I don’t think we have a choice in that matter. I agree with Marx that the modes of production will determine the range of political models and life choices open to us. I don;t agree with his historiography. Feudalism was an alternative to slave based societies within the same economic milieu.

Thus all of our values will be, if not determined by, affected by our economic context. The idea that one can be ‘whatever one wants to be’ might be a romantic dream but its one that wouldn’t even be possible to consider for anyone who lved in, say, the 12th century.

That said often these days it seems like everything is being run by accountants.

As I previously stated, we have a choice. Do we let economic realities determine the fate of people or is our society driven by values other than just economic determinism?

True.

You can laugh but these are the people that founded ‘Straya.

Of course, there may be something catastrophically wrong with the Brits. Maybe they respond to different incentives — although somehow, I don’t think so.

Yes, paying more welfare to single mums to have more children will, all else equal, increase the number of kids they have – but the hard evidence (mostly from econometric studies of variations in welfare payments across US states) is that the effect is tiny – so small it is hard to detect.

The ‘reasoning’ that really annoys means is the one that goes “the underclass are on benefits, therefore benefits cause the underclass”. But even in biblical times they noticed the poor are always with ye. The causes of this level of disadvantage lie elsewhere.

Monsters John, monsters from the id…

I zaid you coult nat zpeak in zee noorozpeak. You vill be dermindaded!

Yeah stuff like reading to your kids before they get to school. My first school was exclusively populated by the children of highly educated people (from all over the world). So it gave me Utopian blinkers. The standards of the school were spectacular. It was genes no doubt to a certain extent but it was also upbringing. You can teach a kid an awful lot in the first couple of years.

A friend of mine shacked up (and still is) with a stereotypical single mum. There was a 2 year old there who was bright and inquisitive and asked questions. The answer to all questions was a spanking or sit in front of the TV.

When I graduated there weren’t any jobs. I felt blue. I went to one of these job agencies run by some welfare technocrat. Five minutes with him and I felt like pond scum. That’s me: degree, privileged background, gifts. Mmm. And he made me feel like shit about myself.

Now exactly how does that help you get a job exactly? I reckon places like Blacktown are full of people who’ve been in the clutches of such as these all their lives.