David Klemperer
@dmk1793.bsky.social
Historian, researcher, and co-editor of @renewaljournal.bsky.social
Pinned
David Klemperer
@dmk1793.bsky.social
· Oct 26
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
In today’s episode David & @dmk1793.bsky.social try to answer some of the hundreds of questions, comments and suggestions we have had about this series. How do we know if democracy is broken? Have we ever had a real democracy anyway?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
In today’s episode David & @dmk1793.bsky.social try to answer some of the hundreds of questions, comments and suggestions we have had about this series. How do we know if democracy is broken? Have we ever had a real democracy anyway?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Really enjoyed recording this discussion with David Runciman, covering threats to democracy, early 20thc theories of oligarchy, how algorithmic social media is changing politics, the problem with 19thc approaches to suffrage - and much, much more!
Reposted by David Klemperer
The problems with AI are primarily ones of corporate power and governance—a tiny handful of billionaires are deciding the future of this increasingly powerful technology.
I tend to believe the whistleblowers here; but whether you do or not, the real problem is that the public doesn’t decide.
I tend to believe the whistleblowers here; but whether you do or not, the real problem is that the public doesn’t decide.
Anthropic safety researcher quits, warning ‘world is in peril’
Other AI safety researchers have also left leading firms, citing concerns about potentially catastrophic risks.
www.semafor.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:39 PM
The problems with AI are primarily ones of corporate power and governance—a tiny handful of billionaires are deciding the future of this increasingly powerful technology.
I tend to believe the whistleblowers here; but whether you do or not, the real problem is that the public doesn’t decide.
I tend to believe the whistleblowers here; but whether you do or not, the real problem is that the public doesn’t decide.
Reposted by David Klemperer
This is basically supply side economics. Billionaires obviously cant spend their money on food and services so they will instead buy elections and install corrupt abusive racists because billionaires love that stuff
I'm still SHOCKED by the obscene rise in billionaire election spending since Citizens United in the NYT piece, despite already knowing that election corruption w/ $ was profound. (Recall that BCRA fought dangerous campaign $ in *2002*)
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
February 12, 2026 at 5:01 PM
This is basically supply side economics. Billionaires obviously cant spend their money on food and services so they will instead buy elections and install corrupt abusive racists because billionaires love that stuff
LinkedIn posters have conditioned people to think "preparing for AI-induced economic change" means some kind of grindset, when really it should mean organising for welfare state expansion, the socialisation of key tech infrastructure and a dramatic reinforcement of the powers of the democratic state
I confess I do not understand why “the left should prepare for the worst case scenario with AI and jobs” seems to have elicited such a strong negative reaction bsky.app/profile/chri...
I understand why people are exhausted by AI hype, and why those of us squarely in the corner of "human dignity uber alles" see AI doomerism as self-serving hype, but I *really* think people on the left broadly need to start thinking seriously about the possibiltiy of the hype being...true.
February 12, 2026 at 4:27 PM
LinkedIn posters have conditioned people to think "preparing for AI-induced economic change" means some kind of grindset, when really it should mean organising for welfare state expansion, the socialisation of key tech infrastructure and a dramatic reinforcement of the powers of the democratic state
Reposted by David Klemperer
I deeply sad to see millennials getting into nostalgia slop.
New genre of Binmenism (cf @danhancox.bsky.social ) slop has dropped: nostalgia for watching tv in the nineties
February 12, 2026 at 3:35 PM
I deeply sad to see millennials getting into nostalgia slop.
Reposted by David Klemperer
The far right blames the left for attacking democracy. But the Epstein files tell a very different story.
Read more ⤵️
www.opendemocracy.net/en/far-right...
Read more ⤵️
www.opendemocracy.net/en/far-right...
February 12, 2026 at 3:04 PM
The far right blames the left for attacking democracy. But the Epstein files tell a very different story.
Read more ⤵️
www.opendemocracy.net/en/far-right...
Read more ⤵️
www.opendemocracy.net/en/far-right...
Reposted by David Klemperer
Time to recall that Liz Truss appointed and then unappointed Antonia R as permanent secretary to the Treasury to replace the definitely sacked Tom Scholar
February 12, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Time to recall that Liz Truss appointed and then unappointed Antonia R as permanent secretary to the Treasury to replace the definitely sacked Tom Scholar
Reposted by David Klemperer
What 1.4m emails reveal about Jeffrey Epstein's network.
@economist.com data-team (et Jmail) effort on America's most notorious sex offender
www.economist.com/interactive/...
@economist.com data-team (et Jmail) effort on America's most notorious sex offender
www.economist.com/interactive/...
February 12, 2026 at 1:48 PM
What 1.4m emails reveal about Jeffrey Epstein's network.
@economist.com data-team (et Jmail) effort on America's most notorious sex offender
www.economist.com/interactive/...
@economist.com data-team (et Jmail) effort on America's most notorious sex offender
www.economist.com/interactive/...
Reposted by David Klemperer
🚨📽️🧵 1/ Today, the Govt launches its Representation of the People Bill (previous working title: The Elections Bill).
One of the core aims of the Bill is to prevent foreign interference in UK democracy.
Earlier this week, our Chair @philbrickellmp.bsky.social said we need to ban crypto donations...
One of the core aims of the Bill is to prevent foreign interference in UK democracy.
Earlier this week, our Chair @philbrickellmp.bsky.social said we need to ban crypto donations...
February 12, 2026 at 11:56 AM
🚨📽️🧵 1/ Today, the Govt launches its Representation of the People Bill (previous working title: The Elections Bill).
One of the core aims of the Bill is to prevent foreign interference in UK democracy.
Earlier this week, our Chair @philbrickellmp.bsky.social said we need to ban crypto donations...
One of the core aims of the Bill is to prevent foreign interference in UK democracy.
Earlier this week, our Chair @philbrickellmp.bsky.social said we need to ban crypto donations...
Reposted by David Klemperer
My column in this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social, on bad data used in bad faith.
FOI-ing the stats myself, I didn't find a great deal of difference in sex offending rates: 5 per 10,000 Afghan men, 7 per 10,000 UK men:
FOI-ing the stats myself, I didn't find a great deal of difference in sex offending rates: 5 per 10,000 Afghan men, 7 per 10,000 UK men:
The truth about immigrants and sex crime
Corrosive innuendo about asylum seekers is helping no one
www.newstatesman.com
February 11, 2026 at 5:04 PM
My column in this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social, on bad data used in bad faith.
FOI-ing the stats myself, I didn't find a great deal of difference in sex offending rates: 5 per 10,000 Afghan men, 7 per 10,000 UK men:
FOI-ing the stats myself, I didn't find a great deal of difference in sex offending rates: 5 per 10,000 Afghan men, 7 per 10,000 UK men:
Reposted by David Klemperer
Notable how little UK Govt, and specifically the health secretary, have to say about this. No sense that they can shape public behaviour. Very passive.
UK has lost its official status as a country that has achieved elimination of measles, as vaccination rates have fallen below the 95% required to achieve herd immunity. So sad, and likely due vaccine misinformation. If you haven't already, get your kids vaccinated ASAP. www.bbc.com/news/article...
UK loses measles elimination status
Decision made after outbreaks in 2024, when there were nearly 3,000 cases in England and Wales.
www.bbc.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Notable how little UK Govt, and specifically the health secretary, have to say about this. No sense that they can shape public behaviour. Very passive.
Reposted by David Klemperer
Read "No Second Chances" by Morgan Jones about the campaign for a second referendum yesterday evening and it mostly adds to my view that UK politics suffered a nervous breakdown after 2016 from which we still haven't fully recovered. About ourselves, not really about the EU.
February 12, 2026 at 7:05 AM
Read "No Second Chances" by Morgan Jones about the campaign for a second referendum yesterday evening and it mostly adds to my view that UK politics suffered a nervous breakdown after 2016 from which we still haven't fully recovered. About ourselves, not really about the EU.
"Jones has written an anatomy of a near miss and a self-deception... That is why the title lands. In politics, as in life, you can squander your first chance and still tell yourself you are keeping your options open. You are not."
Very nice review of my book from Tom Watson (he should know) in the House this week:
www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...
www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...
'Clear and incisive': Lord Watson reviews: 'No Second Chances'
Morgan Jones' account of the campaign for a second EU referendum carefully sets out how Britain and the remain world lost control – not in a single...
www.politicshome.com
February 12, 2026 at 10:36 AM
"Jones has written an anatomy of a near miss and a self-deception... That is why the title lands. In politics, as in life, you can squander your first chance and still tell yourself you are keeping your options open. You are not."
Reposted by David Klemperer
Yesterday: we exposed the terrifying extent of corporate capture in British politics
Three Labour select committee chairs came out calling for urgent action in response
Today: Labour government's Elections Bill lands. Does almost *nothing* to tackle any of the issues we exposed. 🤦
Three Labour select committee chairs came out calling for urgent action in response
Today: Labour government's Elections Bill lands. Does almost *nothing* to tackle any of the issues we exposed. 🤦
🔴 Exclusive: Corporate donations British parties tripled over last three elections
But here's key thing: almost none is from FTSE500/listed companies
It's almost all companies controlled by super-wealthy individuals, or small, opaque firms
New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-c...
But here's key thing: almost none is from FTSE500/listed companies
It's almost all companies controlled by super-wealthy individuals, or small, opaque firms
New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-c...
Revealed: Corporate donations to British politics have tripled
Influential Labour committee chairs call on government to clean up politics as our new analysis finds record £42 million in company donations ahead of last election
democracyforsale.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Yesterday: we exposed the terrifying extent of corporate capture in British politics
Three Labour select committee chairs came out calling for urgent action in response
Today: Labour government's Elections Bill lands. Does almost *nothing* to tackle any of the issues we exposed. 🤦
Three Labour select committee chairs came out calling for urgent action in response
Today: Labour government's Elections Bill lands. Does almost *nothing* to tackle any of the issues we exposed. 🤦
Reposted by David Klemperer
My new book, An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class, is now listed in Verso's trade catalogue for 2026.
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
February 11, 2026 at 4:58 PM
My new book, An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class, is now listed in Verso's trade catalogue for 2026.
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
Reposted by David Klemperer
I just do not understand who she thinks she is trying to appeal to here.
February 11, 2026 at 11:47 PM
I just do not understand who she thinks she is trying to appeal to here.
Reposted by David Klemperer
We do not need more radical critics - we already have more than we know what to do with. I think we need people who are of fundamentally pro-social orientation and think about “politics” in a basically different way: as the building and maintenance of institutions, rather than of social movements
February 11, 2026 at 11:51 PM
We do not need more radical critics - we already have more than we know what to do with. I think we need people who are of fundamentally pro-social orientation and think about “politics” in a basically different way: as the building and maintenance of institutions, rather than of social movements
Reposted by David Klemperer
I’m not a vegan but this is ridiculous. “Oat” is right there in the name of.
Oatly banned from using word ‘milk’ to market plant-based products in UK
Oatly banned from using word ‘milk’ to market plant-based products in UK
Supreme court makes ruling after Swedish firm’s long-running battle with trade association Dairy UK
*
Business live – latest updates
The Swedish-based drinks manufacturer Oatly has been banned from using the word “milk” to market its plant-based products, after a ruling by the UK supreme court.
The alt-milk manufacturer has been in a long-running legal battle with the trade association Dairy UK after Oatly trademarked phrases associated with the dairy sector. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:20 PM
I’m not a vegan but this is ridiculous. “Oat” is right there in the name of.
Reposted by David Klemperer
A thing I wrote for @robfordmancs.bsky.social's excellent substack, The Swingometer. How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Recall Petition. Features Māori war canoes, Enoch Powell, Edmund Burke, and some spectacular examples of hypocrisy.
swingometer.substack.com/p/waka-waka-...
swingometer.substack.com/p/waka-waka-...
Waka waka waka
Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Recall Petition
swingometer.substack.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:29 AM
A thing I wrote for @robfordmancs.bsky.social's excellent substack, The Swingometer. How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Recall Petition. Features Māori war canoes, Enoch Powell, Edmund Burke, and some spectacular examples of hypocrisy.
swingometer.substack.com/p/waka-waka-...
swingometer.substack.com/p/waka-waka-...
More straightforward dishonestly from Britain's worst columnist. Labour's 2024 manifesto was in fact *significantly further left* than the one Ed Miliband ran on in 2015.
As someone with an FT subscription, I feel badly let down that they published this.
www.ft.com/content/c9a2...
As someone with an FT subscription, I feel badly let down that they published this.
www.ft.com/content/c9a2...
February 11, 2026 at 12:28 PM
More straightforward dishonestly from Britain's worst columnist. Labour's 2024 manifesto was in fact *significantly further left* than the one Ed Miliband ran on in 2015.
As someone with an FT subscription, I feel badly let down that they published this.
www.ft.com/content/c9a2...
As someone with an FT subscription, I feel badly let down that they published this.
www.ft.com/content/c9a2...
Reposted by David Klemperer
Labour’s stealth leftism
The party’s next era will be defined by a shift in vibes rather than policy
By @georgeeaton.bsky.social
The party’s next era will be defined by a shift in vibes rather than policy
By @georgeeaton.bsky.social
Labour’s stealth leftism
The party’s next era will be defined by a shift in vibes rather than policy
www.newstatesman.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Labour’s stealth leftism
The party’s next era will be defined by a shift in vibes rather than policy
By @georgeeaton.bsky.social
The party’s next era will be defined by a shift in vibes rather than policy
By @georgeeaton.bsky.social
Reposted by David Klemperer
Wikipedia’s survival has never been under greater threat. There’s the growing volume of anti-Wikipedia sentiment on the right. And who will need Wikipedia if they can get an AI summary? Imogen West-Knights on the advantage that humans have in keeping it alive: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
In Search of Wikipedia’s Saviors — The Dial
Can Tom, Betty, Patricia and Isidora rescue the site from AI?
www.thedial.world
February 10, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Wikipedia’s survival has never been under greater threat. There’s the growing volume of anti-Wikipedia sentiment on the right. And who will need Wikipedia if they can get an AI summary? Imogen West-Knights on the advantage that humans have in keeping it alive: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
Reposted by David Klemperer
If Starmer changes tack or is replaced by someone to his “left”, the main shift will be tonal because the government has just been quite left wing. It put up taxes, spent more on public services and gave unions a load more powers
A good example of how strangely unpolitical this government is at times.
The Economist is fretting that trade union laws have been tilted (sharply!) back towards strengthening unions.
But is the government making an argument around this to progressive voters? No.
economist.com/britain/2026...
The Economist is fretting that trade union laws have been tilted (sharply!) back towards strengthening unions.
But is the government making an argument around this to progressive voters? No.
economist.com/britain/2026...
February 10, 2026 at 9:17 PM
If Starmer changes tack or is replaced by someone to his “left”, the main shift will be tonal because the government has just been quite left wing. It put up taxes, spent more on public services and gave unions a load more powers
Reposted by David Klemperer
Exclusive: OpenAI fired executive Ryan Beiermeister in January, citing sexual discrimination, after she opposed the planned AI erotica feature in ChatGPT, sources said.
OpenAI Executive Who Opposed ‘Adult Mode’ Fired for Sexual Discrimination
Ryan Beiermeister, who served as the vice president leading OpenAI’s product policy team, had raised concerns about the upcoming launch of erotic content.
on.wsj.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:59 AM
Exclusive: OpenAI fired executive Ryan Beiermeister in January, citing sexual discrimination, after she opposed the planned AI erotica feature in ChatGPT, sources said.
Reposted by David Klemperer
Europe is suffering from an ageing paradox.
Grey power is tilting governments toward preservation over progress, preventing the investment that is needed to manage ageing populations.
✍ Tim Vlandas @dspi-oxford.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...
Grey power is tilting governments toward preservation over progress, preventing the investment that is needed to manage ageing populations.
✍ Tim Vlandas @dspi-oxford.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...
Grey power is preventing the investment an ageing Europe needs
Grey power is tilting governments toward preservation over progress, preventing the investment needed to tackle the negative consequences of ageing populations.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
February 11, 2026 at 9:55 AM
Europe is suffering from an ageing paradox.
Grey power is tilting governments toward preservation over progress, preventing the investment that is needed to manage ageing populations.
✍ Tim Vlandas @dspi-oxford.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...
Grey power is tilting governments toward preservation over progress, preventing the investment that is needed to manage ageing populations.
✍ Tim Vlandas @dspi-oxford.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...
Reposted by David Klemperer
Yet in the UK Palantir have NHS and MoD contracts. Absolutely bonkers.
This is the way forward. Palantir is a hostile agent.
"Switzerland’s military has terminated its contract with Palantir… following a security audit… concluded that U.S. intelligence agencies could potentially access sensitive Swiss defense data… significant reputational warning for the data analytics firm"
www.newscase.com/palantirs-sw...
#R4Today
www.newscase.com/palantirs-sw...
#R4Today
February 11, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Yet in the UK Palantir have NHS and MoD contracts. Absolutely bonkers.