Tony Blair

Discussion in 'Just Talk' started by proby, Feb 17, 2017.

  1. btiw

    btiw Well-Known Member

    Testify brother (or would you prefer Komrade?)!
    Can he get an Amen?
    It's like having John Lennon in the room, but without the smell of decomposition*.

    I'm sorry, shall I be serious?
    I thought because you weren't being serious that I was supposed to join in.

    ...or were you?

    A few hundred years ago we lived under Feudalism. Your economic and political future depended largely on the nobility of vagina from which you emerged into the world.
    Then came Adam Smith and wealth of nations. Capitalism was codified.
    Then came Karl Marx** and there was a serious critique of capitalist system which eventually influenced all modern economies.
    Now we have globalist capitalism with a dash of social awareness. It's helped change the world, but anyone who looks at it honestly can see that appears to be running out of steam.
    Because now your economic and political future depended largely on the wealth and nationality of the vagina from which you emerged into the world? Gosh, haven't we progressed?

    I'm sure you could go on to describe how our current economic system leads to the socialization of economic externalities (i.e. business pollute - we pay for it), the challenges that will be posed by massive job automation and the parasitism of current globalist practices.

    ...and you'd be right. There are serious subjects that are rarely discussed and often dismissed.

    But what's the roadmap from here to there? BTW I'm not really expecting you to give me a roadmap, besides I think it'd be too long for a forum post***.
    It feels like the world is waiting for the next Smith or the next Marx to define a new economic paradigm.
    People are starting to talk about resource based economics, post-scarcity economics, universal basic income etc. and it's interesting that these ideas are filtering down to places as obscure as the Screwfix community forums.

    PJT, they may say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * "decompose" that's what happens when composers die
    ** okay, it didn't ALL go well with that one - let's blame Stalin
    *** wouldn't it be awful if the next economic paradigm appeared on a forum to only receive "Your rite! Gr8 post! (click like)"
     
    P J Thompson likes this.
  2. P J Thompson

    P J Thompson Active Member

    Last time I checked, I was a human being :) I don't have a notion of 'my country'. Closest I could say is that I'm a citizen of Planet Earth, I know that's probably hard for you to grasp as you define yourself by where you were born but hey, give it a go sometime :)
    You'll be talking about "British values" next :D

    "Bordeless countries" :D More cognitive dissonance? Much?
     
  3. P J Thompson

    P J Thompson Active Member

    You're no doubt right that it's too big a subject for a post in a forum. A screwfix forum at that :D
    But, there are precedents of steps we could take. I mentioned the system used in the country called Switzerland. It's a stepping stone between representative and direct democracy and it works for them, within their borders ;)

    The issue appears to be that we the people aren't interested in real change. We shy away from it and for some reason expect things to get better by just carrying on as we are. That's impossible. The current economic model for example is doomed to fail. It's a mathematical certainty. The US can keep kicking it's debt ceiling short term, Britain can keep using QE and creating more debt, short term. Sooner or later you hit a point where you can't meet the payments and you become insolvent. At that point what will the central banking network do? Foreclose...on a 'nation' or twenty, or thirty...

    We're blindly walking toward the abyss expecting people that care not one jot for us to sort things out. They'll probably have colonized Mars by then and will leave us all here to fight over the last remaining field mushroom!

    All I'm saying really, is that if we want any form of sustainable, equitable future for our descendants, we'd best get talking about the bigger picture rather than squabbling over stuff like Brexit. But I see no sign of that happening beyond fringe forums, University bars and the odd facebook group :( Though as you say, we are at least mentioning it here! :)
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2017
  4. btiw

    btiw Well-Known Member

    Does anybody else think that PJT is a new sock puppet account I've created?
    I'm me and even I think he's me.

    PJT:
    • Gets up DA's and JoT's noses
    • Discusses economic and political theory (or at least knows the vocabulary)
    • Writes longish posts using big words (that's the same thing as eloquence, right? No? Awww...) whilst still including grammatical mistakes
    • He's even using a two dimensional political spectrum (south-west vs right-wing authoritarian)

    If he starts posting macroeconomic data and using footnotes then I'd say it's certain.

    Honestly, is it just me that thinks this might be the case?

    I think I'm having some fight clubesque split personality episode. An episode where some part of my subconscious, frustrated by my unwillingness to use emoji in posts, has developed a life of its own.
    Perhaps PJT posts like I'd like to post? Perhaps he is free in all the ways I am not?

    Wait a minute... Didn't Tyler Durden want to destroy the banks too? Spooky.

    Longs can be Robert Paulson.
     
  5. P J Thompson

    P J Thompson Active Member

    That's funny, here's a few emojis :D :D :)

    I'm no grammar Nazi though ;)

    Does anyone still cling to a one dimensional political spectrum? :D
     
  6. P J Thompson

    P J Thompson Active Member

    By the way, thus far I've resisted the urge to post charts of things like debt as a percentage of GDP....but it may come. Dunno about footnotes though*





    *although :D
     
  7. btiw

    btiw Well-Known Member

    You had me at Chomsky.

    JoT likes the left-right wing thing and I think DA is fond of it too.

    Everyone who disagrees with DA seems to be labelled right-wing* by DA's definition of right-wing.

    Right-Wing
    (adjective)
    Disagrees with DA.

    * but not always. I think DA has a die he uses for adjectives. It's labelled "racist", "bigoted", "fascist", "right wing", "stupid" and "dishonest".
     
    longboat likes this.
  8. btiw

    btiw Well-Known Member

    Yes DA. I was quite surprised to see Phil agree so wholeheartedly with what was the start of an anarcho-socialist manifesto.

    Although I've always suspected that Longs has a bit of the "let's kick the windows out of a starbucks" about him.
    I'm not saying that Longs would actually do it.
    Starbucks don't serve ale so he probably doesn't know much about them.
     
    longboat likes this.
  9. Phil the Paver

    Phil the Paver Screwfix Select



    Starbucks, another non tax paying overseas company. Don't go anywhere near them so I wont kicking their windows in.:D:D:D
     
  10. longboat

    longboat Screwfix Select

    I know all about starbucks thank you very much.
    Well, I know they charge about the same for their coffee as most pubs do for a pint-o-beer, and that's all I need to know.

    Kicking the windows won't work though, ya need a brick or something.
     
    btiw likes this.
  11. Phil the Paver

    Phil the Paver Screwfix Select

    I see Blair recruited another crook to the fore, I bet Remainers are reeling at the thought of Mandelson now on board. :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
     
  12. PaulBlackpool

    PaulBlackpool Screwfix Select

    I don't particularly like either of them but Mandelson does know about trade.
    As it is in the Guardian I suppose you will think this article is "fake news" or more scaremongering but I will post the link anyway;-
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ould-mean-6bn-in-extra-costs-for-uk-exporters
     
  13. Phil the Paver

    Phil the Paver Screwfix Select

  14. PaulBlackpool

    PaulBlackpool Screwfix Select

    Based on UK exports to the EU of about £220 billion about 3% overall.
    But individual commodities will fare worse than others.
     
  15. btiw

    btiw Well-Known Member

    About 3/4 of the net eu contribution we will have been making. So it is possible the government could find this particular cost out of the savings. I can't see us staying on WTO for too long though (touch wood).
     
    Phil the Paver likes this.
  16. SWBUILDERS

    SWBUILDERS Active Member

    I'm sure you posted in favour of the fractional reserve banking system? You can't be him!!
     
    btiw likes this.
  17. btiw

    btiw Well-Known Member

    It's probably a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde thing.
    I like money more than liberte, egalite, fraternite. It's a weakness of mine.
     
    SWBUILDERS likes this.
  18. Phil the Paver

    Phil the Paver Screwfix Select


    This was my point, its less than we pay in at the mo.
     
  19. P J Thompson

    P J Thompson Active Member

    'posted in favour of the fractional reserve banking system' ?

    Well I suppose there has to be a first for everything.
     
  20. There are differences betwixt you.

    For your post I only had to look up 'Tyler Durden' and 'Robert Whatsit'.

    For PJ's I need to highlight and Google his whole bludy posts.
     

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