rodshaw
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As a slight aside to this topic – how does the government overissue currency these days? Is it still by printing more notes, or by electronic means, or a bit of both? I think I read somewhere that “quantitative easing” doesn’t actually permeate into the general economy.
There does seem to be a slight shift in stance from Attenborough. At least he’s now pointing at capitalism instead of just saying it’s “we humans” causing the problems. But if only he’d say that capitalism needs abolishing not curbing. And if only he’d see that he doesn’t have to be an economist to say that.
“When health and social care become captured by economic burden capital interests of keeping the economy ‘open’ will always stand at the front of the line (adverse health outcomes become an acceptable risk or economic ‘friendly fire’)”
Collateral damage, indeed.
Not all GP practices notify people that flu jabs are available. When I lived in York I got an annual reminder and an actual appointment at a local inoculation centre without prompting. Here in Northampton, nothing. My GP doesn’t even do them. You have to ask your local chemist to give you one – but at least they are still free.
Maybe it depends on how hard different pharmaceutical companies are wanting to push them.
I assume near the beginning he means we would prioritise the safety of everyone.
Can’t argue with the sentiment but appropriating stored wealth for the benefit of all is the left-winger’s dream, much more unlikely than that people will turn to socialism.
Leaving economy issues aside (if only we could), there is also the argument that even from the aspect of general health and wellbeing, a lockdown is worse than the problem it’s trying to solve. Either way it looks like we are going to end up living with the virus and those who are most concerned observing everyday ‘common sense’ measures like distancing, masks etc. for possibly a long time to come.
The general population is getting lockdown fatigue. It certainly doesn’t help when the government does a u-turn every few weeks and is at loggerheads with its advisors.
I wonder how long all that money lying around in bank accounts would stay there? Maybe all computers holding financial details would be ceremonially wiped.
Or perhaps one or two which held billionaires’ accounts would be put in a museum.
“We cannot allow ‘specialist’ educators. Socialism is the self-education of the whole of society.”
Indeed, the more you know, the more sceptical you can be about other’s views or the information they give you. But we’re never all going to know the same things. We’re not telepathic. We can’t absorb information by osmosis. There would have to be ways for people with more knowledge in a certain field to be able to make it available to others. Of course, it would then be up to the others to decide whether they accepted it or not. But why wouldn’t they? And how would they know any different?
Just imagine – workers in a shop decide not to take payment (actually, it happened to me recently, but it was just a paltry sum for a tyre valve replacement).
Then the shop’s supplier decides not to charge the shop – the employees refuse to put the invoices through and their bosses can’t make them. The word spreads.
Eventually someone gets sued, but the court admin clerks decide not to process the lawsuit. Eventually the whole supply chain is moneyless because the workers have decided not to ask for money or pay, and the people implementing the enforcement machinery on a daily basis have decided not to do anything about it. Likewise the police and the army. So the world is running without money and the owners can only look on speechless.
Back door socialism? Can the state just melt away?
One good thing that may come out of this pandemic is more research into ME and associated illnesses, through the number of people who are suffering long-term after-effects. One of my daughters has ME and I know how limiting it can be.
But I won’t hold my breath, this is capitalism after all and any such research isn’t going to be particularly profitable.
“I have had the same problem of what term for African-Americans which i use now, since negro, coloured (and even black sometimes) are no longer PC.”
I have seen “people of colour” being used recently.
You never know, he might come out as a non-believer, like some C of E clerics did a while back.
How about posting him a few Socialist Standards? After all, we did write open letters to David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg…
I don’t really understand some of the UK figures. “The science” is somewhat contradictory. On the one hand for several weeks the graphs have been showing a slight daily increase in new cases, back to around 1,000 now (and the actual number of new cases will be significantly higher, though this isn’t being concealed), but if so how can the magical R number as low as 0.8 to 1?
“What specific measures might be taken do you think?”
It could be argued that the conditions for the spread of a virus like Covid, at least to fatal pandemic proportions, wouldn’t be there in the first place – no overcrowding, general bad health etc. And no encroachment of humans on animal “territory”.
I’m sure there would be an efficient testing and tracing system in place right from the word go, and there would be no trade-off between health considerations and the need to keep business moving. So all that might be needed would be a handful of very localised “lockdowns”.
Any lockdown recommendations would obviously need the agreement of the local population affected but why wouldn’t they?
Hospitals would be much more able to cope right from the start – no shortages of space or PPE etc. At least I would hope so. I would envisage every local community having its own supply of PPE on a pretty much permanent basis.
And then of course there would be no cover-ups as nobody would be trying to cover their backs or have anything to gain from hiding information. Not to mention the lack of competition for who could produce a vacccine that was profitable.
