We’ve reached another autumn, bringing its fading light and
fading warmth, chilly morning runs, and melancholic musings.
In the 20
months since my previous post, much water has gone under the bridge, and yet so
many things remain unchanged. Will
Self recently cited Raoul Vaneigem (ref) writing almost 50 years ago: “The organisation of
work and the organisation of leisure are the blades of the castrating shears
whose job is to improve the race of fawning dogs.” [1] The continuing truth of that analysis
is quickly evidenced by a brief trawl through a list of the most popular
television programmes (ref),
and a more dispiriting list of infantilising, head-in-the-sand anaesthetic
would be hard to imagine, although of course if castration is unavoidable then
better with anaesthetic than without.
Meanwhile, the illuminating
but complex debate over national security, covert surveillance, and unwarranted
erosion of privacy continues (ref),
with a particular focus on the US & UK, whose state machineries are maybe
not unique in their illegal activities but quite outstanding in their hubris
& hypocrisy.
At the same
time, being alert to where the real economic power lies, Cameron & Osborne
are also doing their bit to keep the funds coming in for their cronies, by twerking
their over-fed arses at Brazil, Russia, India, &
especially China (ref).
And they are continuing
their enthusiastic privatisation of the state’s assets by flogging off the Royal
Mail, to raise more cash for buying some smoke & mirrors in preparation for
the next election.
Worryingly,
the Queen’s “rainy day fund” is down to the last million pounds, so presumably in
case it rains over the winter, or perhaps in compensation for losing her postal service, she has been awarded a 22% pay-rise (ref).
As a complete
non-sequitur, overall income inequality in the UK is currently higher than at
any other time in the last 30 years (ref).
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