Culture - March

Books Read:

The Invisible Committee - 'The Coming Insurrection' (non-fiction)
John Milton - 'Paradise Lost'
Adam Smith - 'Wealth of Nations' (non-fiction)
Neil McCormick - 'I Was Bono's Doppelgänger' (non-fiction)

This month I waded through the classic economic text 'Wealth of Nations' by Adam Smith; a challenging and absorbing tract that stands as a cornerstone of Enlightenment thinking and one from which society, often unwittingly, still draws influence.

Whilst some of the sections relating to the merits of agriculture over mercantilist policies suffer from an arcane dryness, there are some wonderfully clear-minded expositions as to the historical nature of feudal systems, trade agreements, the folly of colonialisation, the division of labour, and of money itself.

Whilst often being cited as a pivotal text in the promotion of free market economics, international trade and the movement of people, Smith is equally unambiguous regarding the negative influence of monopolies and the balance of trade falling disproportionately in the favour of affordable foreign imports. In this sense, at times it almost reads as a book seeking to legitimise left wing anarcho-syndicalist ideals as opposed to the modern age in which capital is employed chiefly in the creation of yet more capital for those few of plenty to keep from the many in want.

I was particularly struck by the following quote, that even after the 238 years since 1776, stands as a cynosure of appositeness:

'Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defence of rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all...'


Films Watched:

'Hannah and her Sisters' (Woody Allen)
'Her' (Spike Jonze) (at the Ritzy Picturehouse, Brixton)
'Quartet' (Dustin Hoffman)
'Under the Skin' (Jonathan Glazer) (at the Ritzy Picturehouse, Brixton)
'Sleepless in Seattle' (Nora Ephron)


Albums Played:

The Men - 'Tomorrow's Hits'
Eagulls - 'Eagulls'
Temples - 'Sun Structures'
Real Estate - 'Atlas'
Goat - 'World Music'
Elbow - 'The Take Off and Landing of Everything'
The Concretes - 'The Concretes'
Liars - 'Mess'
Foster the People - 'Supermodel'
Nine Inch Nails - 'Things Falling Apart'
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - 'B.R.M.C.'
Band of Skulls - 'Himalayan'
Mica Levi - 'Under the Skin' (soundtrack)


Gigs Attended:

Cassels + Escapists at The Shacklewell Arms, Dalston