Karlo Basta
@karlobasta.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics, University of Edinburgh. Nationalism, the state, capitalism, socialism, in a blender. Wrote The Symbolic State: https://tinyurl.com/3jb7juez. Writing Capitalists against Nationalism. https://www.karlobasta.com/
A fantastic book on, I suppose the best way to put it would be, the loss of consumer sovereignty to big tech. More informative than I expected it to be. But then, I don’t follow this stuff closely
November 24, 2025 at 4:09 PM
A fantastic book on, I suppose the best way to put it would be, the loss of consumer sovereignty to big tech. More informative than I expected it to be. But then, I don’t follow this stuff closely
bookmarking, as it were
Michael Burry Returns With Two Big Shorts: Palantir and Nvidia
Signs of an AI bubble abound: Stock valuations have become uncomfortably rich, AI-related debt is ballooning, and a sustainable financial model for the technology has largely yet to emerge. Now Michae...
www.wsj.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:38 PM
bookmarking, as it were
Stupid admin shit is a matter of ancient tradition
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Stupid admin shit is a matter of ancient tradition
The other side of that coin - going off personal experience and a quick google look-up, so take this with a grain of salt - is that Britain is a country of low wages (comparatively).
Britain has become a country of high taxes for the few and low taxes for the many and that settlement is now breaking down. www.newstatesman.com/politics/mor...
Is Britain a high-tax country?
Even as overall taxes have risen, most have been paying less
www.newstatesman.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:02 PM
The other side of that coin - going off personal experience and a quick google look-up, so take this with a grain of salt - is that Britain is a country of low wages (comparatively).
a rare instance of public business opposition to Trump's trade policy is a reaction to more trade
www.ncba.org/news-media/n...
www.ncba.org/news-media/n...
October 23, 2025 at 10:15 AM
a rare instance of public business opposition to Trump's trade policy is a reaction to more trade
www.ncba.org/news-media/n...
www.ncba.org/news-media/n...
I know this isn't the point of the piece, but what really stands out is the near-consensus across voters for this👇. A moderately competent/backbone-having Labour leadership would've developed a platform and narrative to dominate for a decade. Instead, we have what we have.
October 20, 2025 at 1:02 PM
I know this isn't the point of the piece, but what really stands out is the near-consensus across voters for this👇. A moderately competent/backbone-having Labour leadership would've developed a platform and narrative to dominate for a decade. Instead, we have what we have.
Reposted by Karlo Basta
The call for papers for the 2026 ASEN conference on 'Nationalism, Democracy, and Freedom' is out now at asen.ac.uk/conference!
#asen2026
#asen2026
October 13, 2025 at 8:19 AM
The call for papers for the 2026 ASEN conference on 'Nationalism, Democracy, and Freedom' is out now at asen.ac.uk/conference!
#asen2026
#asen2026
Heartened by the economy of the future
October 7, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Heartened by the economy of the future
Democracy clearly dies in broad daylight
weird that neither of these articles two main stories decrying censorship mention WaPo's firing of @karenattiah.bsky.social I guess democracy really does die in darkness
September 18, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Democracy clearly dies in broad daylight
Past time to revisit some of this stuff.
September 13, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Past time to revisit some of this stuff.
When I think of innocence and naiveté, I think Peter Mandelson
September 11, 2025 at 8:22 AM
When I think of innocence and naiveté, I think Peter Mandelson
There's something compelling about the thought that the cultivation of reflexive anti-communism, anti-socialism or anti-any idea that suggests politics should not entrench the power of capital, has ultimately come to bite America in the ass.
September 9, 2025 at 4:52 PM
There's something compelling about the thought that the cultivation of reflexive anti-communism, anti-socialism or anti-any idea that suggests politics should not entrench the power of capital, has ultimately come to bite America in the ass.
This is all fine but I don't buy the message implied here - that there's a popular turn away from capitalism in any meaningful sense and that there's a political project waiting to be pursued. Part of the problem is in the framing, as ever. But only a part. news.gallup.com/poll/694835/...
Image of Capitalism Slips to 54% in U.S.
Fifty-four percent of Americans, down from 60% in 2021, have a positive opinion of capitalism, while a steady 39% view socialism positively.
news.gallup.com
September 9, 2025 at 12:52 PM
This is all fine but I don't buy the message implied here - that there's a popular turn away from capitalism in any meaningful sense and that there's a political project waiting to be pursued. Part of the problem is in the framing, as ever. But only a part. news.gallup.com/poll/694835/...
Everything said in under a page (also, the title is wrong, it’s not the left in any meaningful sense of the word, as the article makes clear)
America’s left cannot exploit Trump’s failures
The president’s genius is to keep pushing the Democrats into a reactive defence of the status quo
on.ft.com
September 9, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Everything said in under a page (also, the title is wrong, it’s not the left in any meaningful sense of the word, as the article makes clear)
Trust the Financial Times to hit at the heart of liberal orthodoxy
September 9, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Trust the Financial Times to hit at the heart of liberal orthodoxy
Which tells you everything you need to know about opinion polling
Highest level of support since Gallup started asking this question a quarter century ago
September 7, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Which tells you everything you need to know about opinion polling
There’s a far left in the UK? News to me
I concur with John. The real problems are abroad, but everybody is too focused obsessing about immigration and the "failing state” (both narratives with only suit the far right and, possibly, far left) instead of looking what is happening with the world and what that might mean for Britain.
At the risk of sounding like a government spokesperson, I wonder if we're too gloomy. NHS waiting times are falling, as are net migration numbers. Growth hasn't been fast, but it's improved. Real wages are growing. Inflation is a bit sticky, but much reduced.
September 7, 2025 at 6:24 PM
There’s a far left in the UK? News to me
Went to Jedburgh to see historic sights
September 6, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Went to Jedburgh to see historic sights
Reposted by Karlo Basta
Join us for the online launch of a special issue of Nationalism and Ethnic Politics on 'Conflict and Peace: The Cultural Dimension.' Expertly edited by @giudifontana.bsky.social with some great articles by @elisabethking.bsky.social @laiabalcells.bsky.social and many others! 4 Sept, 9am EST
On 4 September, join @giudifontana.bsky.social and some of the authors of articles from the new special issue of @tandfresearch.bsky.social's Nationalism and Ethnic Politics on 'Conflict and Peace: The Cultural Dimension' for an online event launching the issue. www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/gove...
Conflict and Peace: The Cultural Dimension
This webinar launches the Special Issue on Conflict and Peace: The Cultural Dimension, published by Nationalism and Ethnic Politics in June 2025.
www.birmingham.ac.uk
September 3, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Join us for the online launch of a special issue of Nationalism and Ethnic Politics on 'Conflict and Peace: The Cultural Dimension.' Expertly edited by @giudifontana.bsky.social with some great articles by @elisabethking.bsky.social @laiabalcells.bsky.social and many others! 4 Sept, 9am EST
You're a party that gets to govern~30% of the time in past half century. You're in power now but not doing great. You have a 1/10 chance of having all the power in next 15 years under current electoral system. You have 1/2 chance of having some of the power if you change it. What do you do?
Labour's next biggest losses are to left-liberal parties (Liberal Democrats and Greens).
Reform's growth in support has mostly come from the Conservatives and non-voting (much less from Labour).
These reflect patterns of party-bloc voting that we saw in the 2024 UK GE: tinyurl.com/y5pv7thw
Reform's growth in support has mostly come from the Conservatives and non-voting (much less from Labour).
These reflect patterns of party-bloc voting that we saw in the 2024 UK GE: tinyurl.com/y5pv7thw
September 3, 2025 at 12:09 PM
You're a party that gets to govern~30% of the time in past half century. You're in power now but not doing great. You have a 1/10 chance of having all the power in next 15 years under current electoral system. You have 1/2 chance of having some of the power if you change it. What do you do?
Reposted by Karlo Basta
Looking forward to kicking off the new academic (& political) year with @ccc-research.bsky.social hosting @angusrobertson.bsky.social for a conversation on German federalism.
Can Germany still be seen as a model of stability & balance?
What lessons might it hold for us?
Register 👇
edin.ac/45YoUs1
Can Germany still be seen as a model of stability & balance?
What lessons might it hold for us?
Register 👇
edin.ac/45YoUs1
Still a Model? What We Can (and Can’t) Learn from German Federalism
This event explores whether German federalism still offers useful lessons for Scotland and the UK.
edin.ac
September 2, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Looking forward to kicking off the new academic (& political) year with @ccc-research.bsky.social hosting @angusrobertson.bsky.social for a conversation on German federalism.
Can Germany still be seen as a model of stability & balance?
What lessons might it hold for us?
Register 👇
edin.ac/45YoUs1
Can Germany still be seen as a model of stability & balance?
What lessons might it hold for us?
Register 👇
edin.ac/45YoUs1
Not gonna mention the name of a very influential organization that's been trialing AI recently, but they too have found it to be so unreliable as to be useless (hasn't made the news). Which comports with some of my own usage of the thing. But hey, if it works for you...
MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing
There’s a stark difference in success rates between companies that purchase AI tools from vendors and those that build them internally.
fortune.com
August 29, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Not gonna mention the name of a very influential organization that's been trialing AI recently, but they too have found it to be so unreliable as to be useless (hasn't made the news). Which comports with some of my own usage of the thing. But hey, if it works for you...
Another reason for electoral reform. The only principled one is that FPTP is simply not democratic and that should be the end of it. But there's only one semi-feasible way to bind the power of the UK executive, and that's PR electoral system. Electoral reform IS constitutional reform
"What Nigel Farage needs is a big majority after the next election and then he can do whatever he wants".
The dangers of the UK system in a nutshell - especially when "big majorities" can be won on 34% of the vote.
The dangers of the UK system in a nutshell - especially when "big majorities" can be won on 34% of the vote.
Misinformation in NI is again gathering pace. Senior Unionists like Wilson have long claimed, with no basis in the text, that the Brexit deal broke the GFA. They are now using this to say that key parts of the GFA, on human rights, can be ignored. Old lies, repurposed:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
August 29, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Another reason for electoral reform. The only principled one is that FPTP is simply not democratic and that should be the end of it. But there's only one semi-feasible way to bind the power of the UK executive, and that's PR electoral system. Electoral reform IS constitutional reform