First published on 31 October 2022. It is often said that Elon Musk is reckless. Is he? Middle-class people sometimes claim it’s strange to ‘Tweet’ if you are that famous. Isn’t all the online advice to avoid controversy — to stick to the party line? Even get-rich-quick schemes maintain controversy is the fastest way to … Continue reading The monopolist: Elon Musk’s delicate balancing act
Tag: Contradiction
the best
i was told edmund stop look what u’ve done you’ve told them the truth and they’re dumpster-fire you for it best for who but baby why would u settle for these cowards who hide behind the BBC and CNN these petty toddlers who think Elon is Caesar and Ye is but anyway I know who’s … Continue reading the best
In defence of free speech: Original letter to the Cambridge Union
The following piece was written in autumn 2021 prior to the Union President’s U-turn on creating a ‘blacklist’ of speakers, following the Union debate on whether there is such a thing as good taste. On the advice of the anonymous co-author (who requested anonymity at the time), the piece was not published then. Now it … Continue reading In defence of free speech: Original letter to the Cambridge Union
Time of Miracles: The Shadow and the Sun
I feel like a broken record these days. It is said that one position or another is correct, when it seems obvious to me all stated positions are, taken as they appear to us, incorrect. That being said, I cannot help but take a side, or forfeit my own role in the political economy of … Continue reading Time of Miracles: The Shadow and the Sun
The music industry to come: What’s next for the greatest show on Earth
Written on 23-24 November 2022. Music is evolving. That much is clear. Netflix’s ‘The Playlist’ depicts the last era of class and generational warfare in the market of music. On the one hand were the young and the poor, fighting for their rights to consume and produce music without losing out to the winners, the … Continue reading The music industry to come: What’s next for the greatest show on Earth
A modern Achilles: The savings glut and the paradox of capitalist development
I would like to consider a paradox. On the one hand, prices are driven by demand for the product, and thus for the expenditure of savings from the income of labour. On the other hand, prices are shaped by the accumulation of savings which are diverted from ordinary spending to extraordinary spending on financial commodities. … Continue reading A modern Achilles: The savings glut and the paradox of capitalist development
The tyrant and the totality: Which would win? And how can both lose, and freedom reign?
I would like to consider a paradox. If a tyrant goes to war against a totalitarian regime, in order to destroy it and create a new balanced order, which would win: the temporary tyranny, or the semi-permanent totality? Which would endure — cleansing fire, or watery deluge? The fire is the tyrant’s weapon of choice; … Continue reading The tyrant and the totality: Which would win? And how can both lose, and freedom reign?
The Omnicrisis
The world is beset not by one crisis, nor by many crises, but by the crisis of the Whole. The distance between consciousness and subconsciousness has collapsed. Taboo is now broken and reasserted as if it were nothing (well, technically, it is). Institutions are ripped up and put back together again. Crises are asserted and … Continue reading The Omnicrisis
Machiavelli Against The Bullies
Machiavellian has become a byword for scheming, calculating, sinister, and manipulative. But that is exactly what Machiavelli is not. Let me explain. Machiavelli, the anti-bully? Bullies are not Machiavellian. Bullies are weak-minded, appetitive, brutish individuals who think they can impose their will by force on particular people — not to achieve any particular end, but … Continue reading Machiavelli Against The Bullies
The Playlist Episode 1 Review: The Spotify Music Network Is Not All It Seems. Is it?
Netflix has been busy. As the Crown is on the cusp of release to investigate the career of Diana Spencer, deceased ex-wife of Charles III, the new Carolingian age is anticipated by another TV series which echoes the brilliance of the 2010s series The Social Network, starring Jesse Eisenberg as the young Mark Zuckerberg, who … Continue reading The Playlist Episode 1 Review: The Spotify Music Network Is Not All It Seems. Is it?
Edmund Wilson 