Category: neo-liberalism

A hopefully comic interlude interrogating one of Mr. Brandis’s opinion pieces

Photo by Nicholas Swatz on Pexels.com In a July 9 opinion piece in the Sydney morning Herald, we meet this shouty headline: Left’s identity crisis means Dutton can be a champion for equality. The piece is by the ex Liberal Senator George Brandis; he doesn't disappoint us with opinions we'd never expected from him. Let's … Continue reading A hopefully comic interlude interrogating one of Mr. Brandis’s opinion pieces →

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 →

Commentary on ‘Strangers in Their Own Land’

Neoliberalism and the self-harm faithful An introduction I’ve been exercising what passes for my mind with THE GREAT DIVIDE that currently occupies much of the debate about the state of the [American] nation. Forgive my anything but slick allusion to that address given by the US president, but it’s almost incumbent on anyone with an … Continue reading Commentary on ‘Strangers in Their Own Land’ →

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? →

Regarding statistics, floods and the public nuisance that social media can be

The Guardian asks: "Are eastern Australia’s catastrophic floods really a one-in-1,000 year event? Describing a flood as a one-in-1,000-year event doesn’t mean we won’t see another one until the year 3000. Photograph: Bradley Richardson/Australian Defence Force/AFP/Getty Images Scientists say describing floods as ‘one-in-1,000-year’ events can mislead the public about the probability of such disasters recurring" On … Continue reading Regarding statistics, floods and the public nuisance that social media can be →

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 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 →

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.’

Foreword from a draft non fiction text

The fossil fooled I began to write this book on the first of January 2020, hoping this will be a year and decade of better vision than we have shown so far (forgive the pun). As I write, much of Australia burns. This fire season began in August 2019, some say July. The fires are … Continue reading Foreword from a draft non fiction text →