On Society
This page collects my thoughts about society. I like to look under the carpet at the ‘stuff’ we pretend isn't there. I’m not prolific (i.e. annoying). I prefer to be the sort of person people say - they don’t write a lot but what they do write is worth reading.
The tech billionaires think they’re above the law!
Meta pirated millions of books to train its AI.
My PLR battle hits the headlines
I love that my books are available in public libraries. I wrote them to be read and that New Zealand has a PLR scheme is great – in theory. It’s the practice where the bureaucracy of the scheme is Weberian.
Distrapathy
Imagine living in a time when people could knowingly create fake news stories that were not only believed, they were repeated as true by large amounts of the population.
Precarity - A choice that needs changing
Exsanguinate - to drain of blood; make bloodless; to bleed to death.
Precarity - a state of persistent insecurity with regard to employment or income.
The Public Lending Right - progress of sorts
I got quite excited, as you do, when you think you’ve changed the world (at least a tiny part of the world).
“I’m not interested in politics” is a Titanic-sized iceberg.
Although I can’t change the past, I can influence the future. If we could interest younger people in politics enough to vote, the result of our democracy could be very different.
Why the Public Lending Right pisses me off
Briefly, the scheme exists to recognise that authors with books in public libraries will be missing revenue as people can borrow books rather than buying them. It sounds great in theory but how the scheme is run, well ... it pisses me off!
Abuse in state and faith-based care
That’s why everyone needs to read (at least) the Executive Summary of the report - it happened, and is happening, on our watch.
Joe Biden’s NZ parallel
Looking into my crystal ball, I can see a NZ parallel to Joe Biden's exit and I hope I'm right.
Democracy needs experienced minds
I told them, “That’s a wealth of experience you have to draw on. The trick is, can you?”
Why I hate banks!
Banks are make eye watering profits, why do they need to make super-charged profits when Kiwis are struggling?
Combining the Fermi Paradox with the Cassandra Complex
When the Roman Empire fell, it took with it a myriad of advanced technology and the human species entered a period referred to as The Dark Ages.
The state of the fourth estate
Without freedom of the press, democracy is on shaky ground. In countries where the press is overtly and obviously controlled – China, Russia, North Korea, Syria, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia are some of the worst examples according to Reporters sans frontières – the state controls society through some form of autocratic rule. There is no pretence – citizens’ rights and their very existence are at the state’s pleasure.
It’s called “Austerity” and it doesn’t work.
Austerity - difficult economic conditions created by government measures to reduce public expenditure.
Common knowledge
Interestingly, it seems common knowledge doesn’t need to be true.
Bad neighbours
The real problem is we have politicians (and political commentators for that matter) who suffer from one-dimensional thinking.
Leaving Substack . . .
The one “thing” I’m convinced of is that there is no “right” answer. There is also no “truth”, with a capital T, to be found.
Keeping the bastards honest – is it possible?
My question this week is – as a citizen, is it possible to keep the “bastards” sitting in the government benches honest?
Growth
Growth has become an automatic assumption, something organisations and countries must do to survive.
The capitalist singularity
The moment, recognised historically, when the first domino fell.