Xan López

@xanlopez

political economy, climate change, open protocols. web: xanlopez.net work: @institutomeridiano.org, @igalia.com words: @corrientecalida.com, amalgama.ghost.io voice: @margendemaniobra.net signal: xanlpz.02

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Xan López@xanlopez· 10d

It’s happening.

Pax Economica, Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World
Marc-William Palen

Xan López@xanlopez· 12d

Xan López@xanlopez· 17d

Está película es muy original, sin muchas pretensiones pero divertida. Algo así como una mezcla entre KILL BILL y ROSEMARY’S BABY. Recomiendo.

Xan López@xanlopez· 20d

No deja de ser sorprendente que el autor más referenciado por Braudel en este libro sea Lenin.

Fernand Braudel
La dinámica del capitalismo
Alianza editorial

Xan López@xanlopez· 22d

We wrote the first version of this text in 2023, I think. Sadly, it feels like it becomes truer every year.

Two years later, it seems that the greatest of these challenges is still the political one. Paradoxically, the relative irreversibility of aspects of the Green New Deal, such as the decarbonisation of the electricity mix, seems much more assured by cheapening renewables, and their spectacular technological development, than by our ability to defend the programme. Curiously, as environmentalists who have always emphasised the political rather than technical nature of the ecological transition, we have been more reassured by certain market achievements, technological development, or China’s climate commitments, than by our own political strength, where we have been more modest than we should be.

Xan López@xanlopez· 23d

Puede que lo hayan borrado o intentado borrar de una forma que no funcione del todo bien, pero aquí hay una prueba de que algo han hecho específicamente con ese artículo:

Xan López@xanlopez· 23d

Como hombre normativo me gusta Nolan, pero no me llaman tanto la atención las que creo que son más populares (The Dark Knight, Interstellar, ...). Después de ver LA ODISEA estas son mis cuatro de Nolan.

Xan López@xanlopez· 25d

Si esto no gana una docena de Oscars hay que quemar los Oscars hasta los cimientos.

Xan López@xanlopez· 28d

Renfe envía avisos oficiales por WhatsApp, imagino que por inercia y porque lo tiene casi todo el mundo. La cuestión es que en la propia identidad de la empresa Meta ya te mete con calzador referencias a sus otras plataformas cerradas. Si esto no es ilegal debería serlo. ¡Quizás ya lo sea!

Xan López@xanlopez· Jul 10

The coalition of the willing. www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

European Central Bank President tells
Euronews in an exclusive interview that it is
"pretty obvious we need to have a European asset" that the markets see as safe and liquid, and one that can compete with the US.
Christine Lagarde has welcomed the Spanish government's proposal for joint borrowing, telling Euronews it marks the start of a discussion based on merit rather than "over my dead body" positions, as tough talks on the next European budget get underway.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jul 8

For some people, X is a window into the "Empire that creates reality," to borrow that famous distinction between "reality-based communities" and "reality-creating empires." But what if that digital Empire collapses? www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/m...

The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."

Xan López@xanlopez· Jul 1

A black and white picture of Karl Marx with red laser eyes.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 30

Igual que suelo decir que la prensa financiera suele ser la fuente más fiable de noticias también os digo que es acojonante que Bloomberg siga con estas historias a 30 de junio de 2026 (de su newsletter "Green Daily").

The problem has worsened since a blackout in April 2025 that plunged most of Spain and Portugal into darkness. Since then, Spain’s national grid operator, Red Eléctrica, has been more aggressive in ordering farms offline, because solar complicates network management. Power systems require stability in both frequency (the grid’s rhythm) and voltage (the electrical pressure that keeps power flowing reliably). Traditionally, large spinning turbines helped maintain this balance, but solar is more prone to sudden shifts in supply and demand and requires more active control.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 30

Fascinado con qué tendrán los alemanes en la cabeza para pensar que en 2012 se eliminó la siesta en España por decreto.

SPIEGEL International
Abo
This isn't absurd. In fact, there is even concrete evidence that Agamben has a valid point. The siesta hasn't existed in Spain since the fall of 2012. That was when the Spanish government, under pressure from the euro troika * of the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF, eliminated the siesta.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 26

Discourse on voluntary servitude
Why people enslave themselves to authority
Étienne de la Boétie

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 25

Oh yeah, I remember this goose from Marx's “Theories of Surplus Value”.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 24

Seriously, what the fuck.

"It is absurd to have people die because of the heat," said the leader of the Rassemblement National party. "If I am elected president, I will put into place a massive air-conditioning plan, starting in places with the most vulnerable populations - hospitals, care homes and schools."
Far-left leader and rival candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon hit back: "Absolutely not. Installing air conditioning everywhere would only mean increasing the damage," he said, alluding to the risk of increased carbon emissions.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 24

Se ha publicado ya el volumen “Transformaciones del capitalismo contemporáneo” (ed. Guillermo Escolar). Además de muchos ensayos fantásticos de gente muy sabia incluye un texto mío sobre la reinvención de los mercados financieros y la creación del eurodólar después de la IIGM.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 23

Ya circula por el mundo el último número de @corrientecalida.com. Con textos de Layla Martínez, @katemac.bsky.social, @70sbachchan.bsky.social, Clara García, Rafael Hernández, @arrosabanda.eurosky.social, @jeremywallace.bsky.social y otros. Portada de @adarasanchez.bsky.social.

Portada del número de primavera de 2026 de Corriente Cálida.

Lista de textos del número.
Editorial.
Hegemonía eléctrica, Xan López.
Masculinidad de combustión interna, Layla Martínez.
BRICS en 2025, Kate Mackenzie y Tim Sahay.
No perder el rumbo, Clara García y Rafael Hernández.
No pienses en verde, Francesc Miralles.
Un inmenso caos que podría salvar el mundo, Jeremy Wallace.
La trama verde, Lara Alonso Corona.
Guerra Fría en un mundo caliente, Tobita Chow.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 19

It must be said they still got 34,5% of the vote while doing all this. Deeply disturbing.

Now it's happened again, with Farage making exactly the same mistake: a piss-poor candidate, who could charitably be called unvarnished but could uncharitably be described as a fucking moron, with a catastrophic online history to his name.
With a crap candidate in place, Farage then decided to go on TV after a murder case and expressly disrespect the father of the victim. He spent much of the campaign actively trying to encourage race riots. This was obscene, But it was also something more prosaic: it was electorally unwise.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 18

La diferencia entre la barra negra y la azul es la diferencia entre el escenario “realista” (CPS) de la @iea.org y la realidad. A tener en mente la próxima vez que circulen titulares diciendo que el consumo fósil va a aumentar nosecuanto en el futuro (vía @davidfickling.bsky.social).

Winners and Losers
The IEA overestimated gas growth in Asia and underestimated solar
Forecast
Actual
547 TWh
Gas
17 TWh
465 TWh
Solar
1,333 TWh
Note: Shows expected growth in Asian power generation between 2018 and 2025, based on actual 2018 generation, actual 2025 generation, and the 2018 World Energy Outlook's Current Policies Scenario estimates for 2025. Actual 2025 generation figures are from Ember.
Source: International Energy Agency, Ember, Bloomberg Opinion calculations

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 15

Reminded me of this great piece. phenomenalworld.org/interviews/e...

HMS: The belief that the Peace of Westphalia (1648) somehow set the world on a path away from ancient agrarian empires and toward a modern system of sovereign states is untrue for several reasons. As a historical matter, the end of formal empires—even within the Westphalian framework—is extremely recent. I was alive as some of the last countries were decolonized. And when you look at empires, heterogeneity is important—there are always zones of partial sovereignty and layered governance.

Many of the places we call states today are effectively in that same semi-sovereign position. Europe possesses greater local sovereignty and legal autonomy than many regions, but militarily it is very clearly semi-sovereign, and monetarily it sits a step below the Federal Reserve and the offshore dollar system. Europe also remains populated with American military bases, as do Japan and South Korea. And this is asymmetrical too: you won’t find German military bases in the US. What we conventionally describe as sovereign states are in fact components of a broader imperial system, differentiated by varying degrees of autonomy.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 15

Read @helene-rey.bsky.social. www.ft.com/content/0e78...

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://help.ft.com/faq/gifting-and-sharing-an-article/what-is-a-gift-article/.
https://www.ft.com/content/0e78efc2-4b88-4810-84dc-97d157eaa11a

We have been here before. The imbalances of the 1980s fuelled the protectionism the Plaza Accord sought to contain; those of the 2000s unwound in the catastrophe of 2008. We do not need a third demonstration. Co-operation on addressing imbalances is in individual countries’ interests and in their mutual interest. Europe should act on the Draghi report, integrating capital markets and boosting productivity, defence investment and innovation. China should invest in its people so households can afford to spend, while scaling back the subsidies that fuel deflationary “involution”. The US should put its debt on a sustainable path and tighten oversight of non-bank finance.

The choice is not between adjustment and comfort. It is between adjustment that is gradual and shared, and adjustment that is disorderly and imposed by a crisis of the market’s choosing. The first will make everyone better off. The second has a long and unhappy history, not only for the economies with large imbalances but for every country. We still have time to choose.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 15

Finally.

The Almighty Dollar
Brendan Greeley
Crown Currency, 2026

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 15

Dicho de otra forma: toda la industria petrolera vive de una renta (el transporte por carretera), y el inquilino se está marchando.

The commercial structure on top of that chemistry is lopsided. Petrol and road diesel are roughly half of what the world's refineries sell and considerably more than half of the margin.
The rest of the slate rides along. Jet fuel, bitumen and lubricants are passengers whose tickets have been subsidised by drivers for a hundred years.
The fixed costs of the site, the crude units, the hydrocrackers, the people, the turnarounds, get recovered mostly across the road fuels, because that is where the volume and the pricing power live.
That is the rent, and the tenant is leaving slowly.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 12

Not enough continental suicide, say Germany and the Netherlands. www.politico.eu/article/cuts...

The plan for a 2 percent (€32.8 billion) cut to the European Commission's proposal for 2028 to 2034, put forward by the Cypriot government in its role at the six-month helm of the presidency of the Council of the EU, falls short of the demands by fiscally conservative countries, including Germany and Netherlands.
"It is unaffordable, unbalanced, and with the wrong focus. The overall volume remains far too high at a time when fiscal space is limited across Europe and difficult choices are unavoidable," Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen wrote in a statement on Thursday after the Cypriot negotiating document — known as a "negobox"
— was published. "For the Netherlands, this is a no-go box, " he said.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 11

I'm a big deal on mu.social.

A screenshot of an account verification dialog on mu.social. The account is verified by Eurosky social.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 7

⬅️ Skinamarink (2022) ➡️ Backrooms (2026)

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 7

Me ha flipado, una entrada rotunda en el canon del cine “weird”. Se disfruta mucho habiendo visto todos los cortos de YouTube, pero no es estrictamente necesario. Es una alegría que esté arrasando en taquilla, espero que abra las puertas a más gente joven con buenas ideas.

Xan López@xanlopez· Jun 6

Also this seemed relevant: you can imagine a political solution to a trade shock, but it's not always easy (or possible) to implement them.