The good life is found in stubborn reality, in poor neighborhoods and dirty gardens, in the thick of life in community.

I proudly present my new book, Hyperreality, published in the United States by Wipf&Stock.

For a pdf version of De geluksmachine in Dutch, click here.

The political crisis in Macedonia is deepening. With the president and former coalition preventing the formation of a new government, the state threatens to disintegrate in a climate of corruption and nationalism.

Huge transnational companies – many wealthier than entire countries – are using Investor-State Dispute Settlements to claim billions in lost profits from governments whose laws ‘damage’ their business. ISDSs are currently making headlines as part of the nefarious TTIP and TPP trade deals. But they have been around for longer, and there are many players making a lot of money from them.
Frank Mulder, Eva Schram and Adriana Homolova meet the winners and losers in a one-sided game.

Venezuela doesn't want investment treaties anymore if they give investors the right to drag the country before a commercial court. "The system has been set up to break down the nation-state."

The heavily criticized legal mechanism, known as ISDS, is an important tool for European companies to pressurize developing countries. This year Uganda joins the rank of developing nations asking themselves: "Why have we ever signed this?"

Many Europeans fear TTIP, because it could enable American companies to file claims against their states. The strange thing, however, is that Western Europe is becoming a big hub in this mechanism, called ISDS, leading to billion dollar claims against poorer countries.

We are rapidly changing agriculture into a worldwide food machine. But is food the only goal of agriculture? It seems that the means we've chosen are undermining the original ends. That's a classical mistake, and it reminds me of the bus in the old movie Speed. I wrote this essay for Oxfam and Hivos, two development organisations.

Capitalism is more than a model. It is a religion according to a growing number of independent thinkers. “Is it possible that theology can teach something to economists?”

The EU is constantly looking to strengthen surveillance of its external borders, using increasingly expensive technologies. But are they effective? And in a democracy, who control the controller?

This article has been published in ten languages.