My New Blog

What it will be about, why I am doing this

So, here we are at the dawn of a new year, the 18th year of the 21st Century. 

It is clear that in the UK, where I live, things are not going in the right direction for the vast majority of the resident population.  For many years now, for this majority, economically and socially and in terms of security, progress has been slowing and at times, reversing.  

It is seems more and more that our country's political and economic system is tuned to benefit increasingly disproportionately the tiny minority who control the financial sector and large companies.  They own the biggest part of the wealth of the UK and through the power that is derived from that wealth, they exercise control and influence over the rest of the population.  This control and influence is exercised predominantly in three ways: influence on the legislative and executive branches of government; asymmetric employment power dynamics; and influence on the markets for many essential products and services both real and financial. 

The latter influence on markets is the least obvious of the three, and is exercised through both supply side and demand side market interference.  Supply side via price and quality control and through asymmetric power relationships with the myriad of small and medium sized enterprises which make up their supply chains. Demand side, by advertising using sophisticated analytic and psychological methods among others.   I will probably write more about this in future.  For the moment I will return to why I am doing this and more about what this blog will be about.

My intention is to try and promote an integrated view of a number of streams of theory and real world experience in an attempt to provide the interested reader with an overview of where we are economically, socially and geopolitical and how we got here.  In addition, I intend to promote my view of how we can mover forward to a better future for the vast majority of citizens and other residents of the UK. 

Over the years I have come to realise that there is a great lack of integration among the many disciplines and practical aspects of life.  Further, the media presents at best an inadequate and at worst a deliberately distorted view of economic and associated political and social matters.

 It is my intention to present an description of these things along with a manifesto for change which will be accessible to the interested general reader.  I also hope to foster a community of such people in order to influence our political leaders - a grand objective, and success is improbable, but if I don't try this it is certain I will have no effect.

Layers of abstraction are important in describing and understanding complex issues and phenomena.  

At the highest level I will be looking at the world and our experience in the UK in terms of:

• Economics
• Society
• Geopolitics

More specifically I will be seeking to integrate thinking and practise from (among other things):

• the sciences and engineering
• history
• sociology
• organisational theory
• philosophy
• business practise

From this integration and the understanding it will bring, I will be proposing a practical way forward with regard to the change we need in our society in terms of:

• education
• asymmetric power dynamics - in politics, in business, in life
• compassion, justice, balance versus greed, selfishness, exploitation
• individualism versus collectivism - a happy medium? where is the balance to be found?
• human nature - the individual and social interactions - more layers of abstraction
• democracy - in crisis? - what is democracy anyway?
• federal commonwealth - a way forward for the UK constitutional settlement in an age of change -  note NOTHING to do with The Commonwealth.
• the ideal of unity versus the tendency towards atavistic disintegration
• the politics of hope, inclusion and unity versus the politics of division, fear and hate
• the failure of our society to adequately protect children, vulnerable men and women, the poor, minorities of one sort or another
• ownership and distribution of wealth
• inequality of incomes
• maximising the potential of people
• setting out a set of principles from which should inform all policy and implementation decision making in terms of the political and the business spheres
• governance of business
• the flow of value generated by the economy -  systems engineering approach to economic modelling - energy basis of all economic activity
• how our economy is integrated in the world and how it should be integrated
• the governance of investment
• how human activity needs to operate better in terms of the ecology of the planet

and many more.

I hope to add to this blog several times and week and, as noted above, both foster a community of like minded people and influence our political leaders.

Please keep an eye out for updates and have a great and happy new year.