A Tale of Two Priorities

“The level of any civilization can be determined by the extent to which its women have been liberated.” –Charles Fourier

The outcome of the 2010 British general election may come to be viewed as the single worst political event to affect the progress of efforts to achieve gender equality in a generation. The coalition government’s tenure will reverse much of the progress so far made in the name of women’s hard won economic rights. This can be easily deduced by the cuts to the welfare system and public expenditure so far implemented, as well as those planned over the course of the current parliament.

Beware Keynesians Bearing Gifts

In case you hadn’t heard, we’re right in the middle of a global economic catastrophe. To be more specific, we’re actually at the end of the beginning of the crisis, with many years of stagnant GDP growth, debt deleveraging and the real human suffering that will result to come.

This article aims to question the reliance of those on the more radical left on what are often regarded as ‘legitimate’ economic authorities, those who question the efficacy of the more extreme forms of free market ideology. This would include policy-makers and economists in the vein of Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Krugman, Jeffery Sachs and their British cousins.

Osborne was Right: We are all in this Together

In a time of austerity with the threat of yet another recession looming over our collective shoulder, the Conservatives are doing their best to keep up the war mentality, and for good reason. Hegel believed that war could act as a focus point for a collective identity and consciousness, making sure we stick together as one. And if you ask those who remember The War, they will likely talk of such camaraderie, albeit in a slightly romanticised fashion. Such is the pull of this war mentality to us today that various ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ merchandise has become very popular. And it is undeniable – we are all in this together; it is just the case that ‘we’ doesn’t necessarily encompass who you think.

The Ideological Assualt on the 50p Tax Rate

The following article is an updated version of a post which appeared on my own blog back in early September.

Back in the autumn of 2011, a group of economists called on the government to scrap the 50 pence top rate of personal income tax on the grounds that the tax hampers UK competitiveness and doesn’t significantly increase revenues. The evidence for both claims was shaky back in September, but following early indications from a HMRC report commissioned by George Osborne, calls for the tax to be scraped look even more suspect.

Debates on the Riots must address the endemic issues

Martin Luther King Jr. once said that a riot is the language of the unheard. That certainly seems to be the case today. There has to be a reason that it is only the ‘lower’ classes that seem to riot, burn police cars and loot shops. Why do we not see bankers, for example, committing the same acts? Perhaps the answer lies in current power relations. We are told that if we want to create a cohesive society (at least in the UK) we must increase our social capital – the social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them’ (Putnam, 2000: 19). In that case, did the Coalition get it right when it came to reprimanding those involved in the summer riots? Surely as a society we should make those involved understand the importance of these networks of trust, instead of shutting them off from the world through disproportionately harsh prison sentences? If we are all part of Cameron’s Big Society, shouldn’t the politicians embroiled in the expenses scandal be receiving sentences just as harsh?