DannyB

Marxism and A Pattern Language

The preparation for the Radical EC1 Walk continues with the usual diversions and tangents and books being brought together without obvious connections. I’ve been reading Communitas by Percival and Paul Goodman, a lot of Christopher Alexander and the first chapter of the Grundrisse. I suspect I understand about 10 percent of what Alexander and MarxContinue reading “Marxism and A Pattern Language”

The Study of Consumption

There is no moral framework for production within capitalism. Nation states give priority to the production of nuclear missiles, chemical weapons, cluster bombs, police truncheons, tear gas, water cannon; feeding people and providing shelter, health services and education are secondary, or less. Even outside the arms industries there is plenty of immoral production; oil, builtContinue reading “The Study of Consumption”

The Problem of London- Prologue

It was possibly Patrick Keiller who first raised the question, ‘the problem of London’. As there are no money-making opportunities in answering this question it has been neglected. But it is surely one of the key questions, not an incidental one? London is a large city. The building and maintenance of London requires immense quantitiesContinue reading “The Problem of London- Prologue”

A day or two…

Marx’s Grundrisse is a set of notebooks. Sometimes the sentences themselves are merely short points, in the way we all make notes at times. There are digressions into detail which may be ignored. It is the substance which is of great interest and discovering how Marx worked out his ideas. There are moments while readingContinue reading “A day or two…”

The incidental dominance of exchange-value

A journey from reading the Grundrisse at 6am to a shopping centre and then EC1 at night. I spent a lot of time in a department store just watching the high definition televisions on display. It is as if the world is now a background which can be enhanced with film editing software, made brighter,Continue reading “The incidental dominance of exchange-value”

EC1 – A Primer

It seems so disjointed. A collection of buildings sharing space but little else; and not even sharing that space in a neighbourly way. The only underlying principle is profit. These buildings share built characteristics. They are all the products of the alchemy of human labour, labour power (as a commodity), machines, and raw materials. TheContinue reading “EC1 – A Primer”

Stratford City

There is so much to write about. Sleeping dreams, waking dreams, vague notions of reality and consciousness. I went for a drink after work with a friend and work colleague. I enjoyed the conversation, his company, the couple of pints, the atmosphere and more. After we parted I did something I haven’t done for aContinue reading “Stratford City”

The Archeology of the Hidden Transcripts

I am closely studying maps. Maps of a small area of London. Tudor Street in particular. From Tudor Street I walk along John Carpenter Street. The security guards at JP Morgan are suspicious. They are not in any sense an enemy. They are low paid and daily told what to do. I am waiting forContinue reading “The Archeology of the Hidden Transcripts”

A Catch up

I needed a catch up with myself. There’s a lot going on, no time to stop and think. The only time for conscious-sensuous self-awareness is late at night. There’s a lot of writing going on. It gets sent off to various editors and publishers. A sense of anticipation, a hope for an immediate response. Silence,Continue reading “A Catch up”

A Universal Idea

What does the book look like if its read here, in this particular place? The book is Folk Opposition by Alex Nevin. It was lent to me in the summer. We were in the beer garden of a pub after the Radical Battersea Walk. It was one of those days when the temperature was overContinue reading “A Universal Idea”