There is always going to be poverty and neglect. That's all right then. I am OK so why should I care? You can say that there is less inequality in this country then there has been at any time in history.

With all due respect that is nonsense.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014 ... dit-suisse

Yes, why don't you misquote me and then quote the Guardian.

F*ck you. Funnily enough, I did some freelance work for the Guardian 5 years ago as a contract worker, it took them 8 months to pay me and then only after I threatened legal action.

Don't twist my words. And what exactly are you doing about national inequality, Balham Green?

There is always going to be poverty and neglect. That's all right then. I am OK so why should I care? You can say that there is less inequality in this country then there has been at any time in history.

With all due respect that is nonsense.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014 ... dit-suisse

Yes, why don't you misquote me and then quote the Guardian.

F*ck you. Funnily enough, I did some freelance work for the Guardian 5 years ago as a contract worker, it took them 8 months to pay me and then only after I threatened legal action.

Don't twist my words. And what exactly are you doing about national inequality, Balham Green?

The report is from Credit Suisse Bank. That not good enough for you? Where have I misquoted you? The comment in red is obviously not from you! Anyway by using that language you lose all respect and show yourself up to be an inadequate individual unable to hold a mature conversation.
Not sure what your dispute with The Guardian has go to do with it.

You inserted the sentence 'That's all right then. I am OK so why should I care' within my original post. I don't think I've ever seen that on here. Extremely patronising.

Oh and like you've never heard a bit of bad language in your life... poor lamb. I take it you've never been in a pub in Balham then. Or out of the house for that matter.

You sound like the sort of person who on the Guardian for their entire worldview but does precisely sod all to help their fellow man.

Balham - altering someone's post to suit your response is devious beyond belief. No wonder crownhillpilgrim is angry.

The causes for this problem and the solutions to it range from the mind-thrashingly complex the amazingly simple.

Over-population is the big elephant in the room. Everybody needs food, jobs, transport. But there must come a point (and maybe it's already here) when there simply isn't enough to go around. Not enough jobs that need doing. Trees already stripped bare. Fortunately there has been a decline in the births to deaths ratio in countries where proper education and women's rights exist. One can only hope that this enlightenment will propagate across the world but it will be a long struggle. There's a brilliant interview with David Attenborough in the Independent where he mentions over-population as a huge problem. Unfortunately religion still has too big a say in what apparatus a man may or may not attach to his penis during coitus, and certainly too much say in whether or not a woman can resist his advances. People must throw off the shackles of oppression (sorry for sounding like Marx) if the crisis is to be averted.

Another big problem (and people REALLY won't like this) is materialism. This constant need to have 'things' in our lives, often things that confirm a status to the rest of the world as opposed to things we actually need, or things that bring us genuine pleasure. Panorama exposed the working conditions of Apple workers in Chinese factories, but that won't stop millions of people from turning into grinning simpletons when Mr Ives introduces the new iBollocks that darns your socks and wipes your arse, and costs about half a month's wages.

You could have course simply not spend that money. Much of the world's wealth is inherited and hoarded in all sorts of devious ways, but a lot of it is accumulated through the purchase of goods and services. And a lot of those goods and services are crap that bring people no happiness or pleasure, and merely fills an artificial void that society (through media, through peer pressure, through our own vanity) has created. "HAVING THIS SHINY NEW PRODUCT WILL MAKE YOU INCREDIBLY HAPPY AND POPULAR AND SOLVE MANY OF YOUR SOCIETAL PROBLEMS", the adverts proclaim. "WE WON'T MENTION THE JOY YOU MIGHT GET FROM HELPING OTHERS, BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOUR ETC BECAUSE THAT DOESN'T HELP US SELL OUR sh1t." And people fall for it. They fall for it because they're exactly as stupid, gullible and easy to manipulate as corporations, the media and the government want them to be. (Now I'm sounding like some horrible leftist twelve year old writing an angry blog post - I really am sorry.)

Political apathy is a huge problem. We can't keep handing all our money and power to the same old people, and expect them to suddenly develop a philanthropic streak. Never gonna happen. Systems will only change when the people stop working within them.

Ultimately all the power lies with the people. We mustn't underestimate the power we can wield simply by changing the way we vote, spend our money and live. Those in power will always try to convince the electorate that there's no alternative to the way things currently are; the truth is that the world is constantly changing. The lives that you or I live now are completely different to the lives that our grandparents lived, and their grandparents, and their grandparents.....

(and now I sound like Russell Brand. How much more can I apologise?)

Balham - altering someone's post to suit your response is devious beyond belief. No wonder crownhillpilgrim is angry.

Not for the first time either.

Top post Andrew.

The causes for this problem and the solutions to it range from the mind-thrashingly complex the amazingly simple.

Over-population is the big elephant in the room. Everybody needs food, jobs, transport. But there must come a point (and maybe it's already here) when there simply isn't enough to go around. Not enough jobs that need doing. Trees already stripped bare. Fortunately there has been a decline in the births to deaths ratio in countries where proper education and women's rights exist. One can only hope that this enlightenment will propagate across the world but it will be a long struggle. There's a brilliant interview with David Attenborough in the Independent where he mentions over-population as a huge problem. Unfortunately religion still has too big a say in what apparatus a man may or may not attach to his penis during coitus, and certainly too much say in whether or not a woman can resist his advances. People must throw off the shackles of oppression (sorry for sounding like Marx) if the crisis is to be averted.

Another big problem (and people REALLY won't like this) is materialism. This constant need to have 'things' in our lives, often things that confirm a status to the rest of the world as opposed to things we actually need, or things that bring us genuine pleasure. Panorama exposed the working conditions of Apple workers in Chinese factories, but that won't stop millions of people from turning into grinning simpletons when Mr Ives introduces the new iBollocks that darns your socks and wipes your arse, and costs about half a month's wages.

You could have course simply not spend that money. Much of the world's wealth is inherited and hoarded in all sorts of devious ways, but a lot of it is accumulated through the purchase of goods and services. And a lot of those goods and services are crap that bring people no happiness or pleasure, and merely fills an artificial void that society (through media, through peer pressure, through our own vanity) has created. "HAVING THIS SHINY NEW PRODUCT WILL MAKE YOU INCREDIBLY HAPPY AND POPULAR AND SOLVE MANY OF YOUR SOCIETAL PROBLEMS", the adverts proclaim. "WE WON'T MENTION THE JOY YOU MIGHT GET FROM HELPING OTHERS, BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOUR ETC BECAUSE THAT DOESN'T HELP US SELL OUR sh1t." And people fall for it. They fall for it because they're exactly as stupid, gullible and easy to manipulate as corporations, the media and the government want them to be. (Now I'm sounding like some horrible leftist twelve year old writing an angry blog post - I really am sorry.)

Political apathy is a huge problem. We can't keep handing all our money and power to the same old people, and expect them to suddenly develop a philanthropic streak. Never gonna happen. Systems will only change when the people stop working within them.

Ultimately all the power lies with the people. We mustn't underestimate the power we can wield simply by changing the way we vote, spend our money and live. Those in power will always try to convince the electorate that there's no alternative to the way things currently are; the truth is that the world is constantly changing. The lives that you or I live now are completely different to the lives that our grandparents lived, and their grandparents, and their grandparents.....

(and now I sound like Russell Brand. How much more can I apologise?)

The causes for this problem and the solutions to it range from the mind-thrashingly complex the amazingly simple.

Over-population is the big elephant in the room. Everybody needs food, jobs, transport. But there must come a point (and maybe it's already here) when there simply isn't enough to go around. Not enough jobs that need doing. Trees already stripped bare. Fortunately there has been a decline in the births to deaths ratio in countries where proper education and women's rights exist. One can only hope that this enlightenment will propagate across the world but it will be a long struggle. There's a brilliant interview with David Attenborough in the Independent where he mentions over-population as a huge problem. Unfortunately religion still has too big a say in what apparatus a man may or may not attach to his penis during coitus, and certainly too much say in whether or not a woman can resist his advances. People must throw off the shackles of oppression (sorry for sounding like Marx) if the crisis is to be averted.

Another big problem (and people REALLY won't like this) is materialism. This constant need to have 'things' in our lives, often things that confirm a status to the rest of the world as opposed to things we actually need, or things that bring us genuine pleasure. Panorama exposed the working conditions of Apple workers in Chinese factories, but that won't stop millions of people from turning into grinning simpletons when Mr Ives introduces the new iBollocks that darns your socks and wipes your arse, and costs about half a month's wages.

You could have course simply not spend that money. Much of the world's wealth is inherited and hoarded in all sorts of devious ways, but a lot of it is accumulated through the purchase of goods and services. And a lot of those goods and services are crap that bring people no happiness or pleasure, and merely fills an artificial void that society (through media, through peer pressure, through our own vanity) has created. "HAVING THIS SHINY NEW PRODUCT WILL MAKE YOU INCREDIBLY HAPPY AND POPULAR AND SOLVE MANY OF YOUR SOCIETAL PROBLEMS", the adverts proclaim. "WE WON'T MENTION THE JOY YOU MIGHT GET FROM HELPING OTHERS, BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOUR ETC BECAUSE THAT DOESN'T HELP US SELL OUR sh1t." And people fall for it. They fall for it because they're exactly as stupid, gullible and easy to manipulate as corporations, the media and the government want them to be. (Now I'm sounding like some horrible leftist twelve year old writing an angry blog post - I really am sorry.)

Political apathy is a huge problem. We can't keep handing all our money and power to the same old people, and expect them to suddenly develop a philanthropic streak. Never gonna happen. Systems will only change when the people stop working within them.

Ultimately all the power lies with the people. We mustn't underestimate the power we can wield simply by changing the way we vote, spend our money and live. Those in power will always try to convince the electorate that there's no alternative to the way things currently are; the truth is that the world is constantly changing. The lives that you or I live now are completely different to the lives that our grandparents lived, and their grandparents, and their grandparents.....

(and now I sound like Russell Brand. How much more can I apologise?)

Brilliant post.

Very good points well made , Andrew. How to get more than the approx 40% to turn and vote is the question. Compulsory voting perhaps? Might cultivate a little more interest in politics.

Otherwise it could be said you get the government you deserve.

65% turnout at the last election, but that's still not good enough. The problem is that people don't see a visible difference between the main players, and that their votes don't seem to make a difference. Compare that to 85-odd percent who voted in the Yes/No referendum in Scotland.

65% turnout at the last election, but that's still not good enough. The problem is that people don't see a visible difference between the main players, and that their votes don't seem to make a difference. Compare that to 85-odd percent who voted in the Yes/No referendum in Scotland.

I agree, 65% isn't really good enough for the "mother of all parliaments" but to be fair though Quinny, the Scottish vote was for an irreversible decision, not one which can change every 5 years. There was much more at stake. Frankly I was surprised it was "only" 85%.

You inserted the sentence 'That's all right then. I am OK so why should I care' within my original post. I don't think I've ever seen that on here. Extremely patronising.

Oh and like you've never heard a bit of bad language in your life... poor lamb. I take it you've never been in a pub in Balham then. Or out of the house for that matter.

You sound like the sort of person who on the Guardian for their entire worldview but does precisely sod all to help their fellow man.

I see what I did there. Over-estimated the intelligence of 1 or 2 on here. Anybody with an ounce of common sense would know that the highlighted comment was added in by somebody else. That obviously excludes you.
Anyway, conveniently for you it helped to avoid the fact that you were talking nonsense re equality wasn't it? The more informed/educated(and less abusive) are well aware that inequality has been rising in the UK and elsewhere since the 70's.
Your follow up comments show you up to be a thoroughly unpleasant, childish and ignorant individual.