William Davies
English political economist and sociological theorist; professor of political economy at Goldsmiths, University of London; author of The Happiness Industry and Nervous States.
William Davies did not write this page.
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Their wordsthe idea that societies such as Britain have become economically stagnant due to over-government is as close to an elite post-Covid orthodoxy as exists, and not only amongst conservatives.
↗Why is there not more libertarianism?willd10.substack.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Our reading
‘Chainsaw’ economics as tried by Truss, Musk and Milei did damage without achieving its goals.
Their wordsLiz Truss, Elon Musk and Millei all pursued experiments in ‘chainsaw’ economics, doing diverse varieties of damage to lives and livelihoods, but without achieving their actual goals.
↗Why is there not more libertarianism?willd10.substack.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Our reading
Supply-side reform is popular only until it comes for people’s own green fields or pensions.
Their wordseveryone is in favour of supply-side reform until it comes for their local green-field space or pension.
↗Why is there not more libertarianism?willd10.substack.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 13 days earlier
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Their wordsThe assumption that the screen (from cinema, via television, to smartphone) is a single thing is part of the problem here.
↗What if it’s not all about ‘screens’?willd10.substack.com 1st of 2 in this piece
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Their wordsI sometimes wonder if we forget what a revolutionary company Apple is (I know people obsessed over this about 20 years ago, but far less so today). To state the obvious, all the pioneerings steps in the social domestication and popular cultural embedding of networked computing over the past thirty years (at least in the Global North) have been made largely thanks to one company.
↗What if it’s not all about ‘screens’?willd10.substack.com 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 6 weeks earlier
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Our reading
Schools, even nurseries, should not be expected to spot which children will later be out of work.
Their wordsBut there’s something mad about letting a broad socioeconomic crisis reflect backwards like this, to the point where potentially nursery school teachers are being expected to worry about exclusion from the labour market.
↗Make education boring againwilld10.substack.com 1st of 2 in this piece
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Our reading
The media’s obsession with universities reflects a shortage of other ways of discussing society.
Their wordsThe problem isn’t with universities, it’s a shortage of other ways of discussing and addressing society.
↗Make education boring againwilld10.substack.com 2nd of 2 in this piece