Uncategorized – Page 5 – samuel barbour

Brexit

…a Brexit vote could be the catalyst for another global crisis. This time, however, the workers who lose their jobs, the pensioners who lose their savings, and the homeowners who are trapped in negative equity will not be able to blame “the bankers.” Those who vote for populist upheavals will have no one but themselvesContinue reading “Brexit”

Some thoughts on gun control

The tragedy in Orlando this past weekend, in which 50 people died and another 53 were injured by a man with an assault rifle and a handgun (both purchased legally), has a lot of folks (like me) hoping to see Federal legislation limiting gun ownership and so on. The conversation around this has a toneContinue reading “Some thoughts on gun control”

Piketty, Chapter 4

In Chapter Four, Piketty discusses the transformation of capital in the US, and at the same time starts using popular culture references. David Cameron’s Titanic, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, and Matt Weiner’s Mad Men television series – neoclassic epics written by iconoclastic white men – are all offered up as examples of how the US economy has changed overContinue reading “Piketty, Chapter 4”

HRC after the clinch

I went to bed last night thinking about how Hillary Clinton is now the Democratic Party nominee for President. A year ago everyone thought she had it sewn up. Then Bernie Sanders happened. As of yesterday, my Facebook feed had a steady stream of “Bernie Bernie Rah Rah Rah” and today…it’s all quiet on theContinue reading “HRC after the clinch”

Episode 3 of Gilmore Girls

So, my partner and I started watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix – we have made a habit, after dinner, of watching a episodes of whatever television show we happen to then be following. And we decided that we ought to start following Gilmore Girls after finishing the latest season of Grace and Frankie – a wonderful program –Continue reading “Episode 3 of Gilmore Girls”

Piketty: Chapter 3

This relatively short chapter, entitled “The Metamorphoses of Capital,” begins Part Two of the book. Great Britain and France are the only countries discussed in any detail – and it felt a little weird not having the US come up. I know enough about England that it feels familiar to me (not that I’ve everContinue reading “Piketty: Chapter 3”

“…i’m an anarchist…”

I used to write “I” as “i” before deciding that capitalizing the first person singular was a matter of proper spelling, because clarity is more useful than subversion in the day to day. In a discussion on the ‘book just now – a post about some jerk in the news, and the connection between nationalismContinue reading ““…i’m an anarchist…””

Piketty: Chapter 2

These first two chapters are Piketty setting the stage for his story. In Chapter One, he defined the basic variables in his calculations – in Chapter Two he lays out the mechanism of exponential growth. The idea of exponential growth in economics goes back to Malthus and the Essay on the Principle of Population, first publishedContinue reading “Piketty: Chapter 2”

What am I doing here, anyways?

I have a lot going on these days – parenting is a demanding vocation, and I’m doing other stuff, like writing this blog, besides. And there’s so much to write and think about! But I also worry a lot that I’m an obnoxious troll. I’m hoping to get the next part of my Piketty projectContinue reading “What am I doing here, anyways?”

Piketty: Chapter One

Piketty begins the chapter with a story about a platinum mine strike in South Africa. Of all the ways he could have started off, I think this demonstrates that Piketty is engaged in a rhetorically sophisticated endeavour. The labor strike is symbolic of the struggle between labor and capital that has characterized capitalism from itsContinue reading “Piketty: Chapter One”