Observations on the human condition
Two ways of standing before the machine, and why they no longer meet Two pieces landed together this week, arriving from opposite ends of the map. One traced £5 billion of drone spending back to the familiar question of who owns the systems and who becomes dependent on them. The other traced the same data … Read more
Hundreds of millions are already participating in a new economy I posted my article in the Light in May this year, promising a follow-up article on how we handle value at scale is changing. To read this second article, click here – see page 2 There is a third article, awaiting publication, which explains how … Read more
Six degrees of separation. The idea that any two people on Earth are connected through no more than six intermediate acquaintances has been around since the 1920s. LinkedIn built a business on it — and Microsoft paid $26 billion to own it. But here is what that number actually means: the network already exists. It … Read more
How Tokenised Money-Market Funds Magnify Systemic Risk and Accelerate Extraction at the Top by Alex Nikolov Following on from Alex’s articles, Borrowed Stability and The Forest of the Order, he expands his critique of stablecoins and the measures granting BlackRock extraordinary privilege and power. I. The Next Act in the Stable Circus In a previous … Read more
My article linked below appears (page 13) in Issue 68 of The Light, a free, independently distributed monthly paper that asks the questions the mainstream won’t. This edition carries sharp structural analysis worth reading alongside it: Rusere Shoniwa traces the managed transition of global capital through the BRICS framework, while Escape Key dissects how the … Read more
Following on from yesterday’s post on The forest of the Order, Alex explains the current noise around Stablecoins ignores the obvious: stablecoins are neither “stable”, nor innovative or revolutionary but merely intensification of the extractive logic of the money paradigm. There is an alternative coordination layer which is both innovative and evolutionary which is what … Read more
Book Review. A review of John Macgregor, The Mechanics of Changing the World: Political Architecture to Roll Back State & Corporate Power — by Clive Menzies John Macgregor’s The Mechanics of Changing the World arrives at a moment when the literature on democratic decline is long on diagnosis and short on remedy. His stated ambition … Read more
In the last few years, I have been in correspondence and conversation with Josh Sidman and others following the work of Silvio Gesell. Josh, in conjunction with the Henry George School of Social Science, has organised a two hour conversation with me on 6 May 2025 at 6pm GMT (1pm New York time). Josh Sidman … Read more
Matthew Ehret breaks down American history in the context of the current geopolitical two step involving Russia and China, contrasting the Belt and Road initiative with the relatively poor infrastructure within the US. This somewhat binary analysis is helpful to dispel some of the myths around good guys versus bad guys, e.g. Andrew Jackson who … Read more
if I were in “authority”…but I’m not. Truth and love govern the universe and consequently I have nothing to fear. The “awakening” (to reality) is gathering momentum. In Florence, Italy, young people flout the 10pm curfew to behave like happy humans; in Canada, nurses, police and others are speaking out to the applause of growing … Read more
Critical Thinking’s methodology is predicated on analysing and synthesising multiple perspectives into a shared understanding of reality. In this context, Critical Thinking’s analysis has been shared with diverse audiences, including those that share particular religious convictions. The Islamic faith at least recognises usury or interest on money as a problem. Sharia finance purports to satisfy … Read more