Injecting capital, extracting profits Written by Alex Massie19 November 2020 The race to find vaccines that will protect humans from Covid-19 should be seen as an awe-inspiring epic of human ingenuity. It has been a global effort and an astonishing one. What might in more ordinary circumstances take years, appears to have been achieved in …
Nine days on, 10 things we’ve learned Written by Alex Massie 12 November 2020 This week, I offer you a list. Here are 10 conclusions to be drawn from this year’s American elections. 1. The election was both close and clear-cut A wide-angle view confirms that Joe Biden won this election handsomely. Nationwide, he won …
The future of the ‘special relationship’ Written by Alex Massie29 October 2020 Barring something remarkable, or some last-ditch act of chicanery, Joe Biden is a week away from becoming president of the United States of America. On this, every reputable pollster and the great majority of even semi-reputable pundits agree. The latest polls from vital …
Sharing the burden Written by Alex Massie 15 October 2020 Good politics and fine policy do not always go together, and for good reason. Politics is often a matter of short-term advantage; a series of improvisations motivated by not much more than expediency. Policy runs on a different timescale and a different track; seeds planted …
Green energy is capitalism’s low-hanging fruit Written by Alex Massie8 October 2020 Viewers in Scotland can be forgiven for recalling that they have heard Boris Johnson’s pledge to make the United Kingdom “the Saudi Arabia” of green energy before. This, they will remember, was how Alex Salmond liked to describe Scotland’s energy potential, if only …
A new neoliberal moment Written by Alex Massie1 October 2020 There are many ways by which an idea may be discredited, but one of the simplest is to make it sound as though it must be a conspiracy, some kind of underhand but devilishly clever plot against the public. Alas, poor neoliberalism then. The neoliberal …
The defining tussles of the US presidential election Written by Alex Massie24 September 2020 If you thought this American presidential election could not yet become more febrile, more absurd, and more consequential than it is, then it’s time to think again. The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the age of 87 and long past …
The defining tussles of the US presidential election Read More »
Tech ‘moonshots’ will create national failures as well as champions Written by Alex Massie 17 September 2020 Earlier this month, the $40bn sale of ARM, the Cambridge-based technology firm, to the American company Nvidia was confirmed amidst some concern and some controversy. Yet again, it was claimed, a world-leading British firm was being snapped up …
Tech ‘moonshots’ will create national failures as well as champions Read More »
Is meritocracy the road to the guillotine? Written by Alex Massie10 September 2020 Meritocracy, the belief in social mobility based on hard-work and ability, is both impossible to argue against and so thoroughly misunderstood it becomes necessary, eventually, to argue against it. It is one of the foundational creeds of modern life. Yet the term …
Germany’s European opportunity Written by Alex Massie3 September 2020 Earlier this summer, as the true depth and scale of the coronavirus emergency became clear, Germany assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union. This was a coincidence of timing, but a fortuitous one nonetheless for, as chancellor Angela Merkel argued, “Europe needs us, just as we need Europe”. This …