MAgazine
Understand the earthquake
There were four elections that were meant to change the world. They did, but understand how and why is a task with a problem – there are so, so many learning points.
Fight data centre myths
The Scottish Government is speeding an enormous amount of disinformation about data centres. it is important for democracy that these distortions are challenged.
The right to a break must help unpaid carers care for themselves too
Two reports concerning unpaid carers were published this week. One on the needs of carers when it comes to the right to a break and another on the extend of the lack of support for carers to enable them to take that break.
Who do we imagine when we talk about violence against women?
Covid, Care Homes and the politics of care
Nick Kempe looks at the latest reports from the Scottish and UK Covid Inquiries and how they impact lessons that should be learned from the disaster that unfolded within care homes.
ScotGov needs to create warmer homes for all
Keith Baker tallies up the UK Budget and recent UK and Scottish Government energy policies and lays out what needs to happen next.
Three things you might have missed in the UK Budget
Craig dips below the headlines surrounding the UK Budget to pull out three policies that you might have missed.
Because we forgot how to fight
A 40 year campaign to make you believe that monopolies are just an aspect of nature has led us to believe that you can’t do anything about them. This is total nonsense and all we have to do is remember.
Line in the sand
The problem is bigger than a generation being left behind
How to make “Public Control” mean “Public Ownership”
The Scottish Government has taken a step towards better buses in Scotland but “public control” isn’t the same as “public ownership”.
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.