politics
Politics does not dictate our collective cultural mindset as much as it simply reflects it; We've got to look in the mirror sometimes, and we've got one.
Neoliberalism and Minimal State Intervention
It is suggested that we are currently living in the "age of Neoliberalism," a political concept drawing on the traditional ideas of economic liberalism, believing that states ought to intervene as little as possible in the economy, allowing individuals (including corporations) to participate freely in the self-regulating market. There is an abundance of critical literature on Neoliberalism, most of which exhibits the incoherence of the claims of those economists who favour a limited state. I will be drawing on a number of these criticisms to demonstrate why the pursuit of neoliberalism as a set of political and economic principles by a given government is neither economically nor politically beneficial to the vast majority.
By Katie Kenyon8 years ago in The Swamp
The Rising Power of the Turkish Kurds
In a country of almost 80 million, any Presidential candidate would be stupid to ignore 20 percent of their people. But that is what has happened to the Kurds in Turkey for decades. The Kurdish population, long ignored and marginalised by the political establishment, is now beginning to rise in importance. With Presidential and Parliamentary elections only six weeks away political organisations that have a long history of opposing or ignoring Kurdish rights and issues are suddenly finding themselves in need of their votes. What has changed? What would cause such a deeply nationalist country, led by an almost authoritarian President, to suddenly consider these people a viable support base.
By Jack Holton8 years ago in The Swamp
Ways to Fix the Democratic Party
There's no hiding from it anymore: the DNC needs some R&R—or, something that can not only be of benefit, but of overall holistic change to the entirety of the party. While it's obvious that these adaptations and "bug fixes" won't happen overnight, it must not go unnoticed that the party does need mending and that a more insightful examination into the practices, leadership, and thought processes involved on a deeper level of the Democratic National Committee must all be brought further into the limelight.
By Donald Gray8 years ago in The Swamp
Brexit and Cambridge Analytica Could Cost Scotland Independence
Distrust of Politicians Hardens Attitudes Hardly anyone under 60 trusts politicians or the mainstream media anymore, thus leaving them open to populist manipulation—for example using the techniques used by Cambridge Analytica, with its top Tory dominated board, in the EU referendum to confirm their biases and make them impervious to argument.
By Axel P Kulit8 years ago in The Swamp
The State of the Welfare State
The UK welfare system has a lot of problems at the moment. The reasons behind those problems differ depending on one’s political outlook, but there are issues that need addressing whatever your views. It’s worth looking back at the history of welfare in the UK, in order to understand how we have arrived at this point. First, we need to define “the welfare state.” In general terms it is:
By Katy Preen8 years ago in The Swamp
