Dave Darby
Do you consider yourself left-wing or right-wing, and does it matter any more?
Do you label yourself ‘left’ or ‘right’, or somewhere in the middle? Do you think the Labour party in the UK or the Democrats in the US, are left-wing parties? Or do you have only a vague idea about what those labels mean? Read more
We have a huge housing problem, and yet they want to destroy Charlie’s home; you can help
This blog is about the house that Charlie and Meg built. It’s a straw-bale roundhouse with a reciprocal roof, built in the countryside where they grew up. The exterior can be seen above, the interior below, with Charlie, Meg and sprog in the middle. Read more
Who runs the world?
It’s widely believed that we have democracies in the West. We’d like that to be the case, but it’s not – because ultimate power is corporate, not political. By ultimate power, we mean the ability to control the direction in which humanity moves. Read more
BBC: ‘Only by increasing productivity can we improve the quality of our lives’. Do you agree?
It’s a quote from an economist invited in to comment about the UK economy on the BBC World Service earlier this week (it doesn’t matter who – this is a point that virtually all economists agree on, to the shame of the discipline). Read more
It’s not possible to demonise people any more, in the age of the internet
Western populations have to kept in a state of fear, so that weapons corporations can continue to make huge profits. People of America – this is your latest enemy: Read more
Opportunity for low-impact person in the Loire valley
We’ve been approached by a very nice man called Rod Harper, who has never used a computer in his life, and so asked us for help in finding someone to rent his property in the Loire Valley. Read more
Could you explain Mercantilism, if you were asked?
If you were asked, could you describe Mercantilism? I dare say you could have a good go at Capitalism and Feudalism. But Mercantilism? And is it worth finding out? I think it is, because it tells us a lot about the system we live under now Read more
Can we have multinational corporations and democracy?
Up until this moment in human history, power has always been abused. By ‘power’ I mean ‘the ability to make decisions that affect the direction in which humanity moves’. Ultimate power in other words, rather than local power. Read more
How do you begin with philosophy?
To get started with philosophy, I think you need three things: a) some idea of where we are – to know what solar systems and galaxies are, and to have a vague idea of how many there are Read more
The top ten economic growth myths
Are you tired of the lazy assumption on Newsnight, the Today programme and in the news media that economic growth is what’s required to solve all of our problems? It’s the Holy Grail, that-which-cannot-be-questioned, from Evan Davies to Jeremy Paxman. Read more
Sneaky marketing: heads-up for anyone with an online presence
Here’s the incomparably wonderful Bill Hicks on marketing. If you don’t know him, just put his name into YouTube. You’re in for a treat. Read more
Re-skilling vs distributism: how to turn ‘do-it-yourself’ into small businesses
Hi all, Lowimpact.org has been all about re-skilling since we started in 2001, and we’ve gained a big audience through that. I was sitting on a bus in London last year, looking down at people in the street in Brixton Read more
Distributism – an idea whose time has come?
Here’s an idea that I’d like to see gain some ground in 2014 – it’s called distributism. It’s a practical rather than a spiritual idea, but really, I think that some sort of distributism has to happen before we can think about developing spiritually as a species. Read more
Our award for most misleading and mendacious article of 2013 goes to MoneyWeek’s ‘End of Britain’
You may have seen a sensationalist video called ‘the End of Britain’ that’s been doing the rounds throughout 2013. It’s a flashy, authoritative-looking video, and well it should be, as it’s produced by MoneyWeek Magazine Read more
This is how ‘development’ works – from a low-impact perspective & as reported in the corporate press
This is how ‘development’ works. NB: you can substitute any rich country for Germany, and any poor country for Zambia. In the boardroom of a global corporation in Germany, the following conversation takes place: Read more
Transition is a middle class movement: so what?
I believe that it’s important, but in a positive rather than a negative way. Let me explain. Would you prefer to live in a vibrant community or a dull one? If you’d prefer to live in a dull one, then don’t bother reading any further. Read more
How my cat taught me that nature is merciless
Here’s my cat – Keith. He looks cute, doesn’t he? But actually, he’s a killer. I’ve seen him torture things for his amusement – he wasn’t hungry and he didn’t want them to die quickly (less fun). Read more
Why Owen Paterson is wrong about GM food
Owen Paterson, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, said today that environmentalists who oppose GM food are ‘wicked’. This is why he is wrong. Read more
Do you think you live in a democracy?
You can’t change anything by voting. Or, as Emma Goldman put it: ‘if voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal’. Politicians can rearrange deckchairs but they can’t steer the ship away from the iceberg Read more
Is there such a thing as progress?
Here’s a blog I recently came across, by the ‘Archdruid’ – his argument is that the concept of ‘progress’ is now defunct and that science is just another story – a myth amongst many others that attempt to explain the universe. Read more