I must read half a dozen of these tweets a day. But not a single one about what kind of immigration policy will close the gap on Reform UK.
We must copy Denmark Social Democrats' hardline anti-asylum measures in order to win back voters' trust, says Shabana Mahmood.
Meanwhile in Denmark:
Meanwhile in Denmark:
November 19, 2025 at 12:41 PM
I must read half a dozen of these tweets a day. But not a single one about what kind of immigration policy will close the gap on Reform UK.
Mason makes the arg below against Hickel’s claim that capitalists cannot address climate crisis because it is not profitable for them. For M, it is not that decarbonisation can’t be profitable, but rather capitalists don’t want to cede their power to the kind of central planning this requires. /1
To put it another way, *capital* is perfectly capable of organizing decarbonization. The problem is *capital-owners*, who are political actors and not just the embodiments of the accumulation process. Elon Musk is symptomatic here.
November 17, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Mason makes the arg below against Hickel’s claim that capitalists cannot address climate crisis because it is not profitable for them. For M, it is not that decarbonisation can’t be profitable, but rather capitalists don’t want to cede their power to the kind of central planning this requires. /1
Higgins is right to point out a problem w/ the deliberative quality of public opinion. But following Habermas I think you need to distinguish the inputs and outputs of public opinion formation from its throughput or infrastructure of the public sphere. The fact that social media...
Governments and voters are both reacting to algorithm-shaped “public opinion,” not grounded priorities. Immigration feels urgent because platforms amplify fear, pulling parties into hollow performances of toughness. The far right reads that drift as confirmation it’s winning.
Not everyone is unhappy about the Government's descent into anti-refugee politics
November 16, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Higgins is right to point out a problem w/ the deliberative quality of public opinion. But following Habermas I think you need to distinguish the inputs and outputs of public opinion formation from its throughput or infrastructure of the public sphere. The fact that social media...
A note on the Nietzsche thread. If thinking is a symptom of more or less traumatic social conditions, then one can’t coherently reflect on a social crisis (like climate change) without acknowledging that this reflection is also a symptom of those same conditions. /1
November 15, 2025 at 3:41 PM
A note on the Nietzsche thread. If thinking is a symptom of more or less traumatic social conditions, then one can’t coherently reflect on a social crisis (like climate change) without acknowledging that this reflection is also a symptom of those same conditions. /1
Malm’s claim here, that denial of the climate crisis - either as outright denialism or implied by one’s behaviour - is a condition of social membership under capitalism, reminds me of Nietzsche’s observation in Genealogy of Morals that man would rather will nothingness than not will. /1
"Denial is not an idiosyncracy or private pathology, but a certificate of membership in this particular society, a kind of credit card necessary for moving around in it and accessing its commodities and living without going nuts"
- Prof. Andreas Malm
youtu.be/fVYO7w6UHi8
- Prof. Andreas Malm
youtu.be/fVYO7w6UHi8
Andreas Malm's Public Lecture, October 10, 2025, Audio Only
YouTube video by Bao Nguyen - Grad. Admin Comparative Literature
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Malm’s claim here, that denial of the climate crisis - either as outright denialism or implied by one’s behaviour - is a condition of social membership under capitalism, reminds me of Nietzsche’s observation in Genealogy of Morals that man would rather will nothingness than not will. /1
Sydney Sweeney would destroy the Predator thing any day of the week.
Funny thing about Nate's attempt to show he and his buddies on X are normal:
Sydney Sweeney's new movie just posted one of the worst wide-release openings ever, whereas Predator Badlands—somehow deemed "woke," "gay," and "feminist" by online right-wingers—crushed it, setting a franchise record.
Sydney Sweeney's new movie just posted one of the worst wide-release openings ever, whereas Predator Badlands—somehow deemed "woke," "gay," and "feminist" by online right-wingers—crushed it, setting a franchise record.
the hipsters, they’re ordering double frufru mocha soy frappuccino. doesn’t anybody order a black coffee anymore
November 10, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Sydney Sweeney would destroy the Predator thing any day of the week.
What the immigration debate in the UK reveals to me is how little confidence the reps of the New Middle Class have defending (as Reckwitz puts it) "the ideal of social progress via globalization, singularization and post-industrialisation." Hence the endless debates about electoral strategy. /1
The Danish Social Democrats whose immigration policy the Labour Party wants to copy are the red line that starts at 35% in 2019 and ends at 21% in 2025
November 9, 2025 at 3:52 AM
What the immigration debate in the UK reveals to me is how little confidence the reps of the New Middle Class have defending (as Reckwitz puts it) "the ideal of social progress via globalization, singularization and post-industrialisation." Hence the endless debates about electoral strategy. /1
I tried this model w/ the prompt: "I get out on the top floor (third floor) at street level. How many stories is the building above the ground?” It thought for 15 mins before timing out, generated 8k words, and considered multiple answers without ever canvassing the right one.
![A dark-themed bar chart titled “Agentic Reasoning.”
It compares model performance on “Humanity’s Last Exam (Text-only) w/ tools [3.b]”, described as “Expert-level questions across subjects.”
Three vertical bars are shown:
• Left (bright blue, K icon): 44.9
• Middle (light blue, knot logo): 41.7
• Right (tan, AI logo): 32.0
The chart visually emphasizes that the first model (K icon) leads slightly over the middle model, with both outperforming the third. The y-axis is unlabeled, but values likely represent performance scores or percentages.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ckaz32jwl6t2cno6fmuw2nhn/bafkreigbmc5sapicc3zgca3jpvmcgiuzfxdornumceuwbnspuknezigiru@jpeg)
November 7, 2025 at 10:55 AM
I tried this model w/ the prompt: "I get out on the top floor (third floor) at street level. How many stories is the building above the ground?” It thought for 15 mins before timing out, generated 8k words, and considered multiple answers without ever canvassing the right one.
I guess I need a hot take on Mamdani… well, he probably isn't a socialist! Kathryn Wylde “billionaire whisperer” noted Mamdani called to arrange meetings w/ wealthy NYers, didn’t mention taxes in his victory speech & sounds more like Bloomberg when talking about making bureaucracy more efficient./1
November 6, 2025 at 3:26 PM
I guess I need a hot take on Mamdani… well, he probably isn't a socialist! Kathryn Wylde “billionaire whisperer” noted Mamdani called to arrange meetings w/ wealthy NYers, didn’t mention taxes in his victory speech & sounds more like Bloomberg when talking about making bureaucracy more efficient./1
Everything depends on how you understand "economic power". The early socialists thought that the key to freedom lay in cooperative modes of production and focused exclusively on the economic sphere. They weren't that interested in democracy as an alternative source of power. /1
Partly because so many formerly leftwing parties have turned to the right, there's a lot of confusion about what right and left mean in politics. I hope this helps:
The right defends economic power.
The left resists economic power.
The right defends economic power.
The left resists economic power.
November 4, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Everything depends on how you understand "economic power". The early socialists thought that the key to freedom lay in cooperative modes of production and focused exclusively on the economic sphere. They weren't that interested in democracy as an alternative source of power. /1
There is an assumption among pundits that the whatever is in the Epstein files is so bad it threatens Trump's presidency. Certainly the Republicans are acting as if that's the case. History has shown though that Trump seems immune from mere political scandal. /1
www.dw.com/en/epstein-s...
www.dw.com/en/epstein-s...
Epstein scandal: Consequences for Andrew ― what about Trump? – DW – 10/31/2025
The onetime prince Andrew has experienced consequences for his connection to Jeffrey Epstein. In the US, calls to release the files of the trafficking investigation into the deceased financier and sex...
www.dw.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:39 PM
There is an assumption among pundits that the whatever is in the Epstein files is so bad it threatens Trump's presidency. Certainly the Republicans are acting as if that's the case. History has shown though that Trump seems immune from mere political scandal. /1
www.dw.com/en/epstein-s...
www.dw.com/en/epstein-s...
Given my recent discussion of Honneth's book on the topic, I think an historically grounded concern is socialism's attitude towards rights of individuals & democracy. In his book, Honneth looks at Marx's argument in "On the Jewish Question", in which Marx argues that under a socialist regime... /1
For those on the left who are not socialists, or who do not ally with socialist parties, I don't really understand: what exactly is the project? What is the plan?
November 1, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Given my recent discussion of Honneth's book on the topic, I think an historically grounded concern is socialism's attitude towards rights of individuals & democracy. In his book, Honneth looks at Marx's argument in "On the Jewish Question", in which Marx argues that under a socialist regime... /1
To celebrate Halloween, I thought I’d write about something many people find pretty scary these days - the idea of socialism. In his book of the same name, Axel Honneth explores its history before criticising some of its central tenants as stuck in a 19th C industrial mindset. /1
October 31, 2025 at 3:47 PM
To celebrate Halloween, I thought I’d write about something many people find pretty scary these days - the idea of socialism. In his book of the same name, Axel Honneth explores its history before criticising some of its central tenants as stuck in a 19th C industrial mindset. /1
Campbell blames "anti-politics" on Starmer's poll numbers. So what happens when these two turn to policy? Tax: don't go to war with the rich. Immigration: don't damage the economy by lowering numbers. Climate: can't go it alone. So, more of the same then? But sure, blame "anti-politics".
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨
As Keir Starmer's approval ratings hit a new low, @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social and @rory-stewart.bsky.social unpack what’s behind Labour’s struggles, what the party must do to recover, and whether the shifting political landscape has left them out of time.
Link in the replies 👇
As Keir Starmer's approval ratings hit a new low, @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social and @rory-stewart.bsky.social unpack what’s behind Labour’s struggles, what the party must do to recover, and whether the shifting political landscape has left them out of time.
Link in the replies 👇
October 30, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Campbell blames "anti-politics" on Starmer's poll numbers. So what happens when these two turn to policy? Tax: don't go to war with the rich. Immigration: don't damage the economy by lowering numbers. Climate: can't go it alone. So, more of the same then? But sure, blame "anti-politics".
Graeber & Wengrow spend a lot of time on the notion of private property, arguing its centrality to modern life is in stark contrast to that of many cultures throughout history, in which the exclusive right to property is restricted to contexts involving the sacred, especially sacred rituals. /1
October 29, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Graeber & Wengrow spend a lot of time on the notion of private property, arguing its centrality to modern life is in stark contrast to that of many cultures throughout history, in which the exclusive right to property is restricted to contexts involving the sacred, especially sacred rituals. /1
How is this nonsense different to the moral panics over "master bedroom" or "pregnant women" or cultural appropriation etc etc? Paranoia clearly plays a role in our political discourse, and both sides are happy to leverage it when it suits them and denounce it when it doesn't.
October 28, 2025 at 1:18 PM
How is this nonsense different to the moral panics over "master bedroom" or "pregnant women" or cultural appropriation etc etc? Paranoia clearly plays a role in our political discourse, and both sides are happy to leverage it when it suits them and denounce it when it doesn't.
Still reading Dawn of Everything. Reached a section in which Graeber & Wengrow propose their own version of a “state of nature”, involving Kim Kardashian being chased by thieves who drink ever more powerful magic potions. So “Game of Thrones meets Pink Panther” rather than “Robinson Crusoe”./1
October 27, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Still reading Dawn of Everything. Reached a section in which Graeber & Wengrow propose their own version of a “state of nature”, involving Kim Kardashian being chased by thieves who drink ever more powerful magic potions. So “Game of Thrones meets Pink Panther” rather than “Robinson Crusoe”./1
Hedges had his talk at the National Press Club cancelled, the Club denied it, Hedges provides proof that it did. So naturally Marr asks him not a single question about this, instead demanding Hedges acknowledge the Club has hosted critics "hostile" to Israel before. Pathetic.
Weird interview by David Marr of Chris Hedges. Marr seems to think his job is to stand up for the Press Club (and media like the NY Times)
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Journalist Chris Hedges on being cancelled by the National Press Club - ABC listen
Australia’s National Press Club was due to host Pulitzer prize winning journalist, the former Middle East Bureau Chief for the New York Times, Chris Hedges on Monday October 20, 2025. But after receiv...
www.abc.net.au
October 26, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Hedges had his talk at the National Press Club cancelled, the Club denied it, Hedges provides proof that it did. So naturally Marr asks him not a single question about this, instead demanding Hedges acknowledge the Club has hosted critics "hostile" to Israel before. Pathetic.
Monbiot correctly notes that UK’s democracy is more exposed than most to the threat of majoritarianism, whereby a party with an operative majority seeks to make this majority permanent by extending its executive power through complete control of parliament. /1
We're facing a political emergency: a high likelihood of an shamelessly authoritarian government in 2029. So we urgently need this basic safeguard: a codified constitution.
This week's column explains what we're missing and why it's so important.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This week's column explains what we're missing and why it's so important.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
We must act now: without a written constitution, Reform UK will have carte blanche to toxify our nation | Goerge Monbiot
It means breaking with hundreds of years of tradition, but it can’t wait. As hard-right figures spread division and laud autocrats, a fail-safe is vital, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Monbiot correctly notes that UK’s democracy is more exposed than most to the threat of majoritarianism, whereby a party with an operative majority seeks to make this majority permanent by extending its executive power through complete control of parliament. /1
This I think gets to the heart of it. Because women's rights and civil rights were about the exclusion of certain groups from the civil sphere based on "primordial" characteristics deeming them incompetent. But the process of civic repair in both these cases was not linear... /1
"As with the women's rights debate, the slavery debate seems intentionally designed to force everyone into only the most extreme positions so as to ensure the worst possible outcome"
October 23, 2025 at 2:55 PM
This I think gets to the heart of it. Because women's rights and civil rights were about the exclusion of certain groups from the civil sphere based on "primordial" characteristics deeming them incompetent. But the process of civic repair in both these cases was not linear... /1
Between my quote posts and the Jesse Singal thing, I'm on track to be blocked by 99% of Bluesky at this rate.
Cosmopolitan elites are better shielded than most against the corrosive effects that capitalist accumulation has on resonance, thereby assuming the rest of us ought to be as happy as they are. Instead, they should be critically reflecting on the threats posed by the very system they celebrate. /End
October 23, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Between my quote posts and the Jesse Singal thing, I'm on track to be blocked by 99% of Bluesky at this rate.
This whole debate has become absurd. Obviously forced deportation of settled residents is deeply unjust and completely unnecessary. But the idea promoted on this site that one cannot even discuss reducing immigration lest it helps fascists is irrational and counterproductive. /1
I sat in the British Library reading League of Empire Loyalists, BNP & National Front literature for my book and even they claimed to promote *voluntary* repatriation. Forcible deportation was always the ghost behind those ideas, but it’s amazing that UK politicians don’t even bother to hide it.
To be clear: deportations to increase cultural homogeneity is the text book definition of ethnic cleansing. Demands that come even close to this are so far outside any democratic norm and the rule of law. What has happened to a country when this is not condemned in the strongest possible terms?
October 22, 2025 at 1:19 PM
This whole debate has become absurd. Obviously forced deportation of settled residents is deeply unjust and completely unnecessary. But the idea promoted on this site that one cannot even discuss reducing immigration lest it helps fascists is irrational and counterproductive. /1
Let us say that the cosmopolitan elites are right, and economic & other cherry picked data shows we should be happy about our lot. How do they define such happiness or the good life? Clearly, for them it comes down to the accumulation of resources like money, education, frequent flyer points, etc./1
14 years I ago I wrote this. The same is still true today, even if it has become a little more relative and a little less absolute www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12... Here's Justin Wolfers Boyer Lecture the other day saying the same (worth watching) www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAa9...
Australia, you've never had it so good
Never before has there been a nation so completely oblivious to not just their own successes, but the sheer enormity of them, than Australia today.
www.abc.net.au
October 21, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Let us say that the cosmopolitan elites are right, and economic & other cherry picked data shows we should be happy about our lot. How do they define such happiness or the good life? Clearly, for them it comes down to the accumulation of resources like money, education, frequent flyer points, etc./1
This site is great for doing academic research. Simply state your query in natural language, and it summarises the search results with links to sources.
consensus.app
consensus.app
Search - Consensus: AI Search Engine for Research
Consensus is a search engine that uses AI to find answers in scientific research.
consensus.app
October 21, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This site is great for doing academic research. Simply state your query in natural language, and it summarises the search results with links to sources.
consensus.app
consensus.app
Good! We don't want or need racists distorting this debate. But via a link in the article: "The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that net overseas migration, or Nom as it’s known, was just shy of 316,000 in the year to March. That’s down from about 335,000 in the year to December..." /1
October 20, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Good! We don't want or need racists distorting this debate. But via a link in the article: "The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that net overseas migration, or Nom as it’s known, was just shy of 316,000 in the year to March. That’s down from about 335,000 in the year to December..." /1