How affluent liberal progressives think of themselves as a master race We all tell white lies from time to time, preferring to tell others what they want to hear rather than what we really think. This may seem fine when commenting on your partner’s new hairdo. You may prefer her old style, but you don’t
⋯Filtered by limits to growth
Extinguishing Open Debate and Personal Freedom
In the age of narcissism, mass-consumerism and hyper-dependence All of a sudden, the streets of major European cities are full of impressionable virtue-signallers demanding immediate action against our modern way of life to save the planet from the spectre of man-made climate change. I instinctively sympathise with rebels, even if I don’t always share either
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism, hegemony, human rights, limits to growth, migration, population, Power dynamics
The Brexit Delusion and the End of Neoliberalism
I’ve long been critical of superstates and any extreme concentration of power, but only really from around 2014 did anti-EU feeling in the UK gain enough momentum to call into question Britain’s integration with the European project and to force a referendum, which the establishment hoped would endorse the status quo’s trajectory of ever-closer union.
⋯capitalism, communism, Computing, corporatism, immigration, limits to growth, migration, Power dynamics
Going with the flow against the Old World Order
The affluent professional classes, along with their army of assorted victim groups and infantile self-righteous student types, have set it upon themselves to amplify the mainstream media’s disapproval of leading proponents of the old world order of nation states, two-parent families and cohesive communities with shared values. Three weeks ago we saw a large demonstration
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism, immigration, limits to growth, migration, Power dynamics
Capitalism is Dead, long live global corporatism
Why some greedy bankers may want Corbyn to win I had wanted to expand on my Brave New World thesis in relation to mounting calls from the trendy left and business leaders for a universal basic income. We now see an alliance stretching from social justice warriors, environmentalists and no-borders activists to corporate CEOs all
⋯capitalism, communism, Computing, corporatism, hegemony, immigration, limits to growth, Power dynamics
What Kind of Freedom Do You Want ?
We all yearn for freedom. Instinctively nobody wants to submit to the will of others whom we cannot trust to act in our best interests. However, in today’s complex high-tech society we’ve become so interdependent that we relinquish our personal freedoms and submit to higher authorities in all our daily interactions with the rest of
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism, hegemony, human rights, limits to growth, population, Power dynamics
Patronising Social Conformists
How the new left merely cheerleads the new globalist establishment As millions heed the call of the establishment media and celebrity charlatans to protest the inauguration of a new conservative American president, we must ask why the same media outlets barely reported massive grassroots opposition to recent military interventions in the Middle East. These stage-managed
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, communism, corporatism, limits to growth, Power dynamics
Is Another Europe Possible?
The Democratic Delusion Only a few days ago opinion polls showed a lead for the Leave side in the upcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. A growing cross-section of public opinion has been swung on key arguments on sovereignty and democracy so that the elected British parliament can regain control. From
⋯communism, corporatism, immigration, limits to growth, Power dynamics
Fair Trade Not Free Trade
Free trade has now become an untouchable sacred cow, which alongside economic growth and free movement of labour forms a sort of mercantile holy trinity. Without free trade, we are told, we would have a smaller variety of more expensive products and, worst of all, economic stagnation. However, all this assumes an idealised world of
⋯Computing, hegemony, limits to growth, Power dynamics
Infantile Leftwing Globalism
You might naively imagine the main focus of the Green Party is to promote environmental sustainability, while the Labour Party seeks to defend the rights of ordinary working people in their country. Yet increasingly both serve the interests of global corporations, just as much as their nominally centre-right counterparts in misnamed conservative, liberal or separatist
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, corporatism, hegemony, human rights, limits to growth, monopoly, population, Power dynamics
On admitting you're wrong
Intellectual Dishonesty and Cognitive Dissonance Is it better to be wrong for the right reasons or coincidentally right for the wrong reasons? For sake of argument, let us imagine a school teacher asks you to write an essay on the origin of the human species and let us also assume the teacher has a strong
⋯capitalism, hegemony, limits to growth, migration, Power dynamics
Destabilisation on the eve of WW3
Opinion leaders in the West seem to take four positions on the fast-moving Middle East quagmire: Some favour more proactive military intervention against our purported enemies and welcome more refugees and economic migrants from the wartorn region allegedly to boost the economy. This group clearly believes not only in the concept of humanitarian wars, but
⋯capitalism, corporatism, immigration, limits to growth, migration, population, Power dynamics
Imagine there's no countries...
Reflections on Global Convergence As an idealist teenager John Lennon’s Imagine became my anthem. I yearned for a future devoid of the seemingly pointless nationalist rivalry and imperialism that had fuelled two world wars and enslaved millions in the colonial era. I dreamed innocently of a world where different peoples would learn from each other,
⋯capitalism, corporatism, human rights, immigration, limits to growth, population, Power dynamics
Bursting at the Seams
Europe faces an unprecedented stream of human traffic from Africa, the Middle East, Southern and Central Asia. As wars rage from Afghanistan to Yemen and Darfur while deserts expand and arable land available for each inhabitant shrinks, this crisis shows few signs of abating. The heart-wrenching scenes of refugees huddling together on makeshift rafts in
⋯capitalism, immigration, limits to growth, migration, Power dynamics
The Wealth Illusion
A much publicised factoid, popularised by many left-leaning campaigners for greater equality, shows that the richest 85 people in the world are as wealthy as the poorest half or around 3.5 billion human beings. That would make each multibillionaire a staggering 41 million times richer than your typical Sub-Sarahan African, Indian or Indonesian. I’ve done
⋯All in the mind, limits to growth, Power dynamics
Whoever wins the election it will be business as usual
I wish ballot papers had an extra box titled None of the above for I might very well be tempted to use it. None of the parties have a coherent set of policies that can deal with the fundamental stresses and strains of our overheated economy and overburdened environment, but some have policies I can
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism, immigration, limits to growth, population, Power dynamics
Extreme Labour Mobility
Rethinking the Migration Debate Were we to debate the ethics of racial prejudice, the relative merits of other societies or the wonders of humanity’s rich cultural diversity, I would not hesitate for a moment both to stand against all forms of xenophobia and to celebrate true cultural diversity. However, as soon as someone suggests the
⋯capitalism, human rights, immigration, limits to growth, migration, population, Power dynamics
The Globalist Mindset
If you love planet earth and the human race, may I humbly suggest corporate globalisation leading to a grotesque misappropriation of resources may not be such a good idea after all. However, some self-proclaimed progressives disagree. They somehow associate the onward march of transnational organisations, the proliferation of branded retail outlets and the relentless expansion
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism, hegemony, limits to growth, Power dynamics
11 million empty homes, in the wrong places
The Guardian newspaper has just revealed to its credulous readers that EU-wide no fewer than 11 million dwellings stand empty. This apparent news has been endlessly recycled by various well-funded lobbies and think-tanks to suggest there is no housing crisis in the regions that have recently attracted most inward migration. Meanwhile to accommodate 4 million
⋯corporatism, immigration, limits to growth, migration, Power dynamics
A culture of automotive entitlement: the anti-cycling brigade
Cycling been very much in the headlines in the UK. In the last fortnight 6 cyclists have been killed on the streets of London and today a young female motorist was fined for boasting on Twitter about how she accidentally knocked over a cyclist and did not bother to stop. To many the rivalry between
⋯corporatism, limits to growth, population
All true conservatives are green
I sometimes enjoy Peter Hitchens‚ antidote to mainstream trendy Neo-Liberal thinking, but fear he is on some subjects in bad company and a tad ill-informed. No rational person could deny volumes of hard evidence showing the exponential rise in humanity’s collective impact on our planet’s delicate ecosystem, both in terms of our numbers (rising from
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, Computing, corporatism, limits to growth, peak oil, population
Why Procreate?
While some of us may seem very self-absorbed thanks to generations of social atomisation and disconnection from our palaeolithic roots, most of us are wired to adore new life. All but the most callous of us have a soft spot for babies or at least are wise and socially responsible enough to give them special
⋯All in the mind, corporatism, limits to growth, population
The Bankers are bankrupt and so are we
Today over a hundred thousand demonstrators will descend on Central London to protest against cuts in public spending. I can sympathise for I’ve joined many similar protests‚ defending the rights of ordinary working people and against wanton waste and wars. Why should ordinary people suffer because politicians and bankers have wasted billions on wars and
⋯capitalism, Computing, human rights, limits to growth, Power dynamics
Forerunners of Modern Globalisation
Homo sapiens sapiens first evolved as a distinct species at least 120,000 years ago with some recent finds in the Middle East dated as long ago as 200,000 years ago. On that time scale, the Neolithic agrarian revolution, which took place in most parts of world between 15,000 and 5,000 years ago and only reaching
⋯capitalism, immigration, limits to growth, migration, Power dynamics
Corporate Mercenaries
The LM Gang are back, this time advocating, in a new C4 documentary Britain’s Trillion pound Horror Story, the privatisation of healthcare and education and downsizing of the rest of the public sector to reduce taxes, the national debt and stimulate economic growth. Back in 1998 a post-modern intellectual associated with the former Revolutionary Communist
⋯capitalism, corporatism, immigration, limits to growth, migration, monopoly, Power dynamics
Migration Myth Busting
It looks like the globalist growth lobby has been busy copying and pasting its Migration Myths all over government-sponsored Websites and many run by spurious NGOs. Hint if someone is providing information free of charge in a glossy format, it’s probably not very reliable. As always first-hand fact finding goes a long way. I live
⋯capitalism, corporatism, limits to growth, population, Power dynamics
Globalitis: Why Economic Migration is not always Good News
This Wednesday’s Independent (UK edition, 26/07/06) ran a front page story spilling over to page two under the heading “Outstanding: Official Verdict on school that shows the success of immigration“. It featured a fabulous inner London primary school with twenty six pupils and twenty six languages, all apparently excelling academically and growing up bilingual in
⋯limits to growth, population