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EU

More on the EU referendum from a low-impact perspective: is another Europe possible?

Is the European Union an empty vessel into which any political content may be poured? Can it accommodate not just neoliberal conservatism but also Keynesian social democracy, hard-line greenery and even pro-nationalisation democratic socialism?

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Thinking of starting a community enterprise? Win a free place on a three-day workshop

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Our friend Jonathan at Stir to Action (incorporating STIR Magazine) is hosting a three-day workshop for people who are interested in starting a community enterprise, rather than joining the corporate rat-race. He’s offering one place on this workshop for free

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Review of Ralph Ibbott’s book ‘Ujamaa: the hidden story of Tanzania’s socialist villages’ and how I was lied to in Tanzania

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I have a special interest in this book. As a young man in the 1980s I’d read Julius Nyerere’s Ujamaa (Swahili for “togetherness”, “unity” or “familyhood”). I was inspired by his vision of a co-operative, non-hierarchical society based on sustainable villages

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mutualism

Mutualism: a philosophy for changing society with a difference – it’s implementable

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There are lots of ideas for changing the world – from voting to demonstrations, petitions, lifestyle change, incremental change, revolutionary change, or more of the same, only harder. The problem with many of them is that they are either ineffective or not implementable.

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money-visualisation

What’s the relative value of the world’s gold, Bitcoins, banknotes, derivatives, stocks & shares, property etc. See this incredible visualisation

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Do you have any idea of the value of all the Bitcoins in the world, compared to, say, the value of all the silver in the world, or compared to the wealth of Warren Buffet, or compared to the amount of global debt etc.?

Read more about What’s the relative value of the world’s gold, Bitcoins, banknotes, derivatives, stocks & shares, property etc. See this incredible visualisation

ttip-reading-room

Read this German MP’s account of the TTIP reading room and decide what you think about TTIP ‘transparency’

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So, you all know about TTIP? Here’s a link if you don’t, plus see the posts to the right. It’s a proposed ‘trade deal’ that is designed to give more of our economy to the corporate sector. It’s supposed to be ‘transparent’, but of course it’s completely secret.

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rural-manifesto

Live from the Real Farming Conference: why genetically-engineered food is about politics not science

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I’m at the Real Farming Conference in Oxford, and I’m writing this as a session on GM food is taking place. I’m sorry to have missed it, but I fell into a conversation until it was too late to join the session. However, I know someone who attended that session, and she’ll hopefully write a

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rural-manifesto

Live from the Real Farming Conference: Equality in the Countryside – a rural manifesto

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I’m blogging from the Real Farming Conference in Oxford, in Oxford Town Hall. This is the seventh annual conference, set up as a counter to the corporate farming conference running at the university in Oxford. I wasn’t expecting such a huge affair – 850 attendees, with some fantastic sessions.

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