Is the Nation State obsolete? In many ways the answer has to be yes. Multinational companies proliferate bleeding money from economies and into the pockets of a very small number of incredibly rich and usually men. They pay minimal tax and I wonder how many small businesses have been ruined by the likes of Amazon and McDonalds, etc. The mega tec companies have the power to influence elections. Taking back control was a theme often used to camoflage Brexit’s undoubted racism, ut was never a practical solution to the lack of control felt by impoverished in the UK. Indeed taking back control is only possible in a trade bloc the size of the EU. I think Labour are coming to realise that it is not them who control the economy – they can only tinker with the edges! I will refer to AI later!
Conflicts are pursued in the name of nationalism/tribalism. Russia invaded Ukraine to salve the needs of old score Soviet communists. Israel is pursuing tribal tendencies to create an ever growing area. Similar disputes are occuring in Myanmar, Sudan/South Sudan, China and elsewhere. In the two most publised conflicts the flags of the combatants are very conspicuous. Both are conflicts about control and territory. Would Hamas have committed its atrocity if Israel had not been persecuting Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank? Were Russian speaking Ukranians being persecuted against?
Would the world be a better place without tribes/nationalism? I believe so, but I also believe that the world would be a better place without the likes of Musk, Gates, etc. amassing vast wealth as individuals. I have often wondered how the world would have developed without the vast expenditure in the Middle Ages on churches, cathedrals and monasteries; and in other parts of the world on similar religious edifices. Now they rich spend the money selfishly on super yachts and multiple houses/apartments with an array of servants/employees! The Royal Family of the UK are exemplars of this (and perhaps more transparent, as they are publically funded! The latest nouveau riche are behaving like the brats they are! Forget the supposed altruism of Gates and Warren Buffet – they have pledged to give 90% of their wealth when they die to charities. Who choses which charities? I will bet that it will not be based on the most in need of help. PS> Bill Gates is still worth $100 billion according to the internet! (he still has shares in Microsoft).
Can these fuckers be reigned in? It has always amazed me that companies do not follow the example of John Lewis and profit share! An article in yesterdays paper discussed how investors! had taken $160 millin from Toy’srUs before it went bankrupt – and how many local shops were driven out of business before bankruptcy.
Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered is a collection of essays published in 1973 by German-born British economist E. F. Schumacher. The title “Small Is Beautiful” came from a principle espoused by Schumacher’s teacher Leopold Kohr[1] (1909–1994) advancing small, appropriate technologies, policies, and polities as a superior alternative to the mainstream ethos of “bigger is better”.
Just rambling a bit more, how many people now commute to jobs that could/should be done locally. I have long fingers – just noticed! Why are there no village hubs with rooms rented out with all the tech stuff, with a lunch bar (at lest), safe bike storage, we could return to a quieter, less stressful world!
And on the Macho front – Tommy Robinsons book has outsold Johnsons – this cannot be good!
