Bhaskar Sunkara’s complaint that diversity in Britain has been turned into a perverse form of multiculturalism is provocative, but it points to a real problem. He has argued in a video discussion that multiculturalism can be hollowed out into a managerial politics of diversity; see also his related critique of liberal anti-racism here. The issue … Continue reading The Missing Machinery of Cohesion
Land-Rich, Scale-Poor
Aotearoa New Zealand is land-rich but scale-poor. That is both our blessing and our bind. We have pasture, coastline, geothermal heat, forests, rainfall. What we do not have is scale; not in population, not in capital markets, not in proximity to large demand centres. For generations we made land do the heavy lifting. Refrigeration turned … Continue reading Land-Rich, Scale-Poor
Seeing clearly
Morning mist in a Paris park. Gravel underfoot. A bench damp with yesterday’s rain. I dream I am walking with Jean Baudrillard, the air faintly metallic, autumn leaves arranged like unfinished sentences. Election year in Aotearoa New Zealand, I tell him. Stakes high. Voices louder than usual. He smiles, almost indulgently. “Louder does not mean … Continue reading Seeing clearly
Faultline Report 