Politics on Graeme's

"Christian" nationalism

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 20:16:31 +0000

Unlike those trying to introduce the foreign ideology of “Christian nationalism” to the UK, I actually went to church today.In a very white area,the church was full of immigrants

No progress in two and a half millennia?

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 10:09:22 +0000

This passage from (Pseudo-)Xenophon’s Constitution of the Athenians, the last sentence in particular, could have been written today, and it seems we cannot run things better now than then.

Racism is not one thing: experiences of different cultures

Sat, 26 Aug 2023 11:02:28 +0000

I have lived in two countries, and worked in another, on different continents, and been obviously ethnic minority in all three. I will start with my own birth certificate. It states my race. It states my parents races. This was regarded as normal and necessary until just three years ago.

Why CO? emissions will keep rising.

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 12:17:19 +0000

We have had many climate change agreements that have not changed anything. The greenwashing was inevitable and to be expected. This graph from Our World in Data says it all: there has been no change in trajectory.

Climate treaties cheat the environment.

Fri, 13 Jul 2018 11:06:35 +0000

Climate treaties suffer from a problem that is pervasive in our society. It is the same problem that is destroying British state schools, makes public sector out-sourcing fail, and cripples businesses. Once you set a numerical target, the metric becomes more important that what it measures.

Not just a CO2 shortage - the economy is broken

Thu, 12 Jul 2018 09:27:19 +0000

Shortages happen. A shortage of a gas that is vital to the manufacture of everything from beer to pain killers may look like just another unfortunate occurrence, but it is really a product of the way a “neo-liberal” economy works: globalisation and centralisation.

Trump's immigration policy compared to the UK's

Sun, 05 Feb 2017 12:27:17 +0000

There has been near universal condemnation of Trump’s immigration policies, but it seems to be that they simply do in one stroke what most European countries have done incrementally. The UK is a fairly typical European country in this respect so lets see how it compares.

What has the EU ever done for us?

Sun, 05 Jun 2016 10:15:59 +0000

What has the EU ever done for us? Mostly, a lot of harm.

Consistently favoured corporate interests over public interests

The EU is far more insulated from public pressure than national governments but even more prone to listening to corporate lobbyists. It is not transparent enough about lobbying for us to even know what the real expenditure is, but we know it a lot. The greatest single case of this is in the supposedly free trade, but really corporate welfare, TTIP treaty which the EU is pushing hard, despite widespread public opposition. Who wants the treaty? Corporate lobbyists. It also binds countries permanently to particular policies, undermining democracy.

The philistines are running the asylum

Mon, 18 Aug 2014 11:05:36 +0000

This post was sparked off by a comment a teacher made about the British government’s education policy, but the point I want to make is that this is the result of a globally accepted change in values. There is a link between education policy, how prisoners are treated, arts policy and more.

How to fix the deficit, immigration and growth.

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:28:58 +0000

My idea, intended for the UK, but possibly applicable elsewhere, will generate a huge amount of government revenue, complete change immigration, and stimulate economic growth. The idea is a very simple: auction residence visas.

Alcohol deaths public health and fuzzy thinking

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:38:37 +0000

This article arguing (yet again) for the government to introduce minimum prices and other strict controls on alcohol consumption. As usual, it contains fallacies, fails to provide important information, and is generally rather vague.

Was Marx right?

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:20:51 +0000

One reason that Marx’s prediction that capitalism would lead to increasing inequality, and then failure, was wrong, was that advancing technology lead to increases in prosperity for almost everyone. Slowing technological change will mean an increase in inequality, so Marx may have another chance to be proved right.

The plutocracy is no meritocracy

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:52:02 +0000

Many of the spate of recent articles on the super-rich, such as the influential one in The Atlantic have accepted the idea that the plutocracy is meritocratic: the wealth is earned. I have my doubts, and had a look at how and where the richest of the super-rich made their money.

Why democracy will die

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:26:01 +0000

In the 1990s it looked as though democracy was spreading irresistibly. Not only do I think this trend has reversed, but that there will be very little public objection to it, and the push-back against it will be comparatively little even from those who seek to oppose it. It will happen slowly, but democracy is dying.

The internet as an instrument of control

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:46:44 +0000

Conventional wisdom has long been that the internet (and IT and modern telecommunications) are hard for governments to control and empower anyone willing to use them — activists and protesters in particular. I have long been sceptical, but I think its now clear I was right.

Financial models and climate models

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 08:59:48 +0000

A few years ago we were assured that complex financial models used by banks could be relied on to correctly assess financial risk. This was supposed to ensure that banks would stay solvent, and the financial system stable. It turned out that insufficient back-testing, subtle pressure on those building the models to produce the “right” results, and the intrinsic problems of complex models, meant that the models were far from good enough.

We are also asked to trust complex models of climate change that predict rising temperatures. I am inclined to distrust complex models in general, but leaving that aside, are these likely to suffer the shortcomings of the bank’s risk models?

How to get someone (innocent) jailed

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:55:46 +0000

The fact that people can be convicted using evidence that only exists in electronic form makes it stunningly easy to frame someone, if you can get brief physical access to their computer, or you can fool them into inserting a malicious CD or USB drive into their computer. Here are some methods of doing it.

Do the British really hate foreigners that much?

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:01:56 +0000

The government has so far come up with two ideas to reduce cap immigration, both of which would be highly damaging to the country:

Let fewer students in
Reduce the number of foreign workers

Take the first as it has had less attention. Educating foreign students is highly profitable for Britain and earns huge amount of money. It is like an extended, and far more profitable, version of tourism.

Terrorists are fools, politicians help them

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:06:33 +0000

This is partly the result of a discussion on Slashdot on why terorists are disproportionately engineers, and partly a follow up to my previous post about the staggering incompetence of most terrorists. There is also the issue of how the media and politicians actively help terrorists achieve their goals.

How to break up oligopolists

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:32:43 +0000

The most discussed problem with my proposals on how to fix capitalism is how one decides which companies to break up, and how one goes about doing it. Needless to say, I do have some answers

How to fix the banking system

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:42:47 +0000

This is a bit less ambitious than my plan to reform capitalism, but the principles are the same.

Too big to fail is too big to exist

Big banks create too much systemic risk, and are far too much of a strain on government finances when they need to be bailed out.

Fixing capitalism: reactions and replies

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:33:54 +0000

The reactions to my post on fixing capitalism have surprised me: almost everyone who has blogged or tweeted on it agrees with the broad thrust of what I advocate. For proposals so far from the political mainstream, what does that mean? Perhaps is shows how for the politicians are from a popular demand for change. There also a few points that need replies.

How to fix capitalism

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:40:24 +0000

The recession and the crisis and banking are the least of the reasons for thinking that we need reforms. the crisis of capitalism goes much deeper: the influence big business has on governments (and the warped policies this leads to), increasing central control of the economy and the general move away from free markets.. I have some modest proposals on how to fix capitalism.

What do the army do? Fat soldiers and the meaninglessness of BMI

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 12:16:26 +0000

According to The Observer, the army has a problem with soldiers who do not get a minimum of two hours of physical exercise a week. I know accountants who get more than that. What exactly do the army do with their time?

Less free speech in Ireland

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:52:26 +0000

The Irish apparently do not like freedom of speech. Everyone will be subject to the same restriction to prevent speech that might actually criticise beliefs or encourage people to think for themselves, that British broadcasters are already subject to. At leas in Ireland it is the courts that have the final say, in Britain it is Ofcom and the completely unaccountable bureaucrats at the IWF

The internet is easy to censor

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:56:46 +0000

It has often been said that the internet is hard to censor because “it treats censorship as a defect and routes around it”. This could not be more wrong, the internet is the easiest medium to censor.

The JFS and legal racial discrimination

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:14:29 +0000

The case of the boy refused admission to the Jewish Free School (JFS) has revealed that some types of racial discrimination are legal in Britain. The key point is that he would have been admitted if his ethnicity was right.

Against women

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:46:38 +0000

Stumbling and Mumbling lists seven things that are wrong with women. While some will no doubt be offended, can someone explain how it is any worse than the common suggestions that men are worse at communicating, multi-tasking etc., as Flip Chart Fairy Tales points out. In addition, there is the logical link between what women are supposed to be better than men at, and what women are supposed to be worse than men at.

If Mandela is a terrorist, who else is?

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:53:23 +0000

So, the US has finally removed Nelson Mandela from its list of terrorists. It says a lot about the law, that Mandela was on the list in the first place. Anyone, other than a government, who uses violence for a political end is classified as a terrorist.

Why tax havens are fraudulent

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:50:08 +0000

I usually enjoy reading Economic Logic, but this post defending tax havens seems badly wrong headed to me. It misses the essentially fraudulent character of tax havens.

America vs the world

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:13:17 +0000

Listening to a funny and relentless condemnation of the American Imperium and its current government from [book]Gore Vidal[/book], I felt rather sorry for the American ambassador who was in the audience. It was clear the feelings of the audience were very much with Gore Vidal, and very much against everything it is the ambassador’s job to push.

Ban football, not video games

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:14:22 +0000

Lots of people (especially American politicians like Hillary Clinton) are worried about the effects of violent video games, despite the complete lack of evidence that there is any effect. Perhaps the regular calls for restrictions on children’s exposure to corrupting material should instead focus on team games, now that there is evidence that watching American Football makes people violent.

The gospel according to neo-conservatives

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 09:02:33 +0000

Here is my attempt to bring the Bible into line with modern values. I am particularly trying to help neo-conservatives and neo-liberals who have an exceptionally hard time in reconciling what they know to be right with Jesus’s old fashioned ideas.

Immigrants: less criminal than native borns and essential

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 03:25:56 +0000

In the last few days I have seen two solid pieces of evidence emerge for my views on immigration. The first is research showing that immigrants are more law abiding than the native born (found via Unintended Consequences). The other is the experience of American towns which cracked down on illegal immigrants, only to rethink after seeing how damaging this could be to their economies (thanks to Brad De Long).

Free speech is dead

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 10:19:26 +0000

Alisher Usmanov’s shut down of Criag Murray’s blog is yet another example of how British law makes it easy for the rich to shut down less well heeled critics with the threat of legal action. They do not need to actually convince a court that they have been libelled.

Abolish planning laws; solve housing "crisis"

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 10:15:35 +0000

Imagine that the UK had enough housing that every single household occupied a detached or semi-detached house (two thirds of them in detached houses) and all the country’s 12 million currently occupied terraced houses, maisonettes and flats were empty. You might think that to provide so much housing we would need to “concrete over the countryside”, in fact we would need to switch just 2.5% of the UK’s land area to urban residential use. Switching much less would provide a more than adequate supply.

The City and the tax haven

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:11:00 +0000

Richard Murphy has a good definition of a tax haven, but I disagree with his idea that having a large financial services sector is an important characteristic, although I do agree with his view that the UK and Ireland are both tax havens.

Don't eat killer fruit!

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 04:53:08 +0000

One of the reasons given by The Guardian for the failure of a scheme to encourage children to eat more fruit, is that schools are reluctant to give children fruit with stones because they might choke. What is even more amazing is that the journalist writing it could let this idiocy, and the disturbing reasons for it, pass with absolutely no comment.

Tax and government

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:54:25 +0000

I sympathise with the Tax Justice Network’s aims, but I think their latest publication may have got the relationship between tax and good government (found via Richard Murphy’s blog) wrong. I also think I can explain why there is so little pressure to improve tax collection.

Fixed rates will not make housing affordable

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:38:29 +0000

I find it hard to believe that encouraging long term fixed interest mortgages, as the government plans to, will really make housing more affordable. Here is why:

Middle class revolution

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:33:21 +0000

One of many interesting ideas in the Ministry of Defence’s Strategic Trends study is that the middle class may become revolutionaries: taking on the role Marx expected of the proletariat. My instinctive reaction to this is that it is implausible, but, on reflection, it is more likely than it first appears.

Feeding terrorism?

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:29:57 +0000

This evidence appears to show that the main cause of terrorism is the lack of civil liberties (as discussed in this blog post). So where does that leave governments whose “war on terror” involves getting rid of civil liberties?

My favourite terrorists

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 07:08:45 +0000

The terrorists responsible for the London and Glasgow airport “car bombs” are my favourite kind: bumbling idiots who could not explode a jar of nitroglycerine. I feel a lot safer,knowing how incompetent they are. My main worry is that some of the suspects are doctors: if they planned this, how did they get through medical school?

Spreading greed

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:26:54 +0000

According to economist Robert H Frank, economics students become more selfish as a result of spending years immersed in the study of economic theory that is based on the idea that people act selfishly (or “rationally”, as economists describe it.

What effect does living in a neo-liberal capitalist society that is based on exactly the same assumptions have on people?

BAE and how to pay bribes

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 09:19:09 +0000

After the ineptness apparently shown by BAE in directly transferring cash it appears that many people do not know how to pay bribes properly. Lot of companies with ethics committees and auditors, so, for the benefit of BAE and others who need to learn how to it properly, this is how you bribe foreign government officials:

Bush-Blair memo: heros imprisoned

Thu, 10 May 2007 15:59:12 +0000

The heroic David Keogh and Leo O’Connor have been jailed. It is no longer news that Bush wanted to bomb Al-Jazeera in Qatar and flatten Falujah, which fits with claims that US forces deliberately targetted journalists. Peter Kilfoyle’s early day motion here, people willing to risk jail to get the truth out here (who include Borris Johnson).

Immigration and the economy

Thu, 03 May 2007 07:33:52 +0000

Putting together the information from these articles from the Christain Science Monitor and the Washington Post, (found via Greg Mankiw’s blog) once more emphasis the enormous economic benefits of immigration. It also demolishes the arguments of those “concerned” about immigration, in Britain as well as the US.

Silliest blog post

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:43:08 +0000

This has got to be one of the silliest statements ever made on any of the blogs I read regularly.

So much for free speech

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 08:14:16 +0000

I do not normally blog on American politics, but this deserves attention. A former professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton, who has also been a US Marine colonel and who has been injured in action and decorated, is on a terrorist watch list. This is apparently that he has publicly criticised George Bush. This is not an isolated incident.

Free market hypocrisy

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 06:05:58 +0000

This change of heart on the benefits of outsourcing is, to me, just another example of both the hypocrisy of many supposed free markets advocates. Everyone seems to favour free markets, but as Adam Smith himself pointed out, no one wants free markets to apply to themselves. Everyone wants free markets their own way.