MAgazine
Escaping the bonds of bonds
The world has passed a tipping point and we can no longer see bond markets as facilitating democracy. They are an active threat to democracy and we need to disempower them.
Solidarity is dangerous
The power of the efforts to break the blockade of Gaza is seen as an act of futility by some. It isn’t; it’s an act of solidarity and it is powerful because of that.
An Illusionary Convention
John Swinney is proposing a ‘constitutional convention’, but what he is proposing is no such thing. Understanding the original Constitutional Convention offers a real way forward for independence.
Carbon Offsetting could never work
The results of a 25 year study into the practice of “carbon offsetting” have found that many projects fail for entirely foreseeable reasons and many of the projects that don’t, never correct the climate damage they were designed to offset.
The seduction of belonging
When ‘peace’ becomes a management strategy
The one Keir Starmer policy I want to see implemented in Scotland
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What about some peace through hope?
Since the Second World War our hopes for peace have been predicated on deterrence working. But it isn’t working, and if we offer only stick and no carrot, the future will be violent.
The military myth - and the alternative
The current rush to military build-up and nuclear power are based on complete myths. A rational response would have ruled out these moves on their own terms.
The Recession Hidden in Council Tax
How the unfairness at the heart of the Council Tax may be affecting you and how a disturbing rise in missed Council Tax payments may be a sign of a coming recession.
When justice pretends to be certain
The recent justice reforms treat juries as if they are expected or capable of somehow divining ‘the truth’ through an opaque system. A radical look at justice would ask what the pursuit of truth actually looked like.
If you want to end homelessness, give people a home
A new study from the Social Market Foundation presents the results of several Housing First pilot schemes, including one in Scotland, and finds that providing free housing to people suffering homelessness results in better outcomes than current services and is cheaper than not doing it.
The biggest threat we face? The rich
We've been trained never to criticise the rich and instead to celebrate their 'wealth creation'. New research suggests that in reality, they threaten our way of life most of all.
How to recapture public land
We need to reverse the subtle incremental transfer of land from the commons to the private sector. A way to do that is through a system of land default
When repetition dulls urgency
How to tell stories for the future
If we are to beat the narratives of the far right we need to tell people better stories. But to do that we have to stop thinking about what we feel for a moment and start thinking more about what the people we want to speak to are feeling.
How the EPC system makes building eco-houses harder
A guest article from supporter Michael Breslin on how his attempt to build an eco-house was penalised by the broken Energy Performance Certificate system.
Opening and Securing the Digital Frontiers
The Scottish Government needs to start talking about “real security” - one way it can start practicing it is by making it easier for Scottish public bodies, private companies and individuals to start using open source software instead of software that can be compromised or shut down by the US President.
Young, confused, and right: why our newest voters deserve better
How liberals abandoned the future - and why we must find it again
The liberal establishment came to totally dominate Britain, but it had no vision of what the future should be other than a series of procedures. Unless others begin to map out a different future, we’re stuck here - or worse.
