The Organic Crisis of the British State: Putting Brexit in its Place

The Brexit vote was a singular event that is one symptom of a continuing organic crisis of the British state and society and a stimulus for further struggles over the future of the United Kingdom and its place in Europe and the wider world. This crisis previously enabled the rise of Thatcherism as a neoliberal and neoconservative project (with New Labour as its left wing) with an authoritarian populist appeal and authoritarian statist tendencies that persisted under the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition (2010–2015). The 2015 election of a Conservative Government, which aimed to revive the Thatcherite project and entrench austerity, was the immediate context for the tragi-comedy of errors played out in the referendum. The ensuing politics and policy issues could promote the disintegration of the UK and, perhaps, the EU without delivering greater political sovereignty or a more secure and non-balkanized place for British economic space in the world market.     

Disabling Homes: a study of the housing needs of disabled people in Cornwall

This research was carried out between January and July 1993. The study was an evaluation of housing need of disabled people who were wheelchair users through a process of consumer consultation. It was concerned to find out the extent and nature of that need whilst also testing out consultation through the use of research methods in comparison with a non-consultative approach taken by the local authorities. The nature of need was found to be qualitatively different to that found through the study of normative needs. A significant number of disabled people were being made more dependent by their housing and this was being reinforced by the agencies that were intended to help them. In particular, the failure to consult disabled people was leading the local authorities to make inappropriate plans for new build housing while the major need for adaptations was being undermined by their operation of the Disabled Facilities Grant. The findings support the call from other writers that the solutions to housing problems will only come through viewing disability as a civil rights issue.     

In search of the “best” growth inhibitor

In searching for the “best” growth inhibitor, we decided to consider growth inhibition in terms of the lengths of the terminal sprouts. For it is logical to infer that the trees with the longer sprouts (after a 20-month period) will most likely be the ones that will need trimming in the future. Additionally, we reasoned that if a particular treatment produced a smaller proportion of “long” sprouts, then it would be a more effective growth inhibitor. It was now necessary to define what was meant by “long”. After consultation with foresters we chose cutoff lengths of 15.0, 25.0 and 35.0 cm. Hence the response variable was chosen to be the proportion of the terminal sprouts on a tree that exceeded a specified cutoff length. By varying the cutoff lengths, we would minimize the effect of the arbitrariness involved in choosing one particular length.     

Rent seeking and the North-South terms of trade

In this paper results are reported for a series of counterfactual experiments with an eight- region numerical general equilibrium model of world trade, production, and welfare. In these analyses trade restrictions in the developing world are modeled as quantity constrained import licensing, which generates competitive rent-seeking behavior. Model experiments concentrate on the implications of differential factor endowment growth for the North-South terms of trade, and the effects of alternative trade policy changes in developing countries.     

Developing Social Firms in the UK: a contribution to identifying good practice

Social firms and related enterprises are developing rapidly in the UK as a means of providing employment for disabled people. This study examined the kind of enterprise that will best meet the aspirations of disabled people. A telephone survey identified the range of enterprises describing themselves as social firms, and examined their develop ment and operation. Alongside the survey, focus groups with disabled people and interviews with carers explored perspectives on the values that should underpin social firms. The results suggest that indicators of good practice include: user/worker participation in the firm's development and operation; the availability of expert advice to enable informed choice about payment, with payment at the minimum wage rates or higher for those who choose this; opportunities for workers to develop to their full potential; a workforce comprising disabled and non-disabled workers; the involvement of carers and local socio-economic agencies in developing the social firm.     

What Happens When Authoritarians Inherit the Earth? A Simulation

Two runs of a futuristic simulation involving introductory psychology students were held on successive nights. On one night, "Earth" was populated entirely by right-wing authoritarian followers; on the second night, a small number of dominating authoritarians were included among a second group of authoritarian followers. With a few notable exceptions (e.g., nuclear war did not break out), the future evolved as anticipated on the two evenings. In general, authoritarians produced dismal futures, beset by unemployment, famine, and disease.     

Politics Makes Strange Webfellows

Several political commentary journals are among America's best-known print journals. This article analyzes their online editions to see how well they are making use of such elements as interactive discussion, rapid publication, and ancillary links. Political discourse has been a mainstay of journal publishing since Addison and Steele started the Spectator, the first periodical for a popular audience, in London in 1711. Some of the oldest American journals are those featuring political commentary. Such journals proliferated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when some of their writers and editors like William F. Buckley Jr. grew to be considered powerful political forces in their own right.