Individual biography and the spatial distribution of variety (or, what the...
Throughout my thesis I use the term ‘exploration’ as a short hand to designate a rather precise process. I’m trying to conceptualise a particular sort of biographical process, which in spite of its...
View ArticleCameron’s declaration that “money is no object” has destroyed his austerity...
George Eaton really hit the nail on the head with this. The difficulty is how to make this case, that contra TINA there is an alternative, without it sliding into an unintended attack on the flood...
View ArticleIs the state shrinking? Yes, even if John Redwood says it isn’t
There’s no money left in the kitty! We’ve maxed out the nation’s credit card! By this point, I find it hard to be reasonable when confronted with these inane metaphors*. But there’s been another...
View ArticleThe politics of austerity
Richard Seymour had a thoughtful and incisive analysis in the Guardian a couple of weeks ago, released around the same time as his new book on austerity (see the video above). It addresses what I take...
View Article31 things the current UK government have privatised or want to privatise
child protection services the probation service the royal mail emergency calls to the fire service the land registry the NHS blood service Eurostar large swathes of the school system significant...
View ArticleMaking the ‘Precariat’: Unemployment, Insecurity and Work-Poor Young Adults...
Making the ‘Precariat’: Unemployment, Insecurity and Work-Poor Young Adults in Harsh Economic Conditions Free One Day Conference at the University of Leicester July 14th 2014 In the UK, as well as in...
View ArticleWorkshop 11-12th November 2014 –‘Occupying Politics in a Time of Alterity’
Please see attached a call for papers for the workshop entitled ‘Occupying Politics in a Time of Alterity’ to be held at Manchester University on 11-12th November 2014. It seems that the recent...
View ArticleWhat will post-democracy look like?
As anyone who reads my blog regularly might have noticed, I’m a fan of Colin Crouch’s notion of post-democracy. I’ve interviewed him about it a couple of times: once in 2010 and again in 2013. Whereas...
View ArticleThe Emperor’s New Clothes
Because we’re leaving them to their own devices The poorest are making all of the sacrifices – The cost of living crisis, house prices, the cost of a deposit, I don’t give a shit But yes of course we...
View Article“The problem with capitalism is that it’s not capitalist enough”:...
See below for comments by the Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in this article that are by now rather familiar. This notion can be formulated in many different ways but at root it seeks to redeem...
View Articlebig data and the politics of austerity
From Infoglut, by Mark Andrejevic, loc 607. The context to digital innovation in public services: What emerges is a kind of actuarial model of crime: one that lends itself to aggregate considerations...
View ArticleJohn McDonnell’s New Socialism
I listened to this earlier today and I was really impressed: It’s part of a broader intellectual project in meetings currently taking place around the country. Hopefully one in Manchester soon! Here’s...
View ArticleThe coordinates of the austerity consensus are disintegrating
From Corbyn: Against All Odds, by Richard Seymour, pg 22. There’s a huge opportunity for the Labour left but also a huge risk, as momentum has built for an anti-austerity platform that might no longer...
View ArticleTrump is masculinising poverty
An absolutely fascinating article from Arlie Hochschild, whose new book on the American right sounds like a must read: Traditional Tea Party supporters wanted to cut both the practice of cutting in...
View ArticleAbundance and austerity
From The Revenge of the Monsters of Educational Technology, by Audrey Watters, loc 1187: Many of us in education technology talk about this being a moment of great abundance—information...
View ArticleAusterity politics as reactionary populism
I thought this was an excellent account in Corbynism: A Critical Approach by Frederick Harry Pitts and Matt Bolton. From loc 627: Austerity is often taken to have caused the contemporary rise of...
View ArticleUnbundling the university
My notes on Newfield, C. (2019). Unbundling the knowledge economy. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 1-9. Far from being distinct institutions at a remove from society, this special issue...
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