tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post8467021775226964084..comments2024-03-17T00:10:44.022+00:00Comments on From Arse To Elbow: Raging BullDavid Timoneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-34182296581222681322015-02-20T22:23:04.879+00:002015-02-20T22:23:04.879+00:00I was thinking about acquisitive crime rather than...I was thinking about acquisitive crime rather than sex crimes -- I suspect one reason why London and Paris have big problems with gangs (in London's case I think Somalis rather than Caribbean blacks are the most feared gangsters now) is because both are extremely gentrified cities, with concentrated of wealth relatively near concentrated poverty.<br /><br />I wonder if Japan's low crime rate may have something to do with liberal <a href="http://urbankchoze.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/european-american-and-japanese.html" rel="nofollow">Japanese land use policies</a> (which allow very high-density development in the vicinity of train stations, where such density is most useful)?<br /><br />By contrast, Europeans strongly dislike tall buildings (which results in a shortage of floor space in CBDs) and prefer roughly uniform density in residential neighbourhoods (which makes it almost impossible to densify without government subsidies). While North Americans are more accepting of towers in the CBD, but impose big-lot detached houses with an iron fist in most of the rest of the built-up area.George Cartyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12170378024031141482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-31491554600357570662015-02-20T08:19:17.544+00:002015-02-20T08:19:17.544+00:00I haven't checked out the crime stats myself -...I haven't checked out the crime stats myself -- it's just that the French banlieues (like American black ghettos) are strongly associated with crime by the media, while former mill towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire are not.George Cartyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12170378024031141482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-86627212449038929762015-02-19T15:04:01.416+00:002015-02-19T15:04:01.416+00:00George, what evidence do you have that the French ...George, what evidence do you have that the French banlieues are much more lawless than towns in the North of England?David Timoneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-16967491277003996982015-02-19T08:21:38.241+00:002015-02-19T08:21:38.241+00:00Thanks for that counter-example Herbie -- incident...Thanks for that counter-example Herbie -- incidentally, why (in your opinion) are the French banlieues so much worse (more lawless) than the "mill and mosque towns" of Lancashire and Yorkshire, which have a very similar problem (ethnically- and religiously-distinct population imported in the past to work cheaply in industries that have since closed down)?George Cartyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12170378024031141482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-78319939441132632232015-02-18T17:56:19.371+00:002015-02-18T17:56:19.371+00:00"Does the rampant criminality in Paris's ..."Does the rampant criminality in Paris's suburban ghettos (where benefits aren't especially stingy but jobs are virtually non-existent) lend credence to "the devil finds work for idle hands"?"<br /><br />Spain's crime rate is lower than the UK's yet unemployment is higher in Spain. Even on the face of it, explaining crime as "the devil finds work for idle hands"?" seems cretinous in the extreme and I you don't have to delve deep to find evidence that it is!Herbie Kills Childrennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-9937287922175223112015-02-18T15:02:46.843+00:002015-02-18T15:02:46.843+00:00I'm not sure if you're trying to be ironic...I'm not sure if you're trying to be ironic, but citing the misanthrophic reactionary Theodore Dalrymple seems - how shall I put it? - provocative. You might as well cite Louis-Ferdinand CĂ©line (there are quite a few similarities between the two).David Timoneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-47161512920688393142015-02-18T13:29:43.894+00:002015-02-18T13:29:43.894+00:00Does the rampant criminality in Paris's suburb...Does the <a href="http://www.city-journal.org/html/12_4_the_barbarians.html" rel="nofollow">rampant criminality in Paris's suburban ghettos</a> (where benefits aren't especially stingy but jobs are virtually non-existent) lend credence to "the devil finds work for idle hands"?George Cartyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12170378024031141482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-28283780099115982072015-02-15T12:46:38.435+00:002015-02-15T12:46:38.435+00:00There's nothing inherently wrong with the tech...There's nothing inherently wrong with the technology. The issue is the political exploitation of it. Automation can either be remitted to labour in the form of reduced hours (and/or increased wages) or to capital in the form of increased profits. Neoliberalism privileges the latter.<br /><br />A distinguishing characteristic of neoliberalism is financialisation: the idea that everything must have a price and that all social relations must be mediated by markets (more so than was the case with classical liberalism). This discourages the idea that value can take a form other than financial capital - i.e. that time has an intrinsic value other than its exchange value.<br /><br />The consequence is an ideology that treats the failure to convert time to money as social failure, so the well-paid are deemed to be "constantly working" or at least in training (hence the iconic role of gyms and running), and time off can only be justified if it is a "priceless" experience, while the poor are reminded of their weakness through zero-hour contracts and under-employment and intimidated by "shirkers vs strivers" rhetoric.<br /><br />The fundamental problem of modern politics is that it focuses on money - public expenditure, taxation, benefits etc - which serves the neoliberal discourse. The underlying reality is a struggle for control over labour time. It is no coincidence that the historic trend to collectively reduce working hours came to an end (in the late 70s) when neoliberalism came to the fore in politics.David Timoneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-92044296292344426822015-02-15T12:05:50.410+00:002015-02-15T12:05:50.410+00:00"one which is effectively dependent on a redu..."one which is effectively dependent on a reduction in working hours and intensified use of technology in order to reduce the amount of time devoted to production of basic needs"<br /><br />But on the other hand hand it has been argued by you and David that neo liberalism is built upon this technology?Herbie Destroys the Environmentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-64983570763548496932015-02-14T17:01:20.806+00:002015-02-14T17:01:20.806+00:00AFAIK, the Green Party have never subscribed to an...AFAIK, the Green Party have never subscribed to anything radical in the area of working time, so I think you're being generous suggesting they have moved towards the conservative orthodoxy. They've always been there.<br /><br />A central strand of Green philosophy is the belief that consumers can't avoid making bad choices (The Tragedy of the Commons etc). This is the traditional belief that the common sort are irresponsible: they'll loot the public treasury and trash the countryside, given the chance.<br /><br />Related to this is the traditional fear of working class free time ("the Devil finds work for idle hands"), which is equal parts ideology (maximising surplus value) and a pragmatic calculation that busy/numbed workers are less trouble.<br /><br />As Gorz recognised, the truly revolutionary change is to give people back their time, which is the source of all value. A basic income that does not progressively reduce working time will end in disaster, either because it immiserates the unemployed or because it creates conflict between workers and non-workers.David Timoneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-68868534508570330322015-02-14T12:50:10.101+00:002015-02-14T12:50:10.101+00:00It was the arguments of Andre Gorz that 'conve...It was the arguments of Andre Gorz that 'converted' me to the idea of a basic income, one which is effectively dependent on a reduction in working hours and intensified use of technology in order to reduce the amount of time devoted to production of basic needs and to eliminate wasteful capitalist economic growth. Unfortunately this kind of radical discourse is moving further from the minds of the Green Party, which is increasingly tied to Westminster standards of 'respectability' and a position akin to that of their German counterparts, where more stress is placed on the consumer rather than capitalist production, and where the exploitation of a niche middle-class electoral base seems to be the major priority.Igor Belanovnoreply@blogger.com