The Casual Critic

Ecosocialist from Scotland. I write blogs about things I read, watch or play, because writing is fun.

My cat is much cooler than me and occasionally I will post a picture.

Write.As: https://write.as/the-casual-critic/

Last Notes

2026-07-17 00:48:44 CEST

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116931018969376565
This is one of the best distillations of why neoclassical economics is a con. Obviously if you have the time, read your Marx etc. But if you don't, bookmark this as your go-to explainer for why the folks from the Adam Smith Institute or the Heritage Foundation are absolutely full of shit.
#note1pjn…ch8s

2026-06-17 19:06:54 CEST

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Wingspan maybe in that case. It's about building the best bird reserve, so quite gentle, and almost no opportunities to screw one another over. Settlers of Catan is a classic, but more competitive. There's also The Good Life, which is sort of Monopoly by way of a farm, but it's less backstabby.

2026-06-17 18:34:34 CEST

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are you looking for something competitive, cooperative, or something in the middle?

2026-05-25 11:13:41 CEST

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clearly I should read Hwang's book (it's on a very, very long list), but this does beg the question why companies keep paying for a product that's 99% ineffective. In the end, it's their money keeping this internal surveillance machine alive.

2026-05-12 12:16:38 CEST

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one might even call this "industrial strategy", but despite several departments bearing that name having existed, we seem profoundly short of anything resembling such a thing.

2026-05-12 11:36:48 CEST

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oh absolutely. But personally I'd prefer more objective rationale for government policy.
I'm not principally opposed to nationalisation. I'm a socialist. But if we're going to countenance it as an option, I'd prefer if we had an honest conversation as a country about what type of economy we want. As someone else here pointed out, if steel, then why not water and energy?

2026-05-12 08:32:11 CEST

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the last part is the point, isn't it. We either decide that we're into free markets and import our steel because making it in the UK is simply too expensive, or the government makes it at a loss at home, and presumably pressures domestic users into buying it. But if there is a national interest of sorts, we ought to be willing to pay for it.
I haven't seen a convincing case for what that national interest is though, other than as you say a nostalgic investment in manufacturing.

2026-03-03 08:02:17 CET

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I'm interested in energy here. I don't think we're 50% worse at moving electrons around. Is that a consequence of how productivity is calculated combined with recent volatility in energy prices?

2026-01-20 20:24:10 CET

@npub1fdr…lvhs 's blog on why social media barons hate sociality reminded me of Stafford Beer's introduction to variety.
He starts with a simple system. Then introduces a cat. The cat, doing what cats do, makes the system massively more complex.
Beer uses this to explain that an effective system needs as much variety as its environment, or cleverly attune to it.
Or you change the environment and shoot the cat.
That's what techbros do when we don't conform to their data. They shoot the cat.

2026-01-17 13:47:50 CET

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My in-laws ended up having to buy a new TV in part because all the streaming apps on their older model were gradually withdrawn. Granted, they used a Firestick for a while, but that still meant buying extra equipment.
Our 2013 dumb TV with a wee separate box attached to it has no such problems.
It's planned obsolescence, but on demand.

2026-01-12 13:49:16 CET

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For example, reading is often positively contrasted with videogames. But I'd argue that games like Disco Elysium or Citizen Sleeper offer more potential for intellectual engagement than, say, the latest Dan Brown.

2026-01-12 09:56:45 CET

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Isn't there something insidiously conservative about these critiques though?
The FT is one of the institutions that helped create this world we now live in. Yet these same people can use "reading books" as a cultural stick to beat others with who either don't have the ability to read (because multiple zero hour jobs, kids, etc), or who enjoy other rich but new media (podcasts, games, etc).
I'm always wary of the implicit snobbery in these statements.

2025-12-08 18:51:44 CET

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I do remember though that a significant cohort of Leave voters indicated they would do it even if it made the UK poorer. You might run this argument and Farage could still say it's all worth it because we can sink the small boats now.
I'm not saying The Bear is wrong, but if Brexit was decided on technical merit, it wouldn't have happened in the first place. We need to interrogate why so many people were so invested in getting one over on the establishment.

2025-11-19 23:04:38 CET

I'm still an absolute novice at #homeassistant and can only do easy automations. But with the days drawing in, being automatically greeted by my hallway lights as soon as I open the door is just very satisfying.
#winter #automation

2025-09-23 23:25:09 CEST

"The fossil fuel industry is a magnet for people who love a chokepoint. These people are born tollboth operators and they never stop hunting for turnpikes. They are landlords for ancient corpses, charging the whole world rent to keep the lights on."
Latest from @npub1fdr…lvhs You come for the insight, you stay for the brilliant writing.
https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/23/our-friend-the-electron/