James Packer has teamed up with Robert de Niro to push an exclusive resort on the paradise island of Barbuda (Antigua). Our interviewee is Barbudan Teckla C Negga Melchior, who tells the story from the perspective of an anthropologist with a strong understanding of the process of law via her experiences at the United Nations. Teckla is an incredible storyteller and was recently featured in the Georgist Journal.
In short, this is a tale of a billionaire, a Hollywood superstar and Hurricane Irma converging to wipe away some of the last tidings of communal land title on the planet. Listen to this harrowing story of rent-seekers enlisting disaster capitalism to wipe away one of the few alternatives to neoliberal economics. Part 1 in a story that must be told, again and again. Show notes.
In part two, we forge deeper into the disaster capitalism tearing at island life on Barbuda, where land hasn’t been commodified into a lifetime of debt. Teckla hits hard with one story after another revealing the levels of deceipt de Niro and Packer are pushing. Why is de Niro busy jet-setting around to speak at global warming conferences but still so enamored to push this project upon a nation where the water table sits just two feet underground? Show notes.
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