The First Book

I was very pleased to see that the first book to be placed on the shelves of the new Library of Birmingham will be The Hobbit. A symbolic act, but one that will be much appreciated by all those who feel that JRR Tolkien’s very close relationship with Birmingham is not sufficiently recognised. For more details on the book shelving see Theonering.net website at Theonering.net

Whatever your opinion of the appearance of the new Library it is a significant development in these threadbare times. I suspect that those who like the appearance of Selfridges will also like the look of the Library of Birmingham that will open to the public on September 3rd. And it has to be better than the ugly and dysfunctional monstrosity that it replaces.
Way back on this blog I noted that in the United States the City of Boston’s Civic Centre is a ‘brutalist’ construct of the same ilk (they too are trying to get rid of this). Recently some Canadian friends visiting from Alberta mentioned that Edmonton is also saddled with a building of this design – if ‘design’ it can be said to be. The 60’s and 70’s have a lot to answer for in terms of the aesthetic character of our towns and cities and the destruction of architectural heritage. So what we are seeing is genuine progress.
I hope that this sense of change for the better will also see Tolkien’s legacy better recognised here at home and not leave it all to New Zealand! Meanwhile, this year’s volunteer-led Middle-earth Weekend at Sarehole Mill approaches. This unique event to be held on May 11th and 12th should again be really special and for more information visit the MEWE website at The Middle-earth Weekend

This Vampyre Government

I prefer this rather obscure spelling for ‘vampire’, as it seems more gothic – just like the Government’s economic policy in fact - creatures of the night both. One of these of course is fictitious; the other, alas, is only too real.
We suffer this as if it wasn’t bad enough already having a richly populated private sector necropolis of bankers, power companies, fuel firms, whiplash lawyers and telecomm providers to name but a few. These are joined by a growing legion of corporate tax dodgers (some now boasting of their avoidance) we have to have a dark Chancellor intent on draining yet more lifeblood out of the economy and a Treasury that could have come right out of Transylvania.
The corporate ethics and social responsibilities of yesteryear are but a fading memory and the national government similarly continues to sap the more vulnerable of its citizens. Nevertheless, we need not resort to garlic or Christian icons and, in taking the brakes off the recovery we could put a stake through the heart of austerity.
But where are we to find the modern vampire slayers? The followers of John Maynard Keynes of course would be numbered amongst them, as we have explained elsewhere in this blog. But also enter the beleaguered potential heroes in the form of Local Government.
We must find ways to ensure that our services, public and formerly public, put the ordinary people first – bemused, exploited and treated with contempt as they are. And we should restore former services such as a Birmingham Municipal Bank that would offer both savers and borrowers a simple and trustworthy alternative to the financial creatures of the night.
Oh for the days when the City of Birmingham also had its own water, gas and bus companies and a highly visible and locally accountable police force. Surely a line-up that would ward off the bloodsuckers and remove the supposed 'need' for centrally imposed savage cuts in services delivered by Local Government.
But when will the country be rid of the Count, his acolytes and the scourge of economic vampirism? Naturally I hope sooner rather than later but I suspect that we may have to endure the predations of Vlad and Co. for another two years so perhaps we should hang on to the garlic for a while yet.

The two kinds of Economics

There are just two kinds of economics; all else is commentary and elaboration. On the one hand we have Keynesian economics – positive, progressive and creative of employment and growth.
On the other hand we have Dickensian economics - the Bleak House of austerity and the pitiful Mickawberishness of the Chancellor waiting for something – anything - to turn up.
But of course it won’t, not any time soon, with the recent IMF downgrade in economic growth forecasts now followed by another credit rating agency downgrading the country’s rating because of a weakening economic and financial outlook.
Meanwhile the screw continues to be turned on those people who already have very little. If he were alive today Charles Dickens would have written about this – without any great expectations.
But of course these unfortunate citizens are not seen as the fabled wealth creators (creating wealth for whom exactly?) who will leap in to the gap left by the shrinking public sector. We can see the gap alright but where are the leapers?
The incoming head of the Bank of England claims that growth can come only from the private sector. Heaven help us. Not true of course as for one thing it depends on what has been put in the hands of the private sector, which is very good at exporting jobs and tax-free profits if not much else.
And for another it depends on demand – and not just for food banks - rather than the present lack of it. Stimulating demand and undertaking investment in public works, at least promoted and backed by the public sector and driven, if not delivered by it, are fundamental to a successful Keynesian approach. The necessary financing can come from taxes on those individuals and companies who can well afford to pay - as detailed in previous posts.
Of course I would not claim that Keynesianism is perfect, but as Maurice Chevalier once remarked of old age “it’s so much better than the alternative!”

Austerity Still Isn't Working

It’s not just me or other similarly disposed commentators saying that austerity does not work. Included now are that unexpected group of radicals known as the International Monetary Fund – the IMF. The IMF have now downgraded their growth forecasts for the UK for this year and next. This is the way that growth forecasts, for what they are worth, go under austerity – inexorably downhill.
Austerity is a creeping disaster in more senses than one - as an economic 'policy' in terms of indebtedness, the size of Gross Domestic Product, its distribution and, even more importantly, in terms of the growing legions of the unemployed - young people and younger adults included. There could hardly be a more tragic waste.
The great mystery to me is that anyone could ever have thought that swinging the axe in a recession could possibly work to the benefit of the economy. Even with a compliant selection of economists telling ministers what they wanted to hear you would have thought that some sense would have crept in.
Apparently they continue to think that fasting creates strength and they and their acolytes continue to trot out their party line and sounding even more like a broken record. Witness also that bastion of logic the Institute for Economic Affairs, to quote; “Weak growth forecasts simply underscore that we are spending more than we can realistically afford.” So by implication their advice is for deeper cuts. To give a 19th century translation “the patient is weakening so apply more leaches.”
They and the Chancellor know perfectly well that a policy of austerity is not working. The rest of us know that it never will, but in order to preserve their egos and the favoured position of their rich friends the government continues to bleed the patient.
The official opposition, such as it has been, is not distancing itself sufficiently from the government’s policy of draconian cuts. Indeed a certain former Prime Minister whose ability to assess complex situations – such as WMD – is renowned, is urging the opposition to accept the principle and level of the cuts overall.
I sincerely hope that the opposition leadership do not listen to this siren calling and get drawn onto the rocks of ‘triangulation’. Far better to be a party of conviction and good economic sense.
Too many metaphors already here I’ll admit - so no more! Simply to reiterate that there are positive alternatives, for example as set out in earlier postings on this blog and by much more widely read national observers. I hope that we do not have to suffer another two years of miserable and partisan austerity before the country can make a new beginning in which we could, at long last, all be in it together.

The National Complex

I’ve written recently about economic neurosis, but the psychiatric metaphor doesn’t end there. There is also the problem of national complexes.
It was President Eisenhower who coined the term ‘military-industrial complex’ and warned of its threatening nature. Those very serious and potentially terminal threats still exist of course both in terms of weaponry and distortion of the economy. But there’s another continuing threat from colluding forces in western society that endangers our quality of life if not our very existence.
The last few decades have hit western productive industry and ordinary people so hard, particularly in this country, have seen the rise of a powerful, destructive and anti-democratic complex – the politico-business complex.
This is the compact that has heedlessly extracted exorbitant profits – financial, political or both - for themselves and, relentlessly seeking more globalisation, that has eviscerated productive industry in this country.
The politico-business complex has destroyed millions of jobs and exported others - and often the equipment that went with them. It has presided over the closure of household-name firms and seen others sold off to foreign bidders and uncertain futures. And it has, as intended, profited the super rich immensely - aided and abetted by tax avoidance schemes and loopholes that have remained unclosed by successive governments.
There are two interlocking mindsets that have developed. It is not simply the business elite who are responsible for destroying western industries and quality of life but the political class across the major parties who have been fellow travellers and deluded beneficiaries in this process. The political elite have seen it as in their interest to curry favour with powerful business elements – and not just the manipulative and threatening owners of the press.
The politicians have been enthralled by rich and powerful business interests and of course in the continuing absence of reform in party political funding, have been financed by them. There is no such thing as a free-of-cost democracy. The choice is between having a substantial element of public funding with the cost up front and in the open or having a much greater cost, both financial and human, hidden away behind ruinous and partisan economic policies and disloyal industrial management practices.
Governments were deceived into thinking that importing lower cost (superficially) versions of goods formerly produced at home and so keeping down inflation in the short term was good in the long term. The productive gap would of course be filled by wonderful financial services – we know all too well where all this led. It is doubly unjust that people in the communities destroyed by these policies and others over the past 30 years are facing further benefits cuts while the destroyers are given a tax break to add to the loopholes and ease of use of tax havens.
And we are so often told that there’s no alternative, that we are all victims of markets. But in so far as this is true, it is only so as long as countries continue to act separately rather than in concert and so long as ‘free-marketeering’ and austerity based economic theories are given the time of day.
Economics has been described as ‘the dismal science’ - dismal, certainly in the variants invoked in an attempt to justify the destruction of western industry and subsequent austerity. But ‘science’ - much less so in any of the senses of its meaning from simply ‘knowing’ to being rigorous, demonstrable and testable. And in the context of austerity it is worth noting that the word ‘economise’ means not ‘to cut back on’ but ‘to make best use of.’
The original name for economics itself, ‘political economy’, is a very good fit for the age of the politico-business complex. Never has this older description been more apt, although ‘partisan economy’ could be a modern update - as we are seeing to our cost.
High time then for disassembling the politico-business complex and beginning the lengthy task of building a virtuous economy that operates in the interest of the common good.

A Case for Dr Freud?

In my last posting I suggested that there’s a case for investigating the lack of vision, ruinous, mean and unjust policies of the government (I decline to use a capital ‘g’). But more than good detective work is needed – there will have to be therapy too. So perhaps we need the insights of the renowned Dr. Sigmund Freud as well as Detective Superintendent Foyle.
There has been much discussion by politicians, economists and financial analysts of the economic and financial woes of the country, which seem to make a suitable case for treatment. But the debate amongst the elite and privileged and all that is taken for granted in it, doesn’t seem to have made much, if any, difference at least so far as positive changes to government policy are concerned. So perhaps it’s time for a different sort of analysis.
Some time on the psychoanalyst’s couch would be well spent if we got to understand the reasons for the government’s obsession with punitive austerity for the less well off and the continuing money-grasping neurosis in banks and markets. All this of course supported by wealthy right wing acolytes.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer should be the first patient and this neurotic Government as a whole could do with treatment to ease their addiction to misery and their fantasies with the not-so-dynamic private sector, various abilities to ‘self regulate’ and so-called ‘free’ trade.
The psychoanalytic metaphor is revealing, as neurosis involves hiding things from yourself (such as miserably failing policies) and often springs from unstable relationships - with partners for example. There’s way too much fretting about disloyal ‘wealth creators’ or companies threatening to take away their bat and ball and change countries.
The cure involves finding out the truth about yourself, changing your behaviour and valuing others – the poor for example – instead of exploiting or haranguing them and thinking beyond the impact of your actions merely on yourself and your rich friends.
It also involves permanently removing the deeply ingrained habit of self-deception and the culture of greed and deceit that is so evident in marketing driven business and parts of society today. I like the description I saw recently – the ‘feral rich’.
Many neurotics also exhibit a high level of dependency. Business executives should be less driven by avarice, and depend less on big bonuses, lavish entry and exit payments and pay rises way above inflation. We consumers are already seeing the need to depend less on the ‘must-have now’ mentality. The financial dependency cultivated by banks and grasping, usurious moneylenders has taken its toll and if not locked up they should be eased onto the analytical sofa.
Neurosis also involves anxiety - for example the fear of having to admit that government policy is ineffective, illogical, divisive and cruelly unfair, not meeting ludicrous and arbitrary targets and the impulsive lurches and outbursts of aggression that such anxiety breeds.
Lack of self-restraint - greed in particular - is an infantile trait that is found in many neurotics, banks and boardrooms. Corporate owners should mature to moderation and patience in a culture of commonality that also includes their customers, locality and country. Qualities such as fairness, trust, commitment and loyalty define a healthy frame of mind for businesses as well as individuals.
There is a need for neurosis-free government and business psychology - as well as an effective industrial strategy to curb the prodigal coarseness of the culture of greed and disloyalty that has brought the country low.
And it could even be worse if the aggressive selfishness and hierarchical tendencies so much to the fore in certain quarters are, in a neurophysiological sense latent in the primitive parts of our brains that have come down to us from our ancient reptilian predecessors. But tempting though it is to see particular politicians and bankers in this way, I do not believe that this defines ‘human nature’. Human society, and our economy are what we make them and we must accept full, conscious responsibility for this and not deceive ourselves - so back to neurosis.
All the therapy needed would be a lot to ask even of Dr. Freud. But the gains from having a virtuous and neurosis-free economy as against the mean and socially barren version of capitalism with which we are now afflicted go well beyond an improved economic performance and extend to rebuilt national morale, social justice and the furtherance of the common good. Rewards well worth the effort of self-analysis.

A Case for Mr Foyle?

I’ve recently been enjoying the new series of our favourite detective drama – Foyle’s War. The latest episodes are set in the post WW2 context of the start of the Cold War. It was a time when most people had little money and few possessions and there was a much higher level of public debt than there is now.
So what was the response of the then government to this? It was to create the National Health Service and invest in the nation’s depleted infrastructure, lifting public spirits with public service. If our present government was transported back to those days, what would we have seen? No doubts there: “More austerity, another round of deep cuts right away except for lower taxes for the wealthy”.
Of course they would have expressed confidence that the private sector would rush in and fill the gap, having been so badly ‘crowded out’. And if this didn’t work, then clearly another round of austerity for ordinary people would be needed. And so on.
Clearly viciously counter-productive, yet that is the mindset we see today. And what is the result? A flatlining economy, an ever-widening gap between poor and rich and negative penny-pinching, instead of inspirational views of the future all round.
And this mindset has infected the opposition, so timid and over-cautious in their approach and nowhere near bold enough in their policies as far as we know them. It seems you can hardly get a tissue paper between the political parties these days which in my view accounts for much of the disillusionment and low turnouts at elections.
The cutting and negativity is not confined to this country of course as the continued misery in the Eurozone reminds us, culminating most recently in the theft of savings in Cyprus.
What we are seeing are policies so bad that they suggest some kind of communicable mental health issue in governments. I’ve suggested in earlier postings some of the measures that could be taken in this country if the will and courage were there, but at present they are not.
I’m not sure of what Mr Foyle would have made of all this beyond the sure perception that it’s all downright criminal!