Social Democracy and what it means for others – Cod101

My thoughts on the view that turbo-charged technological capitalism is churning society faster than we as individuals and groups can cope with. Through the lens of my own bias; that the only way forward is to make society as flexible and adaptable as possible – that the alternative is to be the Native Americans when europeans turned up with guns and industry.

And why I rail against the fetishising of aid whilst applying massive tariffs on manufactured/processed goods.

Twitter threads – Scattered thoughts on 2020

Most of efforts this year have been on twitter – which is to say I have been lazier in refusing to put the time and effort into properly researching, structuring, and presenting an argument in long form. Where I have taken the trouble to attempt such in twitter form – as a thread – they will be recorded for posterity below. This is less a comment on their quality, and more to do with the fact that I periodically blitz my twitter postings.

Thank god we’re nearly done with this year:

Why we’re doing this – Cod101

There has been a misunderstanding. I apologise, as it is my fault that you have got the wrong end of the stick. You have been labouring under the misapprehension that this whole brexit thing was an accident; the consequence of poor dialogue and badly calibrated decision making. In short, that a yes/no decision was a balance-of-probablities tactical decision seeking optimal economic outcomes. That this is a matter trade balances, calibration of welfare policies, complexity of customs arrangements, and that if the debate had better focused on these matters we’d have arrived at a more optimal decision.

It wasn’t. Rather, it is a moral strategic question of who you want to be, and whether your current path will achieve this.

The Nation & The State – Cod101

Instigating a new theme to this blog: Cod philosophy.

Why should I be obliged to care?

The Reformation 2.0 – Fear and opportunity

It has long been my contention that while history is characterised by relentless and disruptive change, society and culture are sticky accretions perpetually damned to seek a fixed point of stability. The desire for a reference point around which agreement can be built and compliance measured being the natural condition of a social animal. I further contend that the nations that are most successful are those actively seek ride the change, and even shape external events, where others at best endure and worst erode. The analogy I like to describe the effect of relentless change on culture and society being plate tectonics; where active faults can either slip easily to the new equilibrium, or stick…

It is in this context that Brexit is interesting, for we have to hope for something better than an ugly counter revolution where we begin burning Brexiters for their heresy.