Or rather why do metropolitan elites not trust the Working Classes? Before you doubt my sanity, let me clarify a couple of buzzwords in the title. By regressive left I mean a widespread political current that positions itself on the progressive left, but always sides, when push comes to shove, with remote institutions who want
⋯On the Value of Human Life
Two subjects are bound to enrage puritans, especially those with devout religious beliefs of one persuasion or another: abortion and birth control. Don’t get me wrong, I favour vigorous debate on both issues and totally respect the rationale behind an absolute repudiation of the murder of innocent human life. Nothing is more human than a
⋯hegemony
End of an Era
The Eclipse of American Power Just 15 years ago in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, the alternative antiwar media was abuzz with talk of the Project for a New American Century, championed by the likes of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld as they pushed for more proactive military interventions to spread the USA’s
⋯hegemony, immigration
Establishment Stitch-Up amid Shifting Alliances
Did you naively think the whole EU membership debate had something to do with Europe and its smörgåsbord of cultures, cuisines and intellectual enlightenment? No doubt some of those who voted to leave the EU reminisced simpler times and older ways where at least we had a sense of social cohesion based on shared values,
⋯capitalism, Computing, migration
Guilt by Association
Recently British author Douglas Murray took part in a video chat with the renowned YouTube sensation and self-proclaimed libertarian philosopher Stefan Molyneux. While critical of Radical Islam and mass migration, Douglas Murray has been careful to steer a middle ground. Initially he came across to me as a Blairite, not least because he’s associate director
⋯All in the mind, immigration, Linguistics
Is Capitalism Morphing Into Communism?
Under communism you buy everything from a single state outlet, whereas under fully mature capitalism you buy everything from Amazon. Karl Sharro I once dreamed of a socialist utopia devoid of hate, fear, anxiety, poverty and interpersonal rivalry with common ownership of the means of production. This fantasy comes in two main flavours, idealistic anarcho-communism
⋯capitalism, communism, Computing, corporatism, hegemony
Sexual Egalitarianism
Why it will always remain a wild fantasy Sex, as practiced for the last billion years, has been an awfully competitive and selective affair. Erotic desire drives much of human behaviour. It motivates us to keep fit, take care of our appearance, elevate our status by excelling at school and in our careers and show
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, communism
On Social Competitiveness and Human Nature
As a species we combine social solidarity and shared culture with a strong competitive spirit. In a way these variant behaviours represent the true yin and yang of the human psyche, collectivism versus individualism or social cohesion versus self-betterment. One could argue that our social and technological reality would never have progressed without these instincts.
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, communism, Computing, human rights
Manufacturing Identities
Humanity has always had a wide range of cultures, vocations and two biologically defined sexes. For most of our history we identified with our family, our tribe, our gender and our vocation. We had no choice over family and gender, seldom switched tribes and had a limited window of opportunity to find a vocation within
⋯All in the mind
Infantilising Political Theatrics
Whatever you may think of the most influential British politicians of the last century, whether prime ministers such as Clement Attlee or Winston Churchill or dissenting intellectuals such as Tony Benn or Enoch Powell, few can doubt their acumen or the depth of their historical and philosophical knowledge. Naturally historians can identify many past politicians
⋯capitalism
Destabilising Europe
What’s going on in Catalonia? I seldom comment on unfolding events before I can establish some basic facts and investigate all the forces at play. I woke up this morning to a twitter stream showing violent clashes between the Spanish Guardia Civil and unarmed Catalan citizens attempting to vote in the region’s independence referendum. I
⋯corporatism, hegemony
Intellectual Freedom
In the era of hate speech laws, safe spaces and fact checkers Many may argue that hunger, environmental depredation, nuclear war or extreme disparities of wealth are the main challenges of our times. I don’t dispute for a moment that without life’s necessities, a hospitable environment, peace and social stability, free speech may seem a
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, communism
NewSpeak for the Masses
Over the last 10 years I have slowly but surely convinced myself the pace of cultural change is accelerating at an unprecedented rate. The only certainty now seems uncertainty itself. Scenarios we deemed unthinkable just five years ago now seem emerging realities. We’re all in a way prisoners of our age and may easily lose
⋯hegemony, Linguistics
The Emerging Age of Absolutisms
What do corporate globalism, Islamic fundamentalism, communist idealism and neo-fascist romanticism all have in common besides being abstract isms? If you look at their attitudes to the key ethical questions of our age, their notional position on the left-right spectrum or their virtuosity in the public mind, they may appear at variance or even diametric
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, communism, Computing, corporatism, migration
Just gimme some Truth
On the importance of intellectual freedom Hardly a week passes without a brand new high profile campaign against the Orwellian concept of hate speech, perceived public ignorance or the spectre of unofficial fake news. Naturally ignorance no longer denotes an absence of knowledge, but a failure to internalise a specific worldview or cultural attitude. By
⋯All in the mind, hegemony, migration
Who's really behind Momentum ?
How former Blairites morphed into radical advocates of a borderless utopia Politics is really the art of winning influence over other power brokers to further one’s true agenda, which may be self-aggrandisement, commercial interests or the pursuit of long-term ideological change. Personally I think most politicians fall into the first category of wishful thinking opportunists,
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism
Disturbing Scenarios of the early 21st Century
Could globalisation trigger regressive ethnocentrism and religious hatred? In a paradigm shift over the last 30 to 40 years, the establishment media in most Western countries now openly embraces not just globalisation and the gradual dissolution of traditional national boundaries, but also rapid cultural change via social engineering. However, until recently most national leaderships pretended
⋯capitalism, immigration, migration
The Brave New World Test
Human history has had plenty of upheavals, but I believe we have never experienced such a rapid rate of technological and cultural change with worldwide reach. In 1931 Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World not so much as a reliable prognosis of human development over the coming six centuries (as the story is set in
⋯All in the mind, communism, Computing, corporatism, monopoly
Sowing the Seeds of Discontent to Gain Power
The Grenfell Tower blaze shocked the world. How could a fire spread so quickly and kill so many in one of the wealthiest cities in the world? I won’t waste time investigating the details of flammable cladding or the absence of a sprinkler system. However, to the untrained eye these apartments seemed fine and could
⋯communism, migration
Our Workless Future
Could the universal basic income usher in an age of hyper-dependence, hyper-surveillance and a growing divide between technocratic elites and mainstream humanity? Two of the most influential business leaders in the tech industry have thrown their weight behind the hitherto fanciful universal basic income, a cause until recently championed only by idealistic greens not known
⋯All in the mind, Computing
Did social media and pressure groups sway the UK election?
The outcome of the UK June 2017 General Election has taken most psephologists by surprise. Though many sensed a marked movement towards Labour over the last 3 weeks that would deprive the Tories of a large majority, few expected Labour to gain as much as 40.3% of the popular vote. That is 15% greater than
⋯capitalism, communism
Another Day, Another Attack
How the British Foreign Policy Elite favoured its short-term commercial interests over the long-term security and wellbeing of its citizens. Just in case you haven’t read the news. Seven people were killed and 48 others injured in a van and knife attack on London Bridge and Borough Market, in which three suspects were shot dead
⋯corporatism, human rights, immigration, migration
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
Your services are no longer required
Universal Basic Income for all (Terms and conditions apply) On behalf of trendsetting businesses around the world, we’d like to thank all semi-skilled workers for your tireless devotion to the complex industrial system on which we all depend. We are truly grateful to all our past and present colleagues and business partners including production line
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, communism, corporatism, monopoly
Engineered Chaos
In the great debate on the relative merits of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and atheism as dominant ideologies, let me declare my relative agnosticism. Sure, on a purely empirical level I’ve long been an atheist and have yet to find any credible evidence of the existence of supernatural beings. However, I doubt we will
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, communism, corporatism, immigration
Hackneyed Jargon and Intellectual Honesty
What I really mean by globalists, elitists and corporatists A couple of weeks ago someone chastised me on Twitter for using the term Deep State to explain Donald Trump’s Damascene conversion over Syrian regime change. Apparently the concept that the US Administration may be beholden to secretive cliques with close ties to the military industrial
⋯All in the mind, hegemony, Linguistics
Realignment in the age of Elitism
I expect no prizes for forecasting the Conservative Party will win Theresa May’s Snap General Election on 8th June. That’s because none of the opposition parties offer viable alternatives that can convince ordinary pragmatic voters uninterested in foreign policy and who do not have an ideological commitment to socialism, environmentalism or universalism. If, like me,
⋯communism, Computing, corporatism
Do the Elites understand protest votes?
I wish I could rally behind one of the major or minor parties in Theresa May’s Snap General Election. To be honest, I have only ever voted as a protest, to show that the citizenry is somehow politically aware, but unhappy with our rulers’ mischievous actions and plans. The alternative is to spoil your ballot
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism, monopoly
Mainstream Fake News Kills
On the Brink of World War Three Over Misappropriated Chemical Attacks. Call me old-fashioned, but facts do actually matter even if they’re inconvenient and do not fit with your preferred narrative. Your enemy may be bad, but your enemy’s enemy may be even worse. That said, disinformation and emotive propaganda should concern us most when
⋯All in the mind, Computing
The Trump Delusion
Let’s agree that the left-branded neoliberal dream best associated with the Clinton Dynasty in the US and with Tony Blair and David Cameron in the UK has failed their core working class electoral bases. Ordinary working people are fed up with know-it-all talking heads on TV lecturing them on what they should think and belittling
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, corporatism
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
Madonna vs Alex Jones
How the Virtue-Signalling Left Cares More About Affluent Jet-Setters Than Defenceless Goat Herders The faux outrage about Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban on citizens of 7 mainly Muslim countries reveals more about the priorities of the affluent infantile left than it does about any shift in US foreign policy. Most people in the world outside
⋯capitalism, communism, Computing, human rights, immigration, migration
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