Martin Wolf on the World

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  Martin Wolf on the US midterms: Is American democracy safe? 17.10.2026 43Min.

  As Americans prepare to vote in the November 3 midterm elections, FT chief economics commentator Martin Wolf asks what the result will mean for Donald Trump, the future of US democracy and America's place in the world. In the first of a six-part series of interviews with leading historians and political analysts, Martin speaks to the scholar and former Republican adviser Robert Kagan, who has spent a decade warning about Trump's authoritarian ambitions. They discuss how Trump has accumulated so much power, whether America's democratic institutions can still constrain him, and what might happen if Republicans lose control of Congress. Could these elections mark a turning point for American democracy or has the country already gone too far down the road towards authoritarianism?Watch the full episode now on the FT’s main YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FinancialTimesHost: Martin WolfProducer: Mischa Frankl-DuvalSenior Producer: Laurence KnightExecutive Producer: Manuela SaragosaVideo Editor: Richard ToppingAudio engineering: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Andrew GeorgiadisPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT Global Head of Audio: Flo PhillipsRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Martin Wolf on saving democratic capitalism 29.05.2023 43Min.

  In the first of this four-part series, the renowned FT columnist and economist Martin Wolf tells the FT’s executive opinion editor Jonathan Derbyshire why he fears the marriage of liberal economics and democracy may be facing its toughest test in decades. Drawing on arguments in his latest book, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, Martin explains how his own life story and career have shaped his views.Want more?Martin Wolf: in defence of democratic capitalismFor Martin’s FT columns click hereFor the FT review of Martin’s book click hereThis episode is presented by Jonathan Derbyshire. The producer is Laurence Knight. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa and the sound engineer is Breen Turner. The FT's global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Clips: BBC, CNN, Fox NewsRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Why the Irish crisis is such a huge test for the eurozone 06.12.2010 8Min.

  The fault lines in the currency union stand revealed. The promise was that the eurozone would deliver its members from currency crises. But, as I, and others, warned, be careful what you wish for: credit crises would replace currency crises – and these are likely to be even worse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Assets matter just as much as debt 25.11.2010 5Min.

  Borrowing is no sin, provided we use the funds to ensure that we bequeath a better infrastructure to the future, says Martin Wolf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Ireland refutes the German perspective 23.11.2010 7Min.

  Berlin’s emphasis on deflationary adjustment in weaker countries risks turning the eurozone as a whole into a gigantic Germany, dependent on importing demand from the rest of the world, says Martin Wolf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  How to chart a course out of the Sino-American storm 19.11.2010 7Min.

  They came; they saw; they lost. That is the reaction to what emerged on global rebalancing at the summit meeting of the Group of 20 leading countries in Seoul last week. Publicly, surplus countries persist in calling on those in deficit to deflate themselves into economic health. The consequences of this folly are now evident in the eurozone. At the world level, the US will never accept it. But, beneath the radar, something more productive may be emerging. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The IMF is giving some good fiscal advice 19.11.2010 6Min.

  The International Monetary Fund does not normally respond to mere journalists. But its staff have explicitly rejected my arguments on the pace of fiscal consolidation in the UK. On one point – the need for a fiscal “plan B” – the IMF takes my side in the argument with the government. This is no small victory, not least because its latest report on the UK reads, in other respects, as if dictated to it by the Treasury. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Fed is right to turn on the tap 17.11.2010 7Min.

  The sky is falling, scream the hysterics: the Federal Reserve is pouring forth dollars in such quantities that they will soon be worthless. Nothing could be further from the truth. As in Japan, the policy known as “quantitative easing” is far more likely to prove ineffective than lethal. It is a leaky hose, not a monetary Noah’s Flood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Current account targets are a way back to the future 04.11.2010 8Min.

  The debate on “global imbalances” has gone back to the future. The proposal from Tim Geithner, the US Treasury secretary, to target the current account takes us back to the preoccupations of John Maynard Keynes at the Bretton Woods conference of July 1944. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Britain has gone climbing without a rope 28.10.2010 6Min.

  Martin Wolf admires the courage of the government as it launches its spending review without a Plan B but wonders whether the public will accept the necessary pain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Why US voters are suing Dr Obama 26.10.2010 8Min.

  A large part of the American public has forgotten the gravity of the financial heart attack that hit the US in the autumn of 2008. The Republicans have convinced many voters that the intervention by the Democrats, not the catastrophe George W Bush bequeathed, explains the malaise. Does President Obama deserve blame? No and yes, says Martin Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  A spending review for a diminished country 19.10.2010 6Min.

  This may be a great policy success or the biggest fiscal blunder since the early 1930s. More likely, it will be in between, says Martin Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Britain and America seek different paths from disaster 18.10.2010 8Min.

  With the announcement of massive cuts in government spending the UK has launched a remarkable policy experiment. The contrast with the US – which has announced none – should at least be instructive, says Martin Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Why higher student fees are right 13.10.2010 5Min.

  The changes will bring pain. But the upside is also huge. The government should grasp this nettle now, says Martin Wolf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Why America is going to win the global currency battle 11.10.2010 7Min.

  US policymakers will do whatever is required to avoid deflation. Indeed, the Fed will keep going until the US is satisfactorily reflated. What that effort does to the rest of the world is not its concern, says Martin Wolf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  How to fight the currency wars with stubborn China 04.10.2010 7Min.

  The post-crisis world economy will not work so long as its most dynamic economy is also its largest capital exporter. Policies that would turn China into a net importer would benefit both its own people and the rest of the world, says Martin Wolf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The IMF’s foolish praise for austerity 29.09.2010 6Min.

  Effective policy would see the government increase its deficit and have this rise funded by the Bank of England, says Martin Wolf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Currencies clash in new age of beggar-my-neighbour 27.09.2010 8Min.

  Twenty five years ago, France, West Germany, Japan, the US and the UK met at the Plaza Hotel in New York and agreed to push for depreciation of the US dollar. Today America has the same desire. But this time, the focus of attention is not a compliant ally, such as Japan, but the world’s next superpower: China. When such elephants fight, bystanders are likely to be trampled, says Martin Wolf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Wen is right to worry about China’s growth 23.09.2010 9Min.

  Who dares to make such a downbeat assessment of the world’s most dynamic economy before a gathering of influential foreigners in the heart of China itself? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The risks of premature tightening 15.09.2010 6Min.

  It would be more sensible to make plans for fiscal retrenchment that are explicitly contingent on how the economy recovers, says Martin Wolf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.