DannyB

Solve the housing crisis? Tax the Rich

The mantra of the right wing press in Britain is low taxation. But in reality this low taxation only really applies to the rich. Global organisations investing in large developments in London are given tax exemptions. There are many companies which pay low or no tax by using shell companies, tax havens and expensive lawyers.Continue reading “Solve the housing crisis? Tax the Rich”

Garden Cities in Vienna

From as early as 1915 onwards the people of Vienna began to appropriate land to grow their own food. By the time the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed at the end of October 1918 it was estimated that there were over 100,000 people living in makeshift shelters and working towards being self-sufficient. The empire was bought downContinue reading “Garden Cities in Vienna”

HET BOЙHE, in Vienna

Vienna has become a three dimensional open university of the street and the people. Each daily interaction; shopping in the supermarket, a ride on the U-bahn, sitting in the park, buying a map, taking out the rubbish, has a cinematic quality, although its unclear who the director of this film might be. There are fourContinue reading “HET BOЙHE, in Vienna”

Engels in the Margaretengürtzel

Imagine that a group of people could be brought into the present from a past time. And that group of people included Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin and Otto Bauer (there are others but we can put them in the time machine another day). Marx and Engels could be rightly proudContinue reading “Engels in the Margaretengürtzel”

Support Your Local Planet

(Let us be clear – I am not against chemicals and chemistry…I am against the exploitation of chemicals and chemistry by the capitalists for the purpose of making profit at the expense of the general interests of people and the planet). The woman who walked through Karlplatz was wearing a t-shirt with the slogan, ‘SupportContinue reading “Support Your Local Planet”

Sometimes, a train journey

All writing must be done at least three times. The first draft has too many digressions and well, quite frankly, sometimes rants and raves in an uncouth manner about whatever is in the immediate environment. Cliche can be avoided as one goes along, phrases such as ‘the bleak moors’, an ‘iconic building’ don’t need toContinue reading “Sometimes, a train journey”

A Pint of Beer

Someone brought me a pint of beer. You know, in the great scheme of things; this is nothing at all. Or…means a great deal. To me, at the moment, in that pub in a London street it was one of the most lovely things that had happened all week. She stood up in her glassContinue reading “A Pint of Beer”

The Domination of Capitalist Relations of Production over the Spontaneous Possibilities of Life

Did London once feel like a more proletarian city? There are still many proletarians. But where is the new working class in the new proletarian city? There are no large organised industries in manufacturing or warehousing. The public sector retains some union organisation, universities too; and transport. But there is little sign of organisation orContinue reading “The Domination of Capitalist Relations of Production over the Spontaneous Possibilities of Life”

The Possible Dominance of Augustine Monastic Orders

It feels as if I have forgotten to write. How can a person forget how to write? Once that art and skill has been taught? No, I don’t mean it like that. Not that I have forgotten ‘how’ to write; but I have neglected to write. There were too many other people in my head.Continue reading “The Possible Dominance of Augustine Monastic Orders”

Automation of Production – Self-Autonomy of the Soul

The voice of a London girl floated up the stairwell of the bus. ‘Thank you’, she said to the driver as she alighted. It was the 319 bus and now it crossed Battersea Bridge. Far away, downstream, the North Sea had pulled the water from the river and houseboats and the occasional steel clad ligtherContinue reading “Automation of Production – Self-Autonomy of the Soul”