></figure></div><p></p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>Francisco Urdinez and Margaret Myers (2024) &#8220;Regional Repository of Chinese Investments in Latin America&#8221;, ICLAC and Inter-American Dialogue.</p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-2" href="#footnote-anchor-2" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">2</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/chinas-new-playbook-in-latin-america/">China&#8217;s New Playbook for Latin America</a></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-3" href="#footnote-anchor-3" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">3</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://features.csis.org/no-safe-harbor-china-ports/">No Safe Harbor: Evaluating the Risk of China&#8217;s Port Projects in Latin America and the Caribbean</a></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-4" href="#footnote-anchor-4" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">4</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://features.csis.org/hiddenreach/china-ground-stations-space/">Eyes on the Skies: China&#8217;s Growing Space Footprint in South America</a></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-5" href="#footnote-anchor-5" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">5</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://media.defense.gov/2025/May/02/2003703230/-1/-1/1/MEMORANDUM-DIRECTING-THE-DEVELOPMENT-OF-THE-2025-NATIONAL-DEFENSE-STRATEGY.PDF">Memorandum Directing the Development of the 2025 National Defense Strategy</a></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-6" href="#footnote-anchor-6" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">6</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/05/pentagon-national-defense-strategy-china-homeland-western-hemisphere-00546310">Pentagon plan prioritizes homeland over China threat - POLITICO</a></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-7" href="#footnote-anchor-7" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">7</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/china-us-clash-over-major-argentina-currency-swap-line-2025-04-08/">China, US clash over major Argentina currency swap line | Reuters</a></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-8" href="#footnote-anchor-8" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">8</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://buenosairesherald.com/economics/bessent-u-s-working-on-new-us20-billion-private-fund-facility-for-argentina">Bessent: US working on new US$20 billion private fund facility for Argentina - Buenos Aires Herald</a></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-9" href="#footnote-anchor-9" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">9</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://www.rfi.fr/cn/%E7%BE%8E%E6%B4%B2/20250824-%E7%BE%8E%E5%A7%94%E5%85%B3%E7%B3%BB%E7%B4%A7%E5%BC%A0%E5%8A%A0%E5%89%A7-%E9%A9%AC%E6%9D%9C%E7%BD%97%E7%A7%80%E4%B9%A0%E8%BF%91%E5%B9%B3-%E4%BA%B2%E8%B5%A0-%E5%8D%8E%E4%B8%BA%E6%89%8B%E6%9C%BA%E7%AD%89%E5%AF%B9%E5%8D%8E%E7%A4%BA%E5%A5%BD">Tensions between the US and the U.S. Commission intensified, and Maduro showed Xi Jinping&#8217;s &#8220;personal gift&#8221; of Huawei mobile phones to China</a></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-10" href="#footnote-anchor-10" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">10</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/private-chinese-firm-producing-oil-venezuela-under-rare-20-year-pact-source-says-2025-08-22/">Exclusive: Private Chinese firm producing oil in Venezuela under rare 20-year pact, source says | Reuters</a></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-11" href="#footnote-anchor-11" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">11</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/venezuelas-maduro-shows-off-huawei-175525390.html">Venezuela&#8217;s Maduro shows off Huawei phone gifted from China&#8217;s Xi</a></p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-12" href="#footnote-anchor-12" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">12</a><div class="footnote-content"><p><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/china-sends-navy-ship-america-backyard-2126157">China Sends Navy Ship to America&#8217;s Doorstep - Newsweek</a></p><p></p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Now is the Time for Solidarist Economics]]></title><description><![CDATA[Economics for the common good: beyond Socialism and Capitalism.]]></description><link>https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/now-is-the-time-for-solidarist-economics</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/now-is-the-time-for-solidarist-economics</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Matthew T. Mrnaçaj]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 03 Sep 2025 02:54:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 424w, https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 848w, https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 1272w, https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080" width="5568" height="3712" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:3712,&quot;width&quot;:5568,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;a pile of pills and money sitting on top of a table&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="a pile of pills and money sitting on top of a table" title="a pile of pills and money sitting on top of a table" srcset="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 424w, https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 848w, https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 1272w, https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686409290263-0dde47e48d3a?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw2MHx8ZWNvbm9taWNzfGVufDB8fHx8MTc1MjEyMDQ1Mnww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="true">&#199;a&#287;lar Oskay</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><h2>Political Economy</h2><p>For far too long, the mainstream political culture has presented economics as a false dichotomous choice between socialism and capitalism. A line is then drawn between these two systems, and a &#8220;spectrum&#8221; is presented: you either lean towards socialism, or you lean towards capitalism.  </p><p>This is a false dichotomy and a false spectrum.  </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Dfm1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F988818c7-3f6e-4c78-95e6-4529bb46cdd5_1080x723.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Dfm1!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F988818c7-3f6e-4c78-95e6-4529bb46cdd5_1080x723.jpeg 424w, 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Dfm1!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F988818c7-3f6e-4c78-95e6-4529bb46cdd5_1080x723.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Dfm1!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F988818c7-3f6e-4c78-95e6-4529bb46cdd5_1080x723.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Dfm1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F988818c7-3f6e-4c78-95e6-4529bb46cdd5_1080x723.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Dfm1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F988818c7-3f6e-4c78-95e6-4529bb46cdd5_1080x723.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h3>What is Economics?</h3><p>Economics comes from the Greek word, &#8220;&#959;&#7984;&#954;&#959;&#957;&#959;&#956;&#943;&#945;&#8221; referring directly to the management of the household. As such, the proper method of understanding economics is to begin at the household with the family: </p><p>Man is born into this world as his own self &#8211; yet immediately dependent on his mother for nourishment and his father for protection and provision. From the very beginning, it is evident that the nature of man is inherently social. Thus, the family emerges as the most basic vital unit of society. Man does not cease to be himself &#8211; a rational person capable of thinking and acting with reason &#8211; yet he is never only himself. He is a social and rational creature. </p><p>To ameliorate the conditions of himself and his family, man engages with other families and persons. This is what is meant by economizing. As families unite in pursuit of material welfare and order, they form communities, and ultimately the State - whose purpose is to uphold the common good of all persons and families of the nation.</p><p>Therefore - true to its Greek roots - economics can be said to be the management of a household at different levels: </p><ul><li><p><strong>Microeconomics</strong> at the family level (the household of persons; a natural society); </p></li><li><p><strong>Macroeconomics</strong> at the level of the nation (the household of families united) to which the State (a juridical society) is tasked with ensuring the material welfare thereof. </p></li></ul><p>I argue that Solidarism is the best approach for analyzing the pressing economic issues of our time. </p><p>But what is Solidarism?  </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h3>Solidarism</h3><p><strong>Solidarism</strong> - as created and articulated by economist Father Heinrich Pesch, S.J., - is not a mere middle-ground or capitulation to some form of centrist compromise between socialism and capitalism.  Rather, it is the recognition that humans are social creatures bound together out of a need for the securement of their material welfare: a clear rejection of atomistic capitalism and collectivist socialism.</p><p>Solidarism is premised on three principles: </p><p><strong>1.) Human dignity</strong></p><p><strong>2.) Subsidiarity</strong></p><p><strong>3.) Solidarity</strong></p><p>These three principles are deeply rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, yet grounded in natural law and reason: allowing all access to them.</p><h3>1.) Human Dignity</h3><p>A man does not receive his intrinsic worth from his value to society as a comrade or his ability to optimize processes. </p><p>Man - being crafted in the image and likeness of God - has inherent dignity which is bestowed by the Lord and is worth more than all the material in the universe. </p><p>Thus, man does not exist to serve the economy. Rather, the economy exists to serve man.</p><h3>2.) Subsidiarity</h3><p>Subsidiarity is the principle that higher levels of society should not assume control of the functioning of lower levels of society.  Instead, higher levels should support the lower ones only when necessary for the provisioning of the common good. </p><p>For example: the federal government should not assume control of a local school system when the local school board is fully capable of governing it. </p><h3>3.) Solidarity</h3><p>Recognizing both human dignity and subsidiarity, solidarity calls all persons throughout society to unite and cooperate for the common good. Workers and employers, labor and management, stand not as enemies but as partners.</p><p>Historically, this arrangement was found in traditions such as guilds and industrial councils which brought together labor/trade unions with the industrialists to coordinate working conditions, wages, and production to achieve economic well-being that benefits all. </p><p>Solidarism seeks to revive this cooperative spirit.</p><h3>Ethics</h3><p>Take any undergraduate economics course beyond the introductory level, and you are bound to find something quite bizarre: ethical questions are often treated as if they could be resolved using technical mainstream economic tools alone.  </p><p>Need kidney transplants? No problem: create a market and let equilibrium determine who gets a kidney and who doesn&#8217;t.  </p><p>Unfortunately, this way of thinking remains common in academia, but it is a fundamental error.  Economics as a discipline is subordinate to ethics: not the other way around.  An economist can never dictate what is and what is not ethical solely using economic tools.  </p><p>This is what Solidarism principally understands: ethics is superior to economics, and it must be respected as such. </p><h3>Overall</h3><p>Now is the time to approach economics through the lens of Solidarism: re-introducing ethics and realism into our economic analyses.</p><p>This Substack aims to do just that: explain economic reality from my perspective as a Catholic Solidarist. </p><h2>Who am I? </h2><p>First and foremost - I am a fellow beloved son of God who has blessed me with all that I have materially and spiritually.  </p><p>As it relates to this post: I am a trained economist with bachelor&#8217;s and master&#8217;s degrees in economics from the University of Florida specializing in econometrics, micro- and macro-economic theory and applications, and cost-benefit analysis.  </p><p>Additionally, I have studied - and encourage you to as well - Father Heinrich Pesch&#8217;s <em>Ethics and the National Economy</em> as well as Papal Encyclicals such as <em>Rerum Novarum</em>, <em>Quadragesimo Anno</em>, and <em>Centesimus Annus</em>.</p><h3>Why subscribe?</h3><p>Have you been fed up with failed economic predictions from some of the most &#8220;elite&#8221; economists or media outlets? </p><p>Are you upset that our economic system is somehow the greatest on paper yet there are thousands homeless? </p><p>Are you looking for analyses on world events that follow non-mainstream perspectives?  </p><p>And most importantly - do you believe that the family is the most important unit of the economy? </p><p>If so, I invite you to join my Substack community. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Solidarist Economics by Matthew Mrnacaj! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Coming soon]]></title><description><![CDATA[Solidarist economics will include economic commentary on news revolving macroeconomics, geopolitics, and healthcare from a solidarist economics perspective.]]></description><link>https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/coming-soon</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/p/coming-soon</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Matthew T. Mrnaçaj]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 04 May 2025 22:31:44 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8Hd6!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8ecc5cf7-99df-4ead-956a-640811b0eb5c_1024x1024.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Solidarist economics will include economic commentary on news revolving macroeconomics, geopolitics, and healthcare from a solidarist economics perspective. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.solidaristeconomics.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>