The Monday Mix (22/11/2021)
Hi friends,
Again, I’m late in sending this out, so I’ll get straight into what I want to share this week.
Votes For Children
This is a fascinating article even if the premise might seem odd at first. Yes, the author does suggest giving the vote to children as young as six, but the more you get into this piece, the more you start to see his side of the argument. One of the most convincing is that children have the biggest stake in the future, so having no say in it isn’t exactly fair.
Obviously, the counterpoints to this are strong. Children are too young to grasp politics, know what to vote for, will be influenced by their parents etc. But I do think there’s a case for lowering the voting age. Sixteen-year-olds can already vote in Scotland, why not lower it to all children at secondary school? This would give them a real stake in their future and make them more engaged with what’s happening in their country.
This policy is unlikely to happen anytime soon, but with climate change sure to affect the lives of the young disproportionately, its time may come eventually.
Forgotten Oil Ads
Reading through this article is grim. The ads highlighted show why we’re where we are in regard to climate change. Instead of tackling the issue, big oil downplayed it and even outright denied it. The most damning part is that they knew the damage they were doing to the planet, yet put profit over the planet.
In the attempt to keep the gravy train flowing, they’ve condemned millions of people to misery today, and in the future.
The Magnificent Bribe
I’d never heard of Lewis Mumford until I read this article, but his thoughts are interesting and still relevant today despite most of them being written over 50 years ago.
The premise of this article is that technological advancement involves a bribe. That we accept intrusions into our lives and autonomy as the price we pay for convenience. Think of Amazon and their next day delivery. Do any of us truly like Amazon? Or do we just tolerate them because it’s convenient to get what we want quickly?
I’d wager most of you agree with the second point. The price we pay for that convenience is a company that increasingly knows more and more about us, is taking over large parts of the public sphere and is pushing small businesses to the wall. Is that a world we really want to live in?
Book I’m reading - To Hell And Back: Europe 1914-1949 by Ian Kershaw
I’m still reading this excellent overview of a traumatic period in Europe’s history. It's a brilliant book and halfway through I’m enjoying it thoroughly even if the subject matter makes for grim reading.
Quote I’m pondering: “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” - Karl Marx
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,
Tom