Category Archives: Economics

Survivorship Bias: The Fantasy of Big Time

Posted on August 29, 2014 by formerdundeeman

The Art of Thinking Clearly is a book by Rolf Dobelli.  It claims to be an international bestseller but I’d never seen it along side all the other self-improvement and management guff during my trawls through airport book shops over … Continue reading →

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The Rise of the Arsehole in Modern Society (Book Review)

Posted on July 30, 2014 by formerdundeeman

Book Review: The Rise of the Arsehole in Modern Society (Scottish Edition) by Daniel Désespéré. Illustrated. 867pp.  D. Watkins Press. €39.99 In what many will come to regard as his tour de force, French academic Professor Daniel Désespéré, charts the rise of idiocy … Continue reading →

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Why can’t you plebs just behave?

Posted on July 29, 2014 by formerdundeeman

Why can’t you plebs just behave?  This must surely be the line of thought of the politicians and business leaders throughout the world.  If everyone would just quietly toe the line there would be no need for trouble. Why can’t … Continue reading →

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UK Never Got Post-Empire

Posted on July 21, 2014 by formerdundeeman

I watched the BBC documentary “Das Auto The Germans, Their Cars and Us“.  You can watch it complete on YouTube and I recommend you do even if you have no interest in cars or Germany.  It’s the “Us” – the … Continue reading →

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French Economist Proves What Most Know True: Capitalism is a Rigged Game

Posted on June 2, 2014 by formerdundeeman

Despite the rather feeble nit-picking effort of the Financial Times, French economist Thomas Piketty has done some tremendous work in proving what anyone with their eyes open and without hypocrisy or delusion already knows: capitalism in the form societies have … Continue reading →

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Does Zero Hours and No Minimum Wage Actually Make Business Sense?

Posted on May 16, 2014 by formerdundeeman

I once worked in the now demolished Tayside House in Dundee.  This multi-storey block was situated at the end of the Tay Bridge and housed the HQ of Tayside Regional Council in those days.  My 9 to 5 used to … Continue reading →

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The I Don’t Want High Taxes Idiocy

Posted on May 16, 2014 by formerdundeeman

I’ve heard it far too often, the old, “Yeah Holland and Norway are all very well, but you pay such high taxes and I don’t want that.”  This argument is so dumb it hardly is worth countering.  But since it’s … Continue reading →

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Iron Man and the Myth of the Lone Entrepreneur

Posted on May 12, 2014 by formerdundeeman

A popular misconception we’re often confronted with is the idea that successful business people somehow made it through their own hard work, graft and smarts.  While it can take immense perseverance, skill and acumen to build business empires, it is … Continue reading →

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When did the means become more important than the end?

Posted on May 9, 2014 by formerdundeeman

Somehow everything has got into a big bloody mess.  Somehow the means became far more important than the end.  What is the end?  To ask is to meddle with such cliched questions as what is the meaning of life.  But … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics, Project Fear, Uncategorized, United Kingdom | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Why so many are blind to inequality

Posted on April 2, 2014 by formerdundeeman

As an engineer I like to understand how things work.  However maybe unlike many engineers I like to extend this curiosity beyond gadgets and other technical creations and apply it to such things as economics and politics.  These explorations in … Continue reading →

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