MAgazine
Three years of learning
Engineering a better parliament
Our politics always seems to solve a problem in the way - because our politicians tend to think in a particular way. We need politicians with a more varied approach to problem-solving if we want to fix our problems.
GERS 2025 - How to make Scotland pay for Starmer’s wars
How GERS will be used to make Scotland pay for Britain’s wars.
Moral Outrage - and rightly so
Money for nothing is why we’re screwed
The expectation that every investment must automatically offer enormous returns has bent global economic policy round its fingers. But guaranteed returns are why the West is in so much trouble.
Don’t grandstand, plan
Many people would like the First Minister to take a stand with Donald Trump. This is not an effective stance - and there are much more effective actions which can be taken.
Rolling the dice with housing-again
Will Britain never understand the difference between making housing affordable and subsidising unaffordable housing to prop up the profits of developers? Apparently not...
Rolling the dice with housing-again
Will Britain never understand the difference between making housing affordable and subsidising unaffordable housing to prop up the profits of developers? Apparently not...
Lessons from New York
Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani comfortably beat out billionaire-backed billionaire Andrew Cuomo, by 56% to 44% in the final round after vote transfers. Unlike Cuomo, his campaign centred around clearly articulated demands that reflected the needs of the people of New York.
Scotland is not for sale Pt. I
Scotland may not be privatising the public realm with quite the zeal of Starmer’s Labour, but it is happening constantly nonetheless. A vision for a public good-driven democracy is needed.
The Ocean Can’t Wait - Scotland Must Lead the World
A new piece of legislation currently passing through the Scottish Parliament would make Scotland world-leading on environmental protection. If you care about the sea, you should back it.
Why a Scottish Currency Can’t Wait: Lessons from Keynes
German economist Jan Frederik Moos explains that the Scottish Government’s current position on an independent Scotland’s currency is simply wrong. Monetary independence is no the final stage in independence, it is the first.
What we are doing isn’t working - is it time for some utopia?
The one rule in politics is that all you can talk about is how you will change what is already there. But what if what is already there is so broken it will never work again?
That’s so woke: time for a language of emancipation
The far right pose a threat in Scotland too, and we can’t be complacent by saying ‘independence will save us’ especially if the independence we offer is built on the economics which have given rise to the far right, i.e. austerity and the sustainable growth commission.
In an era of psychos we must learn from sociopathy
Sociopathy is both a real condition and also a perfect metaphor for our institutions. We need to learn from one to understand the other
The fragility of peace
The trouble with Erdoğan
For many people in the West, Turkish President’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s support for Palestine has bought him a lot of good will. Sadly, this comes from ignorance and is certainly not merited.
So what is possible now?
Global politics is all over the place and the old orthodoxies seem to be dead. So what might unorthodox economic policy for Scotland look like?
It’s Scotland’s Economy - Or Is It?
Scotland is losing billions of pounds a year to profit extraction. Why is the Scottish Government encouraging even more?
Learning from “Greens in Government™”
As we move forward, we must ensure that we are at the centre of decisions, that there remains a left-wing voice in Holyrood, and that we are not tempted by the neoliberal forces of even Scotland’s establishment if we are to return to power.
