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Paul Evans

@pauliewaulie.bsky.social

780 followers 1.8K following 3.2K posts

Representative Democracy ultra. History, economics, film/TV policy, workplace & unions. Posts often conversational gambits. Views mine only. NFFC & Mayo GAA. https://paul-evans.org & https://pauliewaulie.substack.com Banner quote: NeinQuarterly.

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Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · Jan 1

Because we have stopped paying directly for news, we have made it possible for dark money to disenfranchise us.
substack.com/home/post/p-...

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Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 42m

I hate the international breaks.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 47m

My “surely this is fake” antenna are up for this, but so are I “maybe it isn’t?” detectors…

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 20h

“Thank you to President Putin!”

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

But it also needs a recognition that “progressive attitudes” and approaches are failing.

If you agree: repost this. Let’s make “for representative democracy” a visible, powerful discourse. It’s on everyone who cares about democracy to lead the conversation — so the political leadership can follow.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

So: we have to recognise that platforms, and how we interact with them can make, or break representative democracy.

In the short term this has to include asking the government to make reforms that reshape those platforms.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

If we don’t act, the prisoner’s dilemma continues: we’ll keep defecting (polarising) because cooperation feels risky.

Representative democracy depends on trust, norm‑sharing, on a discourse that doesn’t assume the worst of “the other side.”

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

We need a new focus on reestablishing the norms of Representative Democracy - one that doesn’t define the national conversation as a happy playground for demagoguery.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

Because progressive politics would benefit massively simply from a reassertion of the values of Representative Democracy.

There are absolutely no ‘political directions’ (e.g. “rejoin the EU”, “invest in persuasion on the value of migration” etc) that come close to making life better for everyone.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

We need a public conversation that refuses the logic of outrage as the dominant currency.

I see no political movements that understand how representative democracy can be cultivated as well as gamed.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

But there are immediate policy preconditions that the current government don’t seem capable of thinking about. I.e.,:
• Transparency & regulation of platforms & funding of political content
• More public interest media ownership
• Strengthened support for independent journalism of all kinds.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

Political leadership *depends on* public discourse. It responds to what citizens accept / demand / believe.

It’s *our* job, not theirs, to steer discourse into something that enables representative democracy instead of crippling it.

This means a radical rethink of what politics actually is.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

Democratic politicians are stuck in a prisoner’s dilemma: if *I* don’t play the polarising game, I risk losing out. So everyone leans in—and we all lose in terms of trust, constructive politics, common ground.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

Meanwhile, the politics that politicians have to respond to has moved into dispersed media, algorithmic echo chambers, paid content we can’t trace.

The incentives there drive nihilism, polarisation, disinformation — all corrosive to democracy.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

We’re all still v good at fixating on parliamentary drama and media spectacles. We lean on protest politics as if it’s a cure‑all instead of being something that is *actively counter‑productive*.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1h

Pessimism incoming! 👇👇👇

The centre & left seem to have lost political ambition. It needs a wholesale shift in perspective to stop something that is beginning to look inevitable now. 🧵

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 2h

I’d love to see a think tank working on this as well, because I think there’s almost a bottomless well of doable ideas here.

All of that said, I could see it being an engine for gentrification as much as anything because it will be the suburbs with lots of social capital that would run with this.

Reposted by Paul Evans

James Plunkett @jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 3h

Are there any live proposals to get DSIT (and/or CLG?) to create a Civic Tech Fund? An initiative to support the UK’s civic tech movement (pro-social platforms like Library of Things, Olio, Park Run, etc) and shared infrastructure for community organising. 1/n

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Reposted by Paul Evans

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 15h

This strikes me as a pretty major Brexit shift from Starmer.

Perhaps the beginning of 'Brexit is sh1t and has caused real economic damage'.

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Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 21h

This view looks quite similar to the idea of Rational Ignorance - the ideal is that everyone *should* care about everything and be active about everything, but the rational sensible thing to do is just say "oh, what's the point?"

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1d

No idea!

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1d

I wouldn’t be so cruel as to ever ask a genie to make my worst enemy spend one hour inside my brain 😂

Reposted by Paul Evans

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 1d

🤦Please tell me he hasn't only just realised this....

PM Admits He Must 'Make The Case' For Benefits Of Digital ID

Keir Starmer said the government needs to emphasise the benefits of digital ID following criticism of how the policy has been sold to the public.

www.politicshome.com

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Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1d

Sure. I think if a lot of 'screentime' was 'reading books on a kindle' then obviously it'd not be a bad thing. I'm not necessarily supporting the thesis - I just think it's an important discussion to have and one that should be encouraged.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1d

There's two questions in there
1. why is a royal essentially endorsing research that she thinks is in the public interest? I'd say few would have a problem with this - royals have always done it
2. Is the thesis right? My guess is it's a widely held view that many (most) agree with intuitively.

Paul Evans @pauliewaulie.bsky.social · 1d

It's interesting that a strain of Scottish nationalism hasn't grown up to learn from the Irish lesson: Don't obsess about the imperfections of a very maximalist version of devolution (which was, kinda, the 1921-2 settlement) because within a few years full independence will be a pushover.

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 1d

Scottish Social Attitudes report a dramatic dip in British identity in Scotland in 2024

Reposted by Paul Evans

The Institute for Fiscal Studies @theifs.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: The UK social security system offers relatively little income protection after job loss.

THREAD on Martin Mikloš and @xiaoweixu.bsky.social's IFS Green Budget chapter on the options for introducing ‘unemployment insurance’:

Chart shows net replacement rates in unemployment for a single homeowner with no children. Title states: "Unemployment benefits in the UK are low compared to OECD countries, and contributory benefits are no higher than means-tested benefits."

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