MAgazine
The problem with humans
It is human nature to be wrong, to be petty, to be scared, to be angry. We cannot stop these things from being true so we have to recognise this reality as we built the systems in which we operate.
What justice can’t fix
Scotland's Seabed Is Worth More Than This
Guest writer Fraser Brydon looks at the projected rental income from ScotWind and how it compares to energy choices made by our neighbours.
Scotland’s houses are crumbling around us
New statistics from the Scottish Government reveals that more than half of Scotland’s houses do not meet minimum standards of quality and state of repair.
Be angry – their stability is your chaos
You have heard politician after politician lauding the merits of 'stability', but have you ever stopped to ask what it is they want to be stable and for who? Once you realise the answer, your grocery bill (and starving children) make a lot more sense.
What makes a good national leader?
Strength or empathy? Stability or transformation? As politics becomes increasingly performative, the question of what make a genuinely effective leader has become harder – and more urgent – than ever.
How the Scottish Government drove a wedge between care experts and the cared for
Mark Smith and Marion Macleod from Common Weal’s Care Reform Group discuss their latest academic paper on how the Scottish Government overused the “lived experience” of cared for people to shield themselves from expert advice about the National Care Service.
Workers aren’t lazy; they’re being left behind
Young workers are being told that the reason that the economy isn’t growing is because they are too lazy. There’s a lot to unpick about why this is entirely wrong.
Staff walk out of Graduate Show preparations over 100% pay cuts
Don’t imagine dinner, find a recipe
The Scottish Government is constantly getting lost in the long grass between its vague but ambitious aims and its lacklustre actions. The gap between these things can only be filled with a clear plan which contains analysis and objectives.
When democracy stops feeling participatory
Why does the Government keep undermining its own policies?
The Scottish Government’s love of “arms-length” companies should be a strong tool for furthering mission-driven governance, but are often used merely to claim credit when things go well but deflect blame when they go badly.
The politics of deliberate offence
Ragebait is no longer confined to social media. From Reform UK to Trump-era populism, modern politics increasingly runs on outrage, symbolism and emotional provocation. But if political attention is now driven by reaction, how do democratic societies resist becoming trapped inside permanent cycles of emotional manipulation?
Government must get its hands dirty
Common Weal could offer the incoming Scottish Government all the policy it needs, but its problem isn’t policy. Its problem is that it doesn’t have a theory of how government works so it doesn’t understand why it isn’t working just now.
The Iran War sounds a warning for All of Scotland’s Critical Minerals
It isn’t just oil that is being disrupted by the US’s war with Iran nor will it be the only future disruption so Scotland needs a more resilient economy with strategies that should extend to all critical minerals.
What freedom can't fix, hope can
Freedom is at times taken to be the ultimate goal of politics, but it is a corrosive idea that looks different from where you start. For a drug addict, the last thing you need is more freedom when what you really crave is peace.
I’m over the moon
The Case of the Election and the Disappearing Care Service
Nick Kempe looks at the party manifestos and asks why the main parties have retreated so far on their ambitions for care reform and a National Care Service
How Common is your manifesto?
Looking through some of the party manifestos to see where parties have adopted or are aligned with Common Weal’s policies as well as where they are working against them.
