Essays, aphorisms, quotes and poems

Coming Down the Pyramid or How to Give up Power

Reflections on power in social services and how to give it up or make it anew.

Mountains, Pyramids and the Fate of Self-Directed Support

The proper purpose of self-directed support is to ensure that each person can lead a life of meaning and value.

The Self-Sacrificing Gene

The idea of the selfish gene was always very muddled indeed. In fact if any category should be applied to genes it would be self-sacrificing.

What Monopoly Teaches us about the Welfare State

Monopoly as a lot to teach us about economics and the case for basic income.

Why We're Launching the LDA for England

Our plans to challenge the Government and to stick up for people with learning difficulties ahead of the 2015 General Election.

The Liberal Fallacy or Yet Another Argument for Basic Income

Liberalism has many flaws, not least of which is that if we really allowed markets to clear then extreme poverty is natural result.

Weil's or Pascal's Wager

Simone Weil offers us a better version of Pascal's famous wager.

The Eugenic Fallacy

Eugenics is a dreadful morality, but it is sneaking back into our minds.

Ideal Markets or Real Markets

To do things together we need an agora, not a market.