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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · 4d

Heartened by the economy of the future

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · 12d

Mhm

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · 23d

Democracy clearly dies in broad daylight

bmazing.bsky.social @bmazing.bsky.social · 23d

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

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · 28d

Past time to revisit some of this stuff.

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 11

When I think of innocence and naiveté, I think Peter Mandelson

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 10

UK's first 'super-university' to be created as two merge from 2026

Universities are facing ongoing financial worries, with the regulator saying other mergers could follow.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 9

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.

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 9

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

Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 9

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

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 9

Trust the Financial Times to hit at the heart of liberal orthodoxy

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 8

Or rather its usefulness

Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 7

Which tells you everything you need to know about opinion polling

Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · Sep 7

Highest level of support since Gallup started asking this question a quarter century ago

Americans' Views on Immigration's Effect on the U.S.
On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?
— % Good thing - - % Bad thing
100%
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
79
17
2001
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
The percentages who volunteer that the effects are "mixed" or who do not have an opinion are not shown.
GALLUP®

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 7

There’s a far left in the UK? News to me

Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · Sep 7

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.

John Springford @johnspringford.bsky.social · Sep 7

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.

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 6

Went to Jedburgh to see historic sights

Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 5

Congrats! Fascinating project!

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Reposted by Karlo Basta

Allison McCulloch @allimcculloch.bsky.social · Sep 3

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

PSA Ethnopolitics Specialist Group @psaethnopolitics.bsky.social · Jun 20

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

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 3

Just about

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 3

a black and white photo of a grandfather clock with the words tick-tock below it

ALT: a black and white photo of a grandfather clock with the words tick-tock below it

media.tenor.com

Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Sep 3

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?

The British Election Study @britishelectionstudy.com · Sep 3

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

Alluvial plot showing the flow of support from vote in the 2024 UK General Election to vote intention in 2025 Wave 30 of the British Election Study Internet Panel.

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Reposted by Karlo Basta

Davide Vampa @davidevampa.bsky.social · Sep 2

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

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

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Aug 29

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

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Aug 29

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

Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · Aug 29

"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.

Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · Aug 29

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...

Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Aug 29

he’s simply saying the unspoken part out loud. Not the first time someone observed that the line between the state and big business is, shall we say, a bit fictitious

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Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Aug 27

This gets it half right. The other half is the social nature of how ideas take hold, and organizational capture of audiences. Outcomes without social capture of audiences just won’t do it

To fend off the far right, democracy needs to deliver

Progressives have presided over governments that fail to provide basic services, fuelling the appeal of authoritarians

on.ft.com

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Reposted by Karlo Basta

Karlo Basta @karlobasta.bsky.social · Aug 25

Differences worth contemplating more than similarities, to be fair.

What Israelis and Palestinians can learn from Bosnia

The Dayton accords had many shortcomings but peace has largely held for 30 years in the wake of genocide

on.ft.com

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