The World’s Greatest Blog

… Or - short title - what I’m doing and why… PART ONE!
Essentially, if you visit The Big Project page at the top of this blog, you’ll see what I am going to write about, though I thought it was time for a little more introduction, especially considering the fact that I am looking to get as many people on board as possible: I need to tell you what on earth I am doing!

This introduction should help to set down a few of my thoughts on each different section that I hope to write…

In this commentary, I’ll briefly outline my thoughts on The Economy.
The Economy

Apart from my various forays into business, I am no economist. Nor do I feel I need to be in order to write about economics. This is because the economy is something which, to a greater or lesser degree, we all must get to grips with if we are to survive in the modern world.

The main problems that I will discuss with regards the economy could perhaps better fall under a socio-economic category, particularly as the two are so connected in our society today. EVERYTHING we do is linked in one way or another to money: the economy. That is problem number one.

The economy at present, in western societies (and indeed in the far east & the old eastern bloc) is booming. Yet the people in countries such as Britain and America (and Australia, much of Western Europe) are lumbered with huge amounts of personal debt. All of this stems, in my opinion, from one underlying source: manufactured consumer demand (in an “I need” society). The reasons behind this are quite straight forward, and it is relatively well trodden ground, however there are several symptoms of the underlying economic problems (or overspending and a constant need for upward mobility):

• Advertising

Advertising has changed. Changed for the worse. Advertising is a symptom, perhaps the most obvious symptom, of the problems we face today. As I will later elucidate, I feel that a human has a number of things (for want of a better word, I’ll call them passions) which make him different from other animals, all of which satisfied result in pure happiness. Three of those passions are: art (or an ability to become emotional at an evocative sight/sound/picture/sculpture etc); sport (to derive pleasure from the sheer act of doing); and poetry (to gain pleasure purely from the words of other humans). Advertising has encrouched on all three increasingly over the past few decades.

That is not to say that one person cannot have ‘moments’. The main reason I describe advertising as a big problem is this: as soon as an event (sporting, artistic or otherwise) is organised, it is a draw for many people, and therefore a marketable event. Which is fine in itself. However, more and more, the advertising is becoming more important than what is actually being achieved: it is forced upon us, and we only stay for the underlying premise. I’ll use some practical examples for sake of clarity:

1. Films - Art? Very questionable due to the big business principles behind most films, but as an example of my point still, I feel, quite relevant. Have you got a dvd from a rental shop recently. Several I have taken out have FORCED me to watch advertisements and film trailers, which certainly detracted from the overall enjoyment.

2. Sport - Almost all televised sporting events are ruined by advertising concerns. They are too numerous to mention individually, but we have lost replays in favour of adverts, play is often held up for adverts. I could go on (and probably will in the full Big Project section).

3. Newspapers (and other publications) - filled with advertising, yet we pay a cover price for them, are we buying the paper twice??

I could go on.

Why do we put up with it? Because we have to? Or, because there is no alternative: in a capitalist society, those with the most money run all popular events/publications etc and exploit them to generate more wealth? If we accept the latter view, it may well follow, then, that capitalism is failing in this respect.

There are many other ways in which capitalism, and the economy, are failing in my opinion. These will be covered in The Big Project proper. For now, I’ll leave you with a thought that I put words to the other day when we were arguing in the car:

Capitalism is a construct of man and is bound to fail: all men are fallible.

All this talk of capitalism and I still need a pound to buy some carrots…