The ultimate problem is an irrational economic system that refuses to harness itself to any ends but profit. But a significant secondary factor is deficient political leadership.
capitalism
Scotland’s billionaire wealth stood at £2.7 billion a decade ago; as late as 2019, it was £17.2 billion; and now, two years on, it stands at £22.4 billion. It’s worth taking a second to breathe, read those figures again and wonder what has become of this self-consciously progressive nation.
Source Direct: Covid’s Billionaire Bonanza
Everyone, from fans groups to Tory Prime Ministers, seems dead against. There has been a lot of anger, both righteous and performative. But money talks, and even if this doesn’t go ahead, the implications could still transform the economics of sport.
Source Direct: Football & Capitalism – Competition is for Losers
“A socialisation of care is required, one that trains and pays people to care. This requires a cultural shift – which exalts care rather than treating it as something that should go unseen, unheard and unremunerated.”
David Jamieson: Dignity in life and solidarity in loss, but not just for Prince Philip
“How did US citizens, all supposedly libertarian somewhere deep down, learn to love Federal bucks, and what does it mean for us?”
Analysis: We are all for ‘Big Government’ now, but what does that mean?
“Not only has the leadership of the independence movement not developed an economic prospectus, it hasn’t developed a social prospectus for people who won’t be fooled any longer. For a movement which was an anti-austerity insurgency, fuelled by anger over decades of de-industrialisation and yawning inequality, this is a heinous mutation.”
David Jamieson: The independence movement needs an economic prospectus for the age of #GameStop
Scotland’s news today is dominated by further lockdown restrictions. The measures may appear marginal: limitations on click and collect deliveries; firmer rules for takeaways; curbs around alcohol. But they are designed to stamp home the message that there is no imminent return to normality.
Source Direct: Lock Me Down
Two stories today illuminate the absurdity of modern-day capitalism, where inequality is so profound that the economy appears broken in two, orbiting in completely different realities from one another. On the one hand, food bank usage in Scotland has more than doubled since the pandemic, up 108 per cent on the year previously according to […]
When the Ayn Rand dystopia becomes real
“The present is not inevitable; moving beyond it is. Stop telling yourself this works, or that it is as good as it gets. And stop saying next is bound to be worse.”
Robin McAlpine: You want radical? How about producers selling to consumers
“Far from our economic model being the realisation of Adam Smith’s dream, it is the embodiment of his worst fears. It’s not a ‘free market’ – it’s a cartel.”