Saliem Fakir - Low Carbon Future
The tragedy of abundant resources
By: Saliem Fakir 12th March 2021 The coming into being of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) is giving momentum to an idea that has been very long in the making – a... →
The politics of knowledge production
By: Saliem Fakir 12th February 2021 It has been an interest of mine for a long time – this question concerning the production of knowledge systems. The part that I will not focus on... →
Political economy of the just transitions in Africa 
By: Saliem Fakir 22nd January 2021 The term ‘just transition’ may seem a neologism, but in reality it is not so new. It originated from the depths of US labour movement struggles in... →
The framing problem and judgment– how to be aware of how not to frame
By: Saliem Fakir 4th December 2020 For the human mind to cope with the world, it has to develop a set of frames of the world, or what can also be called heuristics. These sets of... →
Liberty, environmentalism and corporate power
By: Saliem Fakir 6th November 2020 Individual utilitarianism is seen as primordial in conventional Western economic tradition. However, individualism does not always lead to better... →
Climate resilience: optimising strategies against uncertainty
By: Saliem Fakir 9th October 2020 Climate resilience in Africa can only be optimised if other forms of social protection work in concert. This means you may not achieve success,... →
Industrial development in Africa – from theory to practice
By: Saliem Fakir 11th September 2020 I recently participated in a panel discussion on industrial development in Central and West Africa, organised by the United Nations Economic... →
When facts matter and when they don’t
By: Saliem Fakir 7th August 2020 It is common wisdom that, if you have evidence, that evidence should speak for itself. But the history of knowledge and ‘factfulness’ shows that... →
Social engineering is not just a socialist thing
By: Saliem Fakir 10th July 2020 ‘Social engineering’ is seen in some circles as a swear phrase and associated with socialism – meaning surrendering individual sovereignty into... →
The Michael Moore view of the world
By: Saliem Fakir 12th June 2020 Michael Moore’s documentary, Planet of the Humans (a play on the Anthropocene age), following his namesake, Roger Moore, in the James Bond 007... →
