Recent Articles

Ancient Rome was more equal than modern USA

The United States is more a unequal society than the Roman empire was, recent research has shown.

Here is an abstract of a paper published by Cambridge Journals:

Different methods of estimating the Gross Domestic Product of the Roman Empire in the second century C.E. produce convergent results that point to total output and consumption equivalent to 50 million tons of wheat or close to 20 billion sesterces per year.

It is estimated that élites (around 1.5 per cent of the imperial population) controlled approximately one-fifth of total income, while middling households (perhaps 10 per cent of the population) consumed another fifth. These findings shed new light on the scale of economic inequality and the distribution of demand in the Roman world.

the top 1.5% then controlled around 20% of the assets in the Roman empire according to their estimates.

Meanwhile, in the United States the top 1% currently own over 40% of the country’s wealth.

Thatcher’s funeral: you mourn if you want to

Perhaps the most inane remark ever uttered by any leading New Labour figure - invidious though it is to select just one, of course – is Peter Mandelson’s vapid contention that ‘we are all Thatcherites now’. Some of us never were, and never will be.

Such abject ideological capitulation to the ideas Labour was created to stand against demonstates a certain arrogant incomprehension on the political right, a category into which Mandelson clearly falls. Admiration for Margaret Thatcher is far from universal.

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How Chris Hitchens saved the Americans from the wrath of Michael Moore

Picture the scene:  It’s early June 2004, and I’m on holiday in Massachusetts, the heartland of Democratic America.  The skies are blue and flags are flying.  Even in this bluest-of-blue states, you’d never know that the United States is currently embroiled in its largest, most violent war since Vietnam. 

The news channels are talking about Ronald Reagan 24/7, in preparation for the old fraud’s funeral.  Over and over. I have no idea what’s happening on the screen or why.

In an internet cafe, the BBC News webpage describes car bombs and death in Iraq and how Attorney General John Ashcroft has denied government involvement in military torture programmes. The BBC correspondent Frank Gardner has just been shot and crippled in Saudi Arabia, and his cameraman Simon Cumber killed.
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Why is the Tate still silent about its relationship with BP?

contribution by Mel Evans

This week BP announced it was ‘pledging’ £10m over five years to four of London’s biggest cultural institutions.

Just a few weeks ago, Platform and Liberate Tate handed over 8000 signatures the Tate’s director at their AGM, against their sponsorship by BP. We were told a decision on the sponsorship was indeed “coming soon”.

But to slip it under the radar during the Xmas lull after some serious concerns were raised about BP by an artist on the Tate Board shows a lack of integrity.
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The sad state of English football

Veterans of what used to be the terraces at football grounds are for the most part a difficult-to-shock bunch.

When some of them walk out during the first half of a game, not because of the performance of their team but because of the truly poisonous atmosphere their fellow fans have created, it’s time to sit up and take notice.

Regardless of how poor a manager Steve Kean, the former coach of Blackburn Rovers is, absolutely no one deserves the abuse he’s been subjected to now for months.
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More bad news for the Chancellor, summarised in three charts

The new round-up of independent economic forecasts have been published by the Treasury.

The two charts below show the average independent forecast for GDP growth in 2012 and the average independent forecast for claimant count unemployed in Q42012 as they have been over the past year.
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Privatise Thatcher’s funeral – new petition

A new petition on the e-petitions site makes a call I’m sure we can all agree to: Thatcher’s funeral should be privatised.

In keeping with the great lady’s legacy, Margaret Thatcher’s state funeral should be funded and managed by the private sector to offer the best value and choice for end users and other stakeholders. The undersigned believe that the legacy of the former PM deserves nothing less and that offering this unique opportunity is an ideal way to cut government expense and further prove the merits of liberalised economics Baroness Thatcher spearheaded.

Surely she would approve of this?

You can sign the petition from here.

Simple actions you could do to help disabled people this Christmas

contribution by Lisa Egan

There are so many things that could be doen this festive season in the fight against the Welfare Reform Bill, I thought I’d collate all the actions in one place.

The most important thing to do is to sign Pat’s Petition to get the Welfare Reform Bill paused for reflection. Please sign and share this, at the very least.
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New Christmas appeal by Libel Reform campaign

The Libel Reform Campaign has launched a new appeal for Christmas, with the catchy you-can-almost-sing-it title, ‘All We Want For Christmas Is Libel Reform‘.

The libel laws of England & Wales are, you will recall, in dire need of reform.  They barely take account of hot-type printing presses, let alone the internet. 

High costs allow rich people and multi-national corporations to bully doctors, scientists and investigative journalists into silence; while the same high costs mean that wealthy media barons can smear ordinary people with impunity.  The ‘Reynolds Defence’ for responsible journalism is inadequate, and the distinction between ‘opinion’ and ‘fact’ is unclear.

On Liberal Conspiracy, we’ve covered several examples of people using libel to silence criticism. 

Regular contributor Dave Osler had to fend off an unfounded libel action in 2010. 

Blogger Vaughan Jones has been sued for libel after posting a review on Amazon.co.uk.  The costs incurred by Dr Ben Goldacre, Simon Singh and Dr Peter Wilmshurst, forced to defend solid scientific opinions through the High Court, are well documented.

All three of the major political parties pledged libel reform in their manifestos; and the Ministry of Justice have produced a draft Bill, which parliament has scrutinised at length. 

There is no good reason why Libel Reform should not be in the next Queen’s Speech. Let’s get this sorted now.

http://libelreform.org/one-click/

News report on HMRC’s £25bn sweetener