Info, news & debate
Commons economy
Global Redesign Initiative: how banks and corporations are planning to become global governors
This report is really something that everyone in the world should understand, because it spells out precisely what the corporate sector intends to do.
Why international investors (i.e. ‘the 1%’) couldn’t care less about politics
Bloomberg recently covered a Credit Suisse report on the concerns of international investors in the US, in Europe and in Asia. What they found was very interesting – that their concerns were entirely economic. They just couldn’t care less about politics – and especially who gets elected in which country.
Overview of TTIP, and why Europeans are very unhappy about it
I don’t know who slipped these anti-TTIP posters onto London Underground trains, but respect to them. If you don’t know about TTIP, here’s some basic information.
Communities in Scotland may soon be able to purchase land even if the landowner doesn’t want to sell; where do you stand?
There are radical changes on the table when it comes to land ownership in Scotland. The Land Reform Scotland Bill is intended to address the huge disparity in land ownership in Scotland – but there is one clause that is making some people extremely hopeful, and other very worried.
Rebels vs the Empire: why real life is like Star Wars
My brother is not politically or philosophically motivated, not particularly well read, and doesn’t keep up with current affairs. Most people are like that. Let’s call them ‘the mainstream’, if that’s not disrespectful. I don’t think it is – he’s my brother, after all.
One Planet Development arrested: my attempts to build a home on a smallholding in Wales
We moved to Wales because of an extraordinary Welsh Government policy. I shan’t lie, despite all experience and political conviction to the contrary, we were optimistic. One Planet Development seemed to be the kind of advance for low impact living and sustainable land use that we had been hoping for
How much should a loaf of bread cost?
You can now get white sliced bread in supermarkets for around 50p a loaf; or you can get hand-baked, organic loaves from independent bakers for around £3.50. We can also bake our own bread. What’s the best option, do you think?
Class War vs Cereal Killer: is this the way to promote anarchism?
You must know by now about Class War‘s ‘attack’ on hipster cereal cafe ‘Cereal Killer‘. It wasn’t much of an attack, to be honest – no-one was hurt and they were open again the next day. But were they right to target Cereal Killer in their anger about the gentrification of Shoreditch?
EU Trade Commission suggests removal of corporations’ right to sue governments from TTIP negotiations; US very unhappy
The biggest objection from the European public to the proposed TTIP trade deal (see here if you don’t know about it) is that multinational corporations will be able to sue elected governments (national or local) if it can be shown that legislation reduces corporate profits in any way.
This is what ‘transparency’ means when it comes to TTIP
Hilarious infographic by SumOfUs on what ‘transparency’ means in TTIP negotiations. But of course it isn’t funny at all. We’d like to see an economy of small businesses
Conversation with the ‘Moneyless Man’: our problems are way beyond policy changes – we need a new system
Mark Boyle, the ‘Moneyless Man‘ came to visit last Wednesday. It was the first time we’d met, although we’ve exchanged emails for years. As I suspected I would, I found him to be an inspirational character.
Economists: listen to this man and if you are intellectually honest you will begin to question the basic assumptions of your discipline
This guy is a genius. His name is Miklos Antal – I’d never heard of him before, but his every word cuts through the nonsense that lies at the heart of classical economic theory.
10 reasons you should care about TTIP, and what you can do about it
TTIP (the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) is a trade deal between the US and the EU, being carried out right now, in secret, ostensibly to co-ordinate and standardise legislation and to provide clarity, stability and confidence for companies that would like to invest in other countries, and to stimulate growth.
Suggested campaign to remove unnecessary regulations from independent businesses
Three things have happened to me recently that have made me realise that local, independent and/or community-owned businesses have been put at a huge disadvantage as regards regulations that cover their activities, and the independent sector is being unnecessarily penalised for the damaging activities of the corporate sector.
10 reasons we need a non-corporate system as well as a sustainable one (and there are many more)
Like all environmental / social change organisations, we’d like humans to live in a sustainable system. But unlike many other organisations, we clearly state that we’d like that system to be non-corporate. What do we mean?
How to answer the question: ‘if you don’t like this system, what do you want to replace it with?’ – aka a review of The Democracy Project by David Graeber
Graeber was a leading light in the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the book begins with a fascinating insider’s view of the goings-on in and around Zucotti Park in 2011. The most important point in the book for me though was the reminder that people always want a blueprint for a new society
If you’re not exactly ‘time-rich’, here’s how you can change society with your money as well as your actions
Since Lowimpact began as LILI in 2001, we’ve offered a constantly increasing bank of information, courses, products, services, books, magazines, links, videos and advice for people wanting to change their lives – to live in a more sustainable and less corporate way.
Greece v the Empire; how to understand what’s being done to the Greeks
I’ve been thinking about how to write articles about the fact that we live in a corporate empire – trying to work out a way to present the idea, thinking that it would sound rather silly or extreme to many ears. Then a former World Bank economist (Peter Koenig) says:
Help set up eco-settlements by moving your money and getting a better return than from a bank savings account
If we want to: help set up organic smallholdings; allow people to build natural homes on their land; preserve rural skills and livelihoods; and develop a sustainable, non-corporate food supply, we have to do more than just talk about it.
Good luck to Greece, and why you won’t find the real reasons for their crisis in the mainstream media
It’s so ironic that the biggest lesson in how to destroy democracy is being delivered to the world in the birthplace of democracy.