Not such a bright future.

prove to me that everything is fine and peachy.

the folly of pseudo-progressive repressive/exploitative/extractive neo-liberalism but these eventualities are, to my mind, an anthropological near inevitability, and integral to the evolution, and elevation, of the human condition

IMO The EU is set to collapse soon, with Brexit and euroskeptic parties likely to win in Germany and France the EU's days seem to be numbered. While some might cheer about this I see mass instability with an already fragile world economy see German or Italian banks if you don't believe me.

It would be great if I could just say that was it as far as problems are concerned but I'm only just getting started of course there is the environment which looks gloomier by the day (2/3rds of animals extinct by 2020, 2016 hottest year ever)
especially with Trump in the white house.

Then you have the general problems with our modern society, global corporations and the super wealthy are able to completely undermine democracy causing countless problems. Wages have fallen, unbreakable monopolies have formed and in order to try and keep the economy afloat desperate measures such as the constant downsizing of products (Like mars bars) have happened in order for people to still buy them.

Ref for falling wages: http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2016/07/uk-real-wages-decline-10-severe-oecd-equal-greece/

I would love to be proven wrong but I worry about the current trends over the world, from the growth of nationalism, general political unrest and a status quo seemingly more and more incompetent to deal with modern issues such as jobs once the self driving cars are introduced, to tackle the environmental issues in a sensible and efficient manner or have continuous economic growth on a finite planet. I'm probably missing out on half the problems but go ahead prove to me that everything is fine and peachy.

Don't worry, I worry about these things a lot too!

Glad to know I'm not the only one, ironic your name is sunshine though xD

Then you have the general problems with our modern society, global corporations and the super wealthy are able to completely undermine democracy causing countless problems.

Wages have fallen,

...

Ref for falling wages: http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2016/07/uk-real-wages-decline-10-severe-oecd-equal-greece/

I would love to be proven wrong but I worry about the current trends over the world, from the growth of nationalism, general political unrest and a status quo seemingly more and more incompetent to deal with modern issues such as jobs once the self driving cars are introduced, to tackle the environmental issues in a sensible and efficient manner or have continuous economic growth on a finite planet. I'm probably missing out on half the problems but go ahead prove to me that everything is fine and peachy.

It's been clear the Eurozone, and broader institutions of the EU, and the environment, were ****ed either way for some time now

Out of ordered chaos comes disordered chaos, followed by authoritarianism, rebellion, and, finally, a brave new world

Our generation, and the next, will suffer greatly as a result of the folly of pseudo-progressive repressive/exploitative/extractive neo-liberalism but these eventualities are, to my mind, an anthropological near inevitability, and integral to the evolution, and elevation, of the human condition

They really don't. If you think the world's biggest companies are particularly happy with the political direction of either Britain or the US right now, I think you'd be very wrong indeed.



Wages have fallen in real terms in the UK following the 2008 recession. However earnings have increased - as there are more people in work and more hours being worked. As such, we have higher disposable incomes (let's not forget too that real terms disposable incomes have doubled since the 1980s and tripled since the 1970s).

This is worth a read if you're interested in a rather less slanted analysis.



The problem is that you're to some extent being contradictory here. In one breath, you're complaining about the rise of nationalism; in the other, you're complaining about favourable treatment of global corporations. Ultimately you're either in favour of globalised free trade or you're more into economic nationalism. Sure, there's a sliding scale, but don't think for a second that the left are immune from their own insularity on this point.

As for "modern issues", technological advancement and so on: if it increases productivity, the more the better. Britain has lagged behind in productivity growth for a long time and we really need our workers to be generating more for the hours they work. This involves things like automation, more efficient sectors and a reduced reliance on low-pay, low-skill positions.

It has ever been so - for everyone who has complained that their interests are affected by the march of modernity, there are countless more who silently reap the benefits over decades and generations. Luddism has never benefited society.

We've made a great deal of progress on the environment, but it's not necessarily been through the sort of political action I think you're envisaging. Instead, technology has reduced the need to heat and light our homes through burning massive amounts of coal. Cars are more efficient than ever before.

The areas where there is little progress are developing countries, where they - in my mind quite legitimately - value economic growth over concerns about climate change. It's quite a thing for us to tell them that climate change will impact them when our wealth gives us a great deal of immunity from natural disasters and the negative effects of the weather. These societies see more keenly than we do that they cannot stand still and that their lives will be hugely improved by infrastructure, investment and development. They're probably right.

I don't agree with everything you've said but overall this is the sort of post I was hoping for and has actually taught me a lot especially about developing countries investing in infrastructure to deal with the negative effects of the weather rather than combating climate change the MEDC way.

I actually somewhat like the idea of economic nationalism strangely but I don't like the baggage or the rhetoric of the politicians that promote it. Guess we will just have to see how this economic nationalism plays out. Still hope something stops Trump's stupid ideas from passing such as his ideas on foreign policy and the environment to name a few.

Real terms wage increases have been virtually non-existant this past decade, and weren't much to rejoice in the noughties

Whilst there were indeed impressive gains up to the turn of the century, this past generation (as far back as the 80s) income and wealth inequality have grown significantly in the relatively Crony Capitalist dominated, and (hence) deregulated, Atlantic Nations. Today the richest 10% own around half of all UK wealth, whereas half the population collectively own less than 10%

If you look into the economics of inequality and social epidemiology, you find that perceptions relating to wealth and comfort are not so much to do with individual gains, but more so with interpersonal relativistic comparison i.e. if economic systems become more unequal people feel less wealthy/happy, even if their individual income/wealth may have increased a little

How do we define “huge advances” i.e. profound improvements in the human condition, if not by people feeling more wealthy and content? This is the problem that the establishment now has to address (given the rise of populism, partly in the context of these socioeconomic pressures). Politics and Economics must evolve

Mass immigration and state multiculturalism - fairly naked social engineering, brought to you by a political left desperate to create safe constituencies and a global capitalist elite on a cost cutting drive - has scarcely advanced (in recent years, significantly worsened) inter-cultural relations or social conditions

You lack a solid frame of reference and do not speak for the nation. There have been improvements in terms of health and safety, and diversification/evolution in industry/industrial practices, but these are certainly not contingent upon neoliberal globalism (although they do of course relate to advancement associated with global engagement which, it must be stressed, has been ongoing for thousands of years)

Luxury goods don’t buy you happiness either, as per the testimony of many a whore to materialism (just see how poor little social media stars break down when their grossly superficial, hyperpersonal, hyperconsumerist virtual realities come caving in). We are social animals; we thrive on social commonality (equity), connectivity (non-segregation), and certainty (empowered vocational/financial stability). Take the those things out of the equation and almost no matter how much moola you slosh about e.g. on average, people soon find themselves living a very hollow, somewhat haunted, existence

Your grandparents enjoyed this thing called human dignity. You can see it on the faces of relatively untouched indigenous tribes in places like the Amazon. Where you cannot see it is on the faces of, for example, the affected tribes of Standing Rock

Perhaps you are unaware how close NeoCon US ‘deep government’ is to engineering wholly voidable conflict with a nuclear power it has repeatedly sanctioned (under dubious circumstances) and backed into a corner. If you know anything about international relations and strategic study you’ll know that the prospect of East-West escalation and possible “limited nuclear conflict” (as the sociopaths like to call it) is pretty much at its highest level since The Cuban Missle Crisis

You’ll also be aware of the massive recent influx of hoodlums and Islamists from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia – a great many of them males of fighting age – into Europe and the fact that we already have 3,000,000 people in the UK whose primary loyalty and allegiance is to their 'brothers and sisters' and, more fundamentally, to an ideologically incompatible, hostile, divisive, oppressive, and combative, supreme immortal whose direct commandment can never be questioned/reformed

Already, members drawn from this community are 3.25 times overrepresented in our prison population, and 7+ times overrepresented in French and Belgian systems. These ratios are even lower than they in fact should be e.g. against a backdrop of paralysing political correctness that has meant that the safety and security of tens of thousands of vulnerable women and children across Europe has been sacrificed, abandoned to rape and sexual slavery. Why? Thanks to neoliberal globalist inspired ‘one world’ free movement, and the related normalisation/legalistic

The past generation enjoyed a significant increase, aye, but life expectancy has a lagged effect. Watch what happens to the stats as the impact of modern industrial/lifestyle norms hit home. Look at the rise of cancer, not just among old people (up by a factor of several times, prematurely claiming a number of much loved icons in the past year alone), but also among the young (up over 50%). Look at the mass-pandemics of heart and neurodegenerative diseases (dementia), and consider the effect of hyperconsumption, smog, and electrosmog on these thematics (profound)

Not sure what you mean by “earnings”. In Economics, we typically define earnings as quarterly/yearly company profits or as weekly pay. Neither of these things are necessarily contingent upon greater employment; the later is expected to move counter to it, in classical economic theory. At any rate, an average increase in corporate, or individual, earnings, again, does not necessarily benefit the worst off in the slightest, let alone disproportionately (not sure where you’re getting that idea from)

Our income gini has improved in the order of 2% during the recent blip in the trend, but this does not reflect the fact that the top 10% have held on, in spite of this broader improvement, nor the fact that the elites continue to cream off the top (below). Consistent with this (recent) history, and the relativistic stats I made mention of in my earlier commentary, we have a wealth gini coefficient of 67.8%. This is morally untenable, socially destabilising, and economically unsustainable


Correct

Such as? I invite you to watch the lecture I provided. Living standards do not necessarily make for a more contented populous

It is as if you’re treating humans as Homo Economicus. Economics has moved on since the 1950s. No longer do we conceive of humans as perfectly rational agents purely focused on maximising (material vestiges of) personal utility. Hence, Behavioural Economics (see the lit review in my dissertation, for an introduction to this helpful evolution of our ‘social science’)

We might have to accept that human interaction leads to increased risk of deadly disease pandemics. Or, we might think it prescient to do something about the nascent threat, following early identification. We are not simply destined to become passengers in our own voyage of discovery, we have the opportunity, post enlightenment, to drive human progress in a direction approaching social/socioeconomic optimality, if only we have the wherewithal to get behind the wheel and the wisdom to know when to shift gears, or to amend our route e.g. in response to changeability in 'road conditions'

This is an unhelpful tautology. To ignore the lessons from history, and seek to deny any meaningful associations, is not just anti-intellectual but socially irresponsible

Would you care to quantify this ‘great deal’ with some figures, or is this mere parroting of politically correct spiel from the status quo political/media elites?

What is one of the consequences? A reduction in unskilled labour flows from the EU? It’s a possible consequence, aye, depending on the settlement, but not necessarily a significantly harmful one to our people, on balance. To our short to medium term domestic productivity, and in particular corporate profitability in labour intensive sectors, yes, but, as explicated, this is not synonymous with the welfare of the nation

It is one of many factors that influence, and yes sometimes, in some respects, have played an important role in advancing, some of these developments, but it cannot be approached as a categorical enabler, ignoring counter-factual possibilities of continued advancement, as indicated by systems that have not been similarly compromised by the neoliberal agenda, both historically and contemporarily comparatively speaking

I tend to agree. Unfortunately work/life balance has been going in the opposite direction for some time, hence the need for the Working Time Directive



Any searching sociologist/infant health and development researcher with a shred of moral/intellectual integrity would pause before celebrating the decimation of traditional gender norms/roles, and associated increase in the divorce rate/decrease in the number engaging in the historically socially/familial stabilising institution of matrimony. I would encourage you, and anyone reading this, to do the same (as per my earlier commentary on women’s lib, plus a number of other related posts, to include these)

In what way is neoliberal globalism responsible for this e.g. given that it arguably only really became a monster (of privatisation/deregulation) in the 80s/90s?

Plenty would take issue with this e.g. given the much maligned energy cost element of the 'cost of living crisis', and arguable cartelisation/oligopoly/foreign ownership of significant elements of the UK energy sector

None of these goods are either essential for our survival nor represent a remarkable net improvement in our quality of life if you examine related usage in a socially nuanced way



Nor was their innovation/spread contingent upon the existence of globalism, let alone neolibalism. People seem to forget (and I accept that you are no fan of our industrial heritage, or of a return to an economy rebalanced by a sizeable manufacturing sector) that Britain and the USA used to make things. Hoover and Dyson ring any bells?

Jesu-moralist humanitarians are unlikely to feel a lasting sense of anger towards any people bound by the sorts of tribal and associative instincts that I am, as a reasonably learned and perspicacious social scientist and follower/debater of current affairs, by now very well aware affect us all

The only serious antipathy I have is toward the establishment, for creating a multicultural mess that will, it (increasingly) seems depressingly likely, surely result in misery for tens of millions across Europe (and most of those worst affected are, unfortunately, likely to be members of minority groups, rather than the elites, who will be doing their best to mimic the Tony Blair disappearing act, when the proverbial really hits the fan)

Everyone under the sun works in our NHS, this does not render anyone immune from criticism. To suggest otherwise is as facile as it is puerile

Some do, some don’t. Non-EEA migrants cost the exchequer in the order of net £15bn p.a., and only around half of Muslim men, and a quarter of Muslim women, are economically active. Forgive me if I’m not overwhelmed by the economic contribution of this purportedly 'culturally enriching' community

Where are you based, and are you a member of said community? The stats (those given, plus a host of others, including these), and the direct, empirical experience of people who do actually have to live side by side with these parallel societies, speak rather differently. Best to be informed before making bold/dismissive claims



With the rise of populism, and the wolf of financial collapse fundamentally no further from the door, the neoliberal house of cards is in the process of stacking. The powers that be – those who orchestrated, presided over, and profited from this insidious paradigm – are positioning themselves in order to be able to cling to power, influence, and assets, when the next major correction hits

Manufactured conflict represents one such 'Plan B' scenario as it would mean an economic reset/confiscation of assets and monetary hedges like gold, along with a marked degradation of civil liberties and Democratic representation/collective political and bargaining power going relatively unnoticed/unopposed

Their M.O. is as it ever was, from the time of the early New World, and African, genocides, through the French, and World Wars, 9/11 and the Iraq Wars, to today: deflect, distract, divide, disenfranchise, denude, destroy



It’s not a conspiracy theory (although there are related, rather far fetched, conspiracy theories out there e.g. that it represents a concerted attempt to control/subdue minds). What it is, in fact, is an envelope term used to describe anthropogenic electromagnetic fields/radiation that constitutes a form of pollution known, and repeatedly shown, to interfere with a number of physiological processes

It is, further, and relatedly, associated with a deterioration in health and functioning (as well as particular illnesses like cancer) among some people, myself included, upon (chronic) exposure. If you wish to discuss/debate this there is a thread for that, but I would caution you not to pursue a line that makes a mockery of an incredibly intrusive and limiting disability that has made life extremely difficult for people like myself

I hope you’re right, but sadly have a number of reasons to suppose the contrary will transpire, given what I know of related nascent health pandemics, in the light of fairly considerable secondary biomed research

Then of course, none of this spells doom as much as Africa's population boom. Their population will quadruple to 4 billion by the end of the century, and combined with industrialisation, CO2 emissions will go through the roof. Africa can't sustain that many people, but those people are being born regardless. So we'll see huge famines, diseases, and wars in Africa, and decades of biblical scale emigration, doubtless causing much chaos in Europe, magnitudes worse than in 2015.