Kester Brewin

Category: Economics

  • ‘Free’ Markets

    —

    by

    KB
    in ,

    “So it appears that #Brexit means closing our borders to people, but opening them to the free movement of capital.” Precisely this. Capitalism loves the free movement of everything except the poor. Money must be free to move. The cheap labour that creates it must not. This, apparently, is what we mean by a ‘free market.’ I…

  • Next Up, Capitalism Is Killing Us

    —

    by

    KB
    in , , , ,

    Lead stories on the radio this morning:  How a third of fathers want a less stressful job so they can actually spend time with their kids.  Eight people in the world have more wealth than the poorest 50% The UK’s National Institute for Clinical Excellence rejects a life-extending cancer drug for use on NHS because…

  • Mutiny | Withdrawal of Labour in the Age of Zero Hours

    —

    by

    KB
    in , , ,

    I’m no firebrand when it comes to trades union activity (though I am a lead rep in the education union I am a part of) but when a Tory government starts rattling sabres and threatening even more draconian legislation to outlaw strikes, it has me worried. Last night I finally got round to watching The…

  • Creating Freedom, by Raoul Martinez

    —

    by

    KB
    in , , , , ,

    This looks like a very worthwhile read. Comes highly recommended, and if you’re interested in understanding and acting in these strange times, sounds like one for the Christmas list. From the review in The Guardian:  Creating Freedom is, in part, a mashup of Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine, James Lovelock’s The Revenge of Gaia, Thomas…

  • Dear Scotland…

    —

    by

    KB
    in , ,

    I’ve kept pretty quiet with all this talk of independence, partly because I’ve somehow felt that I didn’t have a valid voice in the debate. But the last couple of days, as the arguments have become more intense and the feelings raised even higher, I’ve decided that that’s nonsense. I could say that I have…

  • The Gift of Sleep | Resisting 24/7

    —

    by

    KB
    in ,

    Happy New Year people. Been on school holidays for the past couple of weeks, which has mostly meant getting my head down writing (finishing novel / working on a follow-up to Mutiny-After Magic – more news of which soon). I’ve also been reading a fascinating book – 24/7 by Jonathan Crary. It explores how 24/7…