Capitalism
Economics
Business
Spare a Thought (or Prayer) for the New PM – and his Chancellor
The global economy is entering dangerous territory. In Britain’s case, the standard scapegoat for any slowdown is Brexit, of course. But how to explain the contraction in other major manufacturing countries? Forewarnings of serious decline [more…]
20th Century
Advertising
Advertising seems to be almost everywhere these days, I don’t really object to it in principle as, without it, much of the world as we know it would look very different, but much modern advertising [more…]
19th Century
Women of the 18th and 19th Century (An occasional series) 1. Sarah Losh
Sometimes I get to wondering, do things simply happen randomly or do they happen for a reason? Like many other people, no doubt, I’ve been watching “Gentleman Jack”, the dramatised version of The Diaries of [more…]
Economics
The case for taxing real “Value Added” – not VAT!
Considering the UK’s horrendously complex tax system, have you noted the competitive strategies for tax reform put forward by Tory candidates in their bid for election to high office? Most of their suggested “reforms” involved [more…]
20th Century
Is Your Watch Killing You?
In 1902 an inventor called William J. Hammer left France for America. With him he carried a curious souvenir from 2 friends of his which would later result in the deaths of many, many young [more…]
Authoritarianism
The War on Cash, Part 2
Beyond privacy, there is also widespread concern over the economic impact of a fully cashless system. For one thing, as citizens slowly become exclusively dependent on big banks and card companies the systemic risk to [more…]
Arts
Targeted Advertising
A little while ago I paid my bill at the Supermarket checkout and along with my receipt I received a voucher for a £1 off Tena Lady pads! I wondered why I had been targeted [more…]
Communism
Time to Wake Up
A friend of many years’ standing has sent me an essay written by his 21-year-old grandson, now entering his final post-graduate year. It purports to establish that Capitalism and human survival on Planet Earth are [more…]