If Economics was a person, he’d say, it was probably the mythical one, Sisyphus. I really liked my old Economics teacher. Not a fan of Economics though, nor its futile efforts at explaining the ways that people organise things.
Category: Economics
Dissecting digital capitalism 3
How do you want your planet served? You may recall the following from an earlier chapter: ‘There is no nation on earth where it’s version of The Dream speaks to – not even implies – that there are, or will ever be, systemic impediments to the legitimate accruing of wealth. The Dream alleges that anyone … Continue reading Dissecting digital capitalism 3
Going dry
Seems we never learn... A post on The Historiographer.
Thoughts on reading ‘Strangers in their own land’ by Arlie Russell Hochschild
Neoliberalism and the self-harm faithful People of the earth [Part III] Louisiana is the major ground for Hochschild’s research. There, most of the people she meets – and gets to like –are hunters, fishers, cookers of their catch; lovers, ostensibly, of nature. And yet, tales of environmental woe [NATURE DESPOILED] abound in their world: ‘But … Continue reading Thoughts on reading ‘Strangers in their own land’ by Arlie Russell Hochschild
Do I want to save capitalism?
While reading Robert Reich's SAVING CAPITALISM Have discovered over recent months and via The Guardian and other publications, one Robert Reich. Reich is 'an American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator' who 'worked in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and served as Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997 in the … Continue reading Do I want to save capitalism?
Extract from Mythic Dreams – why modern capitalism’s pursuit of growth is a sin
Ch 2: A Haves and Have Nots World A much greater hunger In 1800, the world’s population was about 1.36 billion. If we are to believe statistical analysis, most people lived, in income terms, relatively similar lives. According to Gapminder statistical analysis (admittedly conjectural, given that data before 1900 is ‘highly uncertain’) the world’s poorest … Continue reading Extract from Mythic Dreams – why modern capitalism’s pursuit of growth is a sin
Bad government 3
Good governments often provide things for people to help them live better lives, like education, health services, affordable houses, roads and public transport, stuff called infrastructure (which includes those roads and also electricity and such). The government does not charge a lot for people to have these things. Sometimes (and for some people) these services are free. Pizza, unfortunately, is not free to anyone...
Bad government 2
Viral government Here is a definition of good government from a book for kids (The big fat NO debates – Government) by yours truly. If kids can get this, so should most adults. All… people want pretty much the same things as you and me. • Love • To feel safe/secure • A bit (or … Continue reading Bad government 2
Bad government 1
We need to retrain ourselves to see and do something about corruption. Training politicians is difficult because any attempt to fix the problems with independent corruption watchdogs or greater transparency threatens their positions and power. So using anti-corruption bodies and agitating for greater transparency won't work, Keane argues. We need to 'address the structural incentives for corruption'.
Welcome to our mediaeval times
I’ll argue that in this early 21st century venality and appalling inequity is again (still) on general display, that institutions are both revered and detested, that pandemics dominate and fundamentally change our world, and that reason seems lost amid a sea of conspiracy theories, despite the best efforts of some authorities. As Julia Hurst and Zoe Laidlaw observed recently, ‘…identity is rooted in history, and so history cannot be escaped.’
Inkstained fingers 