tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post7785123308478750666..comments2024-03-17T00:10:44.022+00:00Comments on From Arse To Elbow: Banged UpDavid Timoneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-67912991099755670002017-04-18T19:22:14.141+01:002017-04-18T19:22:14.141+01:00Market failure. Proponents of free trade capitali...Market failure. Proponents of free trade capitalism presume that there will be alternatives available that allow the punter to select their maximum utility. Mainly that's a myth.gastro georgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-52751938695751411942017-04-18T18:46:55.962+01:002017-04-18T18:46:55.962+01:00Buses and trains are fairly localised, planes on t...Buses and trains are fairly localised, planes on the other hand do demand at least some lip service is paid to the global working class, the global middle class and the global elite. Though I guess we could sum it up by saying for most of the working class planes are those things that look like giant birds or your main means of transnational travel is via overcrowded boats where your chances of survival are not great.<br /><br />Capitalism is of course a system of rationing goods based on ability to pay, among other things.<br /><br />We need a new motto on the left along the lines of,<br /><br />"If you accept the system don't fucking come to me moaning about it"<br />Herbie Kills Childrennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-36846455355440101642017-04-16T12:11:54.275+01:002017-04-16T12:11:54.275+01:00A paradox of technology is that as we take certain...A paradox of technology is that as we take certain improvements in service quality for granted, we become more intolerant of what we perceive as poor service elsewhere. For example, the combination of apps and bus stop LED indicators mean that we often know when the next bus is coming (at least in metropolitan areas), yet many people now start tutting when it sticks on "due" for more than 30 seconds.<br /><br />Despite the talk some years ago about digital disenfranchisement (less of an issue now because of the near-ubiquity of smartphones), it strikes me that it is the middle classes who have struggled most with the move of service provision online (e.g. for banking), partly because they can't get someone else to sort out their problems and partly because they miss the exercise of power involved in such transactions.David Timoneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-18435031703381529422017-04-15T18:58:17.691+01:002017-04-15T18:58:17.691+01:00"Service quality, at least for standard class..."Service quality, at least for standard class passengers, has steadily declined ..."<br /><br />I saw another quote somewhere that the squeeze on cost in all spheres of life is leading to a fall in service standards generally (think hours hanging on the phone, bank branches closing, etc.). While the poor have generally always had to put up with this, it's now impinging on the middle classes, and therefore gaining more salience. So, as with wages, middle is becoming more squeezed, and the difference between the 1% and the rest becoming more obvious.<br /><br />I'd resist trying to hark back to any idea of former halcyon days of consumer service, but it rings true.<br />gastro georgenoreply@blogger.com