102. The fallacy of the willing poor

-
An insidious, dangerous narrative has developed in what is euphemistically called conservative political movements, also known as the right. This is the fallacy of the willing poor. According to it, those who are poor are choosing to be, they don’t want to work, they rather live off benefits, subsidies and other social help. This argument is used to outcast solidarity from national and international systems. The middle classes withdraw support from the unemployed and those genuinely on benefits. Richer countries refuse to help poorer countries during recessions, etc. The ultimate effect is a breakdown of our society, which becomes more individualistic, more materialistic and abandons community. This fallacy is particularly grievous in countries without full employment. It is obvious that, when structurally full employment is not available, some will have no work, however willing. When you look at the evidence, which authors like Rutger Bregman do, there is none to support this narrative

Length: 1,001 characters 
Location: Hereford, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

149. It's all about the bike

-
The title of this post is shared with a book by Rob Penn, based on the construct of Rob travelling all over the World to his favourite manufacturers of bike parts, to build his perfect bike. It’s a great idea and an enjoyable read. For me, it’s not about a specific bike, but about being on a bike. Specially, on the high roads. The great passes of the Alps, the Pyrenees and even of other, minor chains. The tunnels of Tourmalet from St Marie de Campan, the innumerable hairpins of Finestre, the desolate heights of Iseran, the majestic solitude of the climb over the last wall to the glacial cirque of Troumousse. The bike opens up landscapes in a way that no other means of transport does. Silent. Outdoor. Hard. Reaching each peak demands pain and pays back in satisfaction and awe at nature’s beauty. Every descent demands temerity and rewards with the occasional feeling of that perfect high speed line through the bends. A good bike is beautiful to look at, but even more beautiful to look fro
Read more

34. The 'Todos tus libros' platform

-
My eye has been caught in the last few days by an initiative started in Spain to protect local bookshops. The idea is simple and can be extended to any other industries. It aims to address the short term cash problem that independent bookshops can have due to the fact that they are currently closed and therefore can’t generate revenues, whilst still needing to pay most of their bills, especially as government help is there theoretically in some cases, but can be harder or more complex to access than would be ideal. ‘Todos tus libros’, which means ‘All your books’ allows you to spend money now with your bookshop, which you can then redeem for any books later, once they are back open. This is a great idea. It seems obvious, like all great ideas. It could save many retailers (and other companies) during these difficult times, if they have the support of their communities. And consumers should really support it, unless we want to come back to a World of large chains and internet shopping
Read more

28. Patience is one of the differences between life science and property development

-
I read with relief that the irresponsible touting of hydroxychloroquine as a miracle coronavirus remedy by Trump and his acolytes has ceased after the drug was shown to have, if anything, a detrimental effect to survival chances in a retrospective clinical trial. Trump was enthusiastic about early evidence and could not help himself. Those who work in life science know that every single day, new treatments and tests against all kind of conditions show promise. Most of them fall by the wayside during the stringent marketing regulatory approval process designed to agree the ethics of their use and to establish their safety and efficacy. An early, anecdotal article on promise is no more than an attempt by the scientific team to inform of the potential and attract some funding, echoed by media looking to produce some content. Patience is needed. This I can imagine is hard to understand for a property developer with a rich dad, whose patience muscle has probably not had enough exercise L
Read more