The Monday Mix (01/08/2022)
Hi friends,
Later than usual in sending this one out as I didn’t have a chance to finish the email yesterday. So here’s what I want to share this week:
Do We Need Borders?
Intriguing article about whether we need borders or not. In an age of climate breakdown, they may either become more stringent or break down altogether due to the wave of people seeking refuge from the heat. Countries in the European Union already have open borders, which work well, so why not go the whole hog everywhere? It’s unlikely to happen anytime soon, but there’s an argument to be had and this article makes a compelling case.
Saudi Arabia’s $500 Billion City in The Desert
A long, but frankly bonkers piece on plans to turn a region of Saudi Arabia into a sort of Blade Runner city of the future. Some of the proposals in the article are mind-bending. Like the idea to have a beach made up of crushed marble known as Silver Beach. This one was scrapped but the fact it was suggested in the first place is mad. Then there’s the plan to have a 100-mile-long city that’s 500 metres above sea level. I’ve put a video of the proposal just so you can see how crazy this idea is. This is what happens when authoritarian states meet tech bros. Whether any of this gets built is another question but the obscene money being thrown at these schemes would surely be better spent improving the lives of Saudi citizens.
Western Democracies Have a Talent Problem
Interesting piece on the leaders that democracies in the west have been throwing up in recent times. While I don’t agree with the overall pessimism of the post, there are good politicians around, Lisa Nandy in the UK is one, the fact that Liz Truss looks likely to become the next Prime Minister gives a lot of weight to this article’s theory. The past three British Prime Minister’s are a good advert for this piece, Cameron, May and Johnson are by some measure, among the worst PMs in recent history and perhaps the whole of UK history.
America hasn’t fared much better with Reagan, Bush and Trump becoming President in recent times and then a 78-year old Joe Biden winning the last election, also hammers home the point too. I do agree more needs to be done to encourage people away from the private sector. But when you can make so much money and not go through the meat grinder that is politics, is it worth it?
Book I’m reading - Citizen Clem by John Bew
Just started this long book on Clement Attlee, who was the Labour Prime Minister immediately after the end of the Second world war and one of my political heroes. His government changed the country's fabric and introduced the NHS in 1948, one of the most outstanding achievements in recent British history. I can’t wait to get stuck into more of this book!
Quote I’m pondering: "The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create."—Leonard I. Sweet
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,
Tom