MAgazine
The politics of deterrence
Time to ban the release of helium balloons and sky lanterns
The rights of older people and the role of AI
Bill Johnston discusses the potential for a UN Convention on Older People, what those rights might mean in an age of AI and how both issues present a challenge for Scotland to solve.
Scottish Child Payment policy must always follow the evidence
Eighteen months after Common Weal discovered that John Swinney’s claim that the Scottish Child Payment would discourage parents from working, new research shows that the opposite is true.
Our economy is literally criminal
Why are convicted criminals at the heart of the financing and roll-out of AI? Because the global economy is based on practices which in any other realm would be a complex criminal conspiracy.
We don’t hear accents. We hear class
WE must stop the Dark Triad or we’re Done for
There is a cluster of behaviours which have come to be known as the Dark Triad and they have overtaken the world. If we are to save ourselves we need to find ways to fight back.
How taxing land can help us find out who owns land
One of the barriers to creating a land tax in Scotland is the fact that our Land Register is incomplete and we don’t know who owns Scotland. Instead of seeing it as a barrier though, it may be an opportunity to compel owners to properly value and register their land.
Resist Inflation Madness!
You have been trained to believe that inflation must be controlled with rises in interest rates. Now take two seconds to stop and ask why and you’ll start seeing just how nuts a lot of economics is.
We need to talk about migration like adults
Burnham’s National Care Service plans are a warning to the Scottish Government
The Scottish Government should adopt Andy Burnham’s approach to policy-making: to build up the detail of a proposal for change before setting the timeline to launching it.
The pension triple lock became a problem that a double lock won’t solve
Andy Burnham’s dropping of the state pension triple lock is an attempt to fix a perceived problem with the state pension that may involve asking the wrong question. His promise to use the savings to fund a National Care Service are even less clear.
Why are we cutting the study of scotland?
What happens when a drug crisis becomes ordinary?
Finally, Local Government Reform - But it must be done right!
The Scottish Government’s sudden push for local government reform should be welcomed but their proposal as it stands needs a lot of work to make sure that it’s not a chaotic mess or a recipe for corruption and centralisation.
Let’s try and abolish prisons then…
A politician has been mocked for calling for the abolition of prisons, but our prisons are definitely failing. Could ‘abolish prisons’ make any sense - and what would it look like?
You’ll dae whit yer telt
To save us all, invest in meat space
There is a youth loneliness crisis but it hides itself so we must look for its signs strewn across our culture. IF we don’t acknowledge this, behave like it matters and do something about it, we’re in trouble.
Why are we so good at creating work?
Borders are easy – but not necessarily simple
As Common Weal crowdfunds for our Prospectus for a New State, Craig examines one part of it to give a taste of what is to come.