Modern Monetary Theory: A Tool for the Global South? — Fadil Aliriza interviews Dr. Fadhel Kaboub,

The first part of the post is about Tunisia, and the second is specifically about MMT. MMT economist Fadhel Kaboub is originally from Tunisia and is familiar with the situation there.

Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung
Modern Monetary Theory: A Tool for the Global South?
Fadil Aliriza, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Tunisian news portal Meshkal, in conversation with Dr. Fadhel Kaboub, associate professor of economics at Denison University and president of The Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity.

Bill Mitchell — The IMF and the Germans wreaking havoc in Northern Africa

Some years ago, I started collecting information about the so-called Maghreb countries, which typically refers to the region spanned by Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, although sometimes Libya and Mauritania are also included in the aggregation. You will find it referred to as the Barbary Coast in English literature. I was interested (as a long-term project when I get old :-)) to write a book about how nations broke away from the yoke of colonialism only to fall into the hands of the IMF and the World Bank, which over time were becoming the leading attack dogs for the neoliberal domination of governments. That book is coming in the future. But I have also been interested in the way the Eurozone Member States have moved into Northern Africa to extract as much surplus as they can from exploiting the resources these African nations have. You know a nation is in trouble when there are nightly riots which were motivated by economic desperation and a pernicious new (so-called) Finance Law, which became law on January 1, 2018. I am, of course, talking about Tunisia. With high levels of unemployment and underemployment and a lack of job opportunities particularly severe in the interior regions, the IMF decided, in its infinite neoliberal stupidity, to force the Tunisian government to impose a harsh austerity program including pushing up value added taxes which have had the effect of driving up medicine, food and energy prices and impacting on those most affected by the lack of jobs. Smart thinking! The riots have now followed.

Classical liberalism, imperialism, colonialism. Neoliberalism, neo-imperialism, neocolonialism.

This is a paradox of liberalism that emerges when political liberalism is equated with or prioritized over political liberal. The result is "bourgeois liberalism," or the rulership of the ownership class through its cronies and minions.

This is rationalized as promoting the international liberal order and spreading freedom and democracy.

Bill Mitchell – billy blog
The IMF and the Germans wreaking havoc in Northern Africa
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Zombie economics — neoliberalism alive and well in Tunisia

On the verge of officially forming a coalition government to run the country and rewrite the nation’s pre-revolution constitution, Tunisia’s dominant, Islamist political party Ennahda has come under fire for its economic neo-liberalism, both from opponents and from coalition partners.

After an election noted for its transparency, the major Tunisian parties are busy putting the finishing touches on the first democratic government in the nation’s history. The Islamist party Hizb Ennahda will get the most important positions, including the coveted post of prime minister. 

A major reason for Ennahda’s popularity is its history of resistance against the old dictatorship. Its supporters see it as both the party of Islam and the party of revolution and change. However, when it comes to issues concerning economics and international finance, it generally advocates continuing the generally neo-liberal policies of the former dictatorship.

Read the rest at IPS
TUNISIA — Neo-Liberalism the Issue, Not Islam
By Jake Lippincott

A revolution that wasn't. The more things change, the more they remain the same.