About two weeks ago whilst preparing for teaching our photography students I took a walk in the quiet backstreets of Tbilisi in a neighbourhood full of beautiful decaying 19th century buildings. I was preparing to take photos for a charity event called Children for Children where our students would be taking images to be sold at auction in order to help disadvantaged children here in Georgia.
If we think differently, we must also act differently, and only if we act differently can we produce new experiences…
I wish I’d been in that meeting. You know, the one where East Riding County Council instructed Jacobs Enforcement Services to recover an outstanding parking…
Over the past decade there has been a boom in the industry of “motivational speaking”. The industry has seen a boom across both of its…
When Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in 2008 this was treated as a landmark event. He presented himself as the underdog,…
I wish I’d been in that meeting. You know… the one where Facebook decided to hire a scary blue chip law firm to threaten a…
Freedom has been the ultimate battle cry of liberal politics. It has shaped the battle field from the French revolution, the American war of independence,…
“The more laws and commands there are, the more thieves and robbers there will be.” Lao Tzu Information leaked in the Panama Papers about the use…
When we find ourselves in need of a miracle there is a simple formula that can be applied: “Don’t panic, take stock, and do the…
The verdict and sentence on Radovan Karadjic, forty years imprisonment, has exposed persistent deep divisions in Bosnia. For Bosnian Muslims, Karadjic is a monster who…
Creative capitalism, ethical capitalism, altruistic capitalism, natural capitalism, green capitalism, distributed and democratic capitalism. Capitalism 2.0? Capitalism comes with a potpourri of sweet-scented prefixes, all…
The infamous Conservative March 2016 budget was to capture ‘the next generations’ and control their cognitive map.
Separating economics and politics is impossible, so it’s important to point out that the misguided notion of austerity is not just killing people, but also…
10 Scary Facts about School 1. Under proposed new assessment guidance for tests for 11 year olds, if your child scores 5 out of 6 for…
I wish I’d been in that meeting, the one where YouTube TV moguls the Fine Brothers abandoned their controversial plans to trademark the word “React”, abandoned their global licensing scheme for “React to…” video formats and ditched their copyright infringement claims against other “reaction videos”.
Make no mistake, this is a big deal for the future of entertainment and the evolution of digital media, and is so deeply ironic that it almost tore a whole in the space time continuum.
I wish I’d been in that meeting… What sort of thinking would shape the commissioning of a six-part documentary series for the 10pm Tuesday evening…
Ever since the financial crisis of 2008, one thing has taken centre stage when it comes to economic recovery: job creation. It is under this…
The headlong rush into economic progress has made almost everyone in developed nations happy, healthy and contented. Consumerism has delivered all the stuff that everybody…
We’ve all been that person who tries to start a conversation with a bunch of strangers out of extreme social anxiety at being in a…
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Steve Keen is one of very few economists globally who perfectly predicted the 2008 financial crisis. More recently he also predicted the Chinese economic downturn and deflation in Europe. How does he keep getting these predictions correct? The secret is to look at the elements of the economy that all mainstream economists deliberately ignore.
Most of us haven’t quite realized there is something extraordinary happening.
A few months ago I freed myself from standard-procedure society, I broke the chains of fear that kept me locked up into the system. Since then, I see the world from a different perspective: the one that everything is going through change and that most of us are unware of that.
Why is the world changing? In this post I’ll point out the 8 reasons that lead me to believe it.
The night has been lit up with the red white and blue of the French flag, which, projected on landmarks across the occident, showed solidarity…
The late fourteen hundreds saw the scramble of enlightened countries towards conquest of what was once known as “the new world”. Fuelled by the righteous…
From Robert McNamara’s 1995 book “In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam”
As the lifespan of every company shortens, paying lip service to change is dangerous and following the herd can be fatal. I’ve recently been working…
In this bonus sequence from our Meet the Renegades show, writer John Lanchester talks about the London housing crisis, it’s social impacts and it’s consequences…
In this episode of Meet The Renegades we speak to economics writer Martin Sandbu from the Financial Times.
His recently released book ‘Europe’s Orphan: The Future of the Euro and the Politics of Debt’ attacks the current thinking of what politicians and policy makers in Brussels and Frankfurt consider to be self-evident.
“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.” So said the Red Queen to Alice…
Where do ideas come from? What motivates people? In this Thinking Differently podcast, Ross Ashcroft talks to cartoonist, creative entrepreneur and co-founder of GapingVoid Hugh MacLeod….
On this episode of Meet the Renegades, Ross Ashcroft welcomes Christian Felber - author, lecturer and founder of the Economy for the Common Good.
From Aristotle to Adam Smith economics was a school of thought based on Natural Laws and philosophy. How come we have strayed so far from our roots? What really has the Mont Pelerin Society got to do with Reaganomics and Thatcherism?
In this Meet the Renegades, Ross Ashcroft speaks to writer and educator Ian Gilbert. They discuss the faltering education system in developed nations and how it is affecting a generation of children.
There are vast numbers of Zombie companies out there who are paying off nominal interest payments on huge debts in order to keep the lights…
Ross Ashcroft speaks to Anat Admati, Finance and Economics professor at Stanford School of Business. She is author of The Bankers’ New Clothes and gives a truthful view into the banking sector and the damage it has caused to the real economy.
In the first episode of our new podcast series Thinking Differently, Ross Ashcroft speaks to Oscar winning filmmaker, Lord David Puttnam.
In the first episode of our new podcast series Thinking Differently, Ross Ashcroft speaks to Oscar winning filmmaker and educator Lord David Puttnam.
Currently we are taxed on what we produce, perhaps it would be more progressive to tax land instead of our labour?
Why do we celebrate one person’s right to a job for life when they never interviewed for the position asks Matthew Lacey.
Despite their bed-hopping antics, the most important legacy of the Bloomsbury Group is what can be achieved by people who are prepared to challenge convention in pursuit of a better world, argues Mark Braund.
In this extract from the documentary Four Horsemen, some of the world’s leading economists discuss the myth of trickle down economics.
Making a job, not taking a job means so much more than simply turning your back on employment and setting up on your own. It is more a way of life, a new distinctive multiple income stream lifestyle. It requires a new way of thinking, and not relying on big business or government to put our best interests first.
By now you may have noticed a common theme in these descriptions of how the banking sector and the financial markets make money: they do…
Ross Ashcroft speaks to cartoonist and creative entrepreneur Hugh MacLeod in this extract from our most recent ‘Meet the Renegades’ podcast.
How can we begin to reduce crime if corporations profit from having full jails?
When the worst rioting in a generation hit the streets of English cities last summer, politicians and pundits rushed to apportion blame. Many of the…
Roman Krznaric, author of ‘Empathy: Why it matters and how to get it”, tells us the story of C. P. Ellis, the Klansman turned civil rights activist.
Oscar winning filmmaker and educator Lord David Puttnam is one of the guests on our ‘Meet the Renegades’ podcast series. His career and life have…
Even people who do not believe that climate change is man made must see that our fragile environment is getting a battering from current economic…
The material benefits of a perpetually expanding economy have reached remarkably few people, despite the speed with which mainstream economic thinking has penetrated all corners…
Critics of the current economic system condemn our modern-day ‘culture of consumption’. If we measure progress over the course of our lives purely by increased…
Before we can build a brave new world, we have to acknowledge the depth of the current crisis. It’s tempting to trace today’s problems back…
The pursuit by individuals of limitless material prosperity – regardless of the consequences for others – has become the basis of all economic activity. Yet…
In the ancient world, empire building usually entailed the territorial conquest of one self-identifying group by another. Typically it involved exploitation based on racial or…
In this extract from the documentary Four Horsemen, Professor Michael Hudson explains how the German Debt was cancelled in 1947.
Changes to the monetary and taxation systems will provide mechanisms for curtailing two of the three forms of unearned wealth that drive much of the…
Supporters of the current free-market economy argue that competition among producers ensures efficiency and keeps prices as low as possible. This argument sounds reasonable in…
Since the crash, taxpayers’ money has been used to bail out failing banks because they are perceived to be too big to fail. Are they…
Generally, loans are made (and money is created) for one of three purposes: to fund direct investment in the creation of new tangible wealth; to…
If people feel alienated when they are denied access to decent economic opportunities, then it must be the case that an inclusive economy would have…
Although the current crisis is possibly the most serious and complex in human history, it follows a pattern that has existed since ancient times. The…
The following books have inspired our thinking for the Four Horsemen film and our Survival Manual book.
In a clip from our interview with Roman Krznaric, he tells us three ways in which we can all make our lives more empathic.
The problem with gun ownership is where the money is being made.
Harold Crooks, Director of “The Price We Pay” and John Christensen, Director and Co-founder of Tax Justice Network discuss the Robin Hood tax, the capture of the political class by the financial industry and the hope that lies in civil society’s intensifying fight for tax justice in the second half of this interview series.
Roman Krznaric, author of ‘Empathy: Why it matters and how to get it”, talks to us about empathy in the age of self interest.
Comedian Pete Johansson is back to put some perspective on the “Migrant Crisis” in 60 seconds or less.
The chances of reducing the number of lives ruined by war and other forms of social violence depend on our ability to identify the root…
“If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”…
Everyone has a basic right to shelter, which they should be able to call home. A home should not be an investment but a place…
Changes on the scale and complexity outlined in this book will require global coordination if they are to be effectively implemented. The power of vested…
Steve Keen Interview - Part 5: The UK’s business like approach to education leaves very little room for innovation. How do we shift the focus from…
Steve Keen Interview - Part 4: As we enter the age of volatility, what does this mean for our pensions?
In 1970, ninety per cent of financial flows were used to finance trade or investment in the real economy; only ten per cent was speculative….
Watch our ‘Comment is Free’ piece with The Guardian.
Perhaps surprisingly, the term ‘military-industrial complex’ was coined by a former soldier. On the occasion of his farewell address to the nation after serving two…
Steve Keen Interview - Part 1: In the aftermath of the Conservatives’ surprise victory in the UK, Steve Keen tells us why he thinks this…
Recently we were told about a secret project. A group of wealthy benefactors decided that the modern targets based education wasn’t for them or their…
The cognitive map that has been put in place by our schools, universities and our media does not encourage us to question accepted norms… instead there is apathy.
Apart from supine politicians, the greatest friends of the elite are those who control much of the mass media. The elite have proved exceptionally adept…
The principal factor driving people to get involved in terrorism is a strong sense of injustice, both at a personal level and in respect of…
The following list is neither definitive nor exhaustive, but it summarises the main points of the book and is provided here as a starting point…
Why don’t we look at the root causes of the Baltimore riots…?
Freddie Gray’s death was the last straw for the victims of a corrupt financial system that has left tens of thousands of people with no work and no homes. This excerpt from ‘Four Horsemen -The Survival Manual’ gives context to the riots in Baltimore by explaining some of the broader issues at hand.
It is not possible for any thinking person to live in such a society as our own without wanting to change it.
George Orwell
Four Horsemen
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Since they first appeared in the New Testament, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have ridden roughshod into the consciousness of every generation. They remain…
Ed Milliband’s conference speech in Liverpool (2011) was typical of any populist career politician. The central theme was “I’m different so you can trust me…
Four Horsemen
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Camilla Batmanghelidjh on how we are losing our sense of community by turning the individual into a product.
Four Horsemen
Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson explains that for the first time in history the standard of living is in decline.
Single parent? Attend the Jobcentre and get referred to social services as a troubled family. Ne… http://t.co/1zNnSmC1RT via @charlotteh71
— Renegade Economist (@RenegadeEcon) March 25, 2015Four Horsemen
We will not return to ‘business as usual’. The Four Horsemen is an independent feature documentary from us which lifts the lid on how the…
Four Horsemen
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Professor Richard Wilkinson talks to us about social violence - It’s not just a case of the poor attacking the rich.
Many people instinctively know that something is seriously wrong with the economy. Long before the historic events of 2008 things were far from good, especially…
We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
Albert Einstein
Four Horsemen
Since the financial crisis that struck in 2008, the failings of the banking system have been laid bare for all to see. But, four years…
If there was a form of “conscious capitalism” in which care was extended to fellow humans, animals and the natural environment whether animate or inanimate,…
Four Horsemen
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Four Horsemen is an award winning independent feature documentary which lifts the lid on how the world really works.
When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in this society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.
Frédéric Bastiat
Four Horsemen
If the very workings of the economic system are denying people the opportunity to take responsibility for their own wellbeing, is it any wonder that…
Yesterday I picked up a copy of Animal Spirits by George A Akerlof and Robert J Shiller. In the preface to their book they discuss how Keynes’s General…
Four Horsemen
Not so long ago communist China was not a player in international finance, neither was the then Soviet Union. Step a little further back in…
There is an accepted view in politics and the media that roughly equates to this: a professional class of ‘experts’ are far better at commentary…
Since 1984 (surely an appropriate year) while the elderly have grown their wealth in nominal terms, the young are much worse off both in inflation-adjusted terms, as well as nominal terms(pretty hard to believe given that the money supply has expanded eightfold in the intervening years). So why are the elderly doing over fifty times better than the young when they were only doing ten times better before?
UK politics is dominated by middle England pre-occupations, there are vaguely hysterical fears of the UK having a ‘Depardieu moment’, and capital flight in case of…
Four Horsemen
Prof. Richard Wilkinson discusses Reagan and Thatcher’s policies and how they contributed to the rise in income differences.
Four Horsemen
Over centuries, systems have been subtly modified, manipulated and sometimes purposefully corrupted to better serve the interests of the few. Each time Enlightenment ideals have…
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve used the words ‘elite’ and ‘minority’ in this series on unearned wealth, but I’m certainly not going to…
The things you own end up owning you.
Tyler Durden
The idea that society can set up a single "independent" committee of men to make far reaching decisions about the quantity of money needed by a nation of sixty four million people, all engaged in varied and complex activities - is bordering on authoritarian.
Ann Pettifor
Four Horsemen
Four Horsemen - German language version
We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the press destroys information, religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy the economy.
Chris Hedges
So, what should economics be about? Well, that depends on your values and world view. If you believe that everyone should have an equal chance…
Four Horsemen
The Four Horsemen is an independent feature documentary which lifts the lid on how the world really works
The main cause of trouble in the world is that the stupid are sure of themselves while the intelligent are full of doubt.
Bertrand Russell
Four Horsemen
As Gillian Tett of The Financial Times observes, “Most societies have an elite and the elite try to stay in power; and the way they…
You own yourself, and by extension you own what you make through labour or voluntary transactions thereof. Land, however, is not a fruit of labour.
Four Horsemen
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It was Herbert Spencer who first coined the term “survival of the fittest” but that is not the optimum way a society should function.
Education Seen in a longer timeframe, education is best imparted from kindergarten and up. In this regard it can be said that true education is…
Throughout the 19th century the integrity of economics was steadily eroded. Whereas the ‘classical’ founders of the discipline had set their enquiries in the rapidly changing…
Four Horsemen
Does the British tendency to process emotions in private affect their socio-political environment?
Four Horsemen
This book does not call for a lurch back to the left, however. If politics is to be of any use in facing down the…
The crises we face today are created by humans and what is created by humans can be changed by humans, so we are all capable of transforming our world.
Satish Kumar
The Victorian age was one of great progress and great folly, and particularly a time of great ideas. While we scoff at buttoned down Victorian…
Four Horsemen
There is nothing to be gained from blaming bankers, politicians or even economists for the current crisis. They flatter themselves if they think they created…
Four Horsemen
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Prof. Richard Wilkinson discusses the benefits of an equal society.
Let's reorganize enterprises in our society so that all the workers together make the decisions - what to produce, how to produce, where to produce and what to do with the profits.
Richard Wolff
The time for change Despite a faltering economy and the increasing squeeze on living standards, rising house prices remain persistently but not unsurprisingly viewed as…
Four Horsemen
Are opportunities available to everyone in today’s society?
Four Horsemen
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Camilla Batmanghelidjh has worked in delivering services to vulnerable children over the last 20 years. In this interview she provides some real insight into the causes…
Most societies have an elite and the elite try to stay in power. They do this by controlling the means of production and the cognitive map, the way we think. And what really matters is what is left unsaid, undebated.
Gillian Tett