Beaver
Issue 855 | 4.10.16
the
Newspaper of the LSE Students’ Union
LSE Sweeps Cleaning Staff Problems Under the Rug Taryana Odayar Executive Editor LAST THURSDAY THE 29TH of October, an open meeting ‘Justice for LSE Cleaners!’ was held at the Thai Theatre in LSE’s New Academic Building, and was attended by LSE students, staff, trade unionists and journalists. The meeting was organised by United Voices of the World (UVW), a grassroots, independent trade union which represents low-paid migrant workers across London, and whose members are mostly cleaning staff. LSE’s current cleaning and ancillary services are outsourced to Ireland-based Noonan Group, which was first established in 1977 to provide contract cleaning services to a growing Irish public and private sector. The provisions of the contract between LSE and Noonan are outlined on the LSE website, “This contract represents a significant investment by the LSE to maintain and raise standards in FM (Facilities Management) service provision across the LSE main campus. Servicing is now provided 6am – 10pm Monday to Sunday and includes servicing of teaching rooms, meeting rooms and lecture theatres. Servicing of many conferences and events up to certain size will also be included within the scope of the contract. Day-to-day onsite management of all facets of the cleaning and ancillary services are provided in partnership by the Estates Division FM Team and resource group Service Delivery Managers (SDMs). They work shifts providing cover for the full working day including weekends.” The demands of the cleaners, who say they have been treated like “second class people” and “the dirt we clean”, are quite straightforward. They are asking that all outsourced staff receive parity of pay and terms and conditions of employment in line with those received by inhouse staff. Although the LSE outsources its cleaning staff from Noonan, the school still holds significant responsibility for the wellbeing of its cleaning staff,
as well as considerable influence over the terms and conditions of employment that Noonan provides to the cleaners working on the LSE campus. According to UVW, the cleaners are paid the London Living Wage of £9.40 per hour, but only have statutory minimum holidays, sick pay and pension contributions, compared to the more generous terms in-house LSE staff benefit from. The cleaners receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), which means they do not get paid for the first 3 days they are ill, and only get paid from the 4th consecutive day receiving £88.45 per week. Therefore, they usually opt to work even while sick so as to avoid losing income, whereas in-house staff receive occupational sick pay which entitles those who have 5 years of service under their belt to receive their full salary for 6 months, and half their salary for 6 months a year. As for Annual Leave, the cleaners get 28 days paid annual leave including bank holidays, whereas in-house staff get up to 40 days paid annual leave including bank holidays and university closures. When it comes to Pensions, the cleaners receive 1% contribution from their employer, with in-house staff receiving up to 16% contribution. Whilst UVW has taken the fight to the LSE and made a public stand on the issue, Unison remains the official Union representative of the LSE cleaners, and will be putting forward a formal claim as the representative of the cleaners in a forthcoming meeting between Unison, Noonan and the LSE this week. At the open meeting, several LSE cleaners testified to the discriminatory and unfair treatment they have received under their employer Noonan. Victoria Rojas disclosed that the cleaning staff do not have a room to eat or change their clothes in, and have been given specific instructions not to use the library lifts between the 4th and 5th floors. As Rojas is stationed in the library, she says she has to carry all of her cleaning products
between these floors without using the lifts. Mildred Simpson, a cleaning Supervisor who has been working at the LSE since 2001, says that whereas earlier she would supervise Tower 1 for 2 hours, she has now been tasked with supervising St Clements, Cowdray and Lakatos for the same 2 hours, basically doing the job of 3 people. Another member of the cleaning staff, Earney Williams, stated that “Noonan Managers are very incompetent” and that, “Since Noonan came in, its just been rubbish, rubbish, rubbish.” She added that the Managers display favoritism to certain staff, and have even asked the cleaners have been asked to do plumbing work in the past. Kinkeba Makanda Iwimbi said that the discrimination and injustice occurring on campus extends from the LSE Manager to the Noonan Manager. “How would you feel if you are in our shoes?”, he asked at the meeting, adding, “I didn’t choose to be a cleaner. Its just circumstances.” The testimonies clearly struck a raw nerve with those in the room, particularly a group of male cleaners standing at the back, who looked visibly distraught while listening to their colleagues’
Interviews
Dame Vivienne Westwood Page 16
testimonies. Some of them were even crying. Most worrying perhaps, is the case of Alba Pasmino, a cleaning Supervisor who worked at the LSE for 10 years but was made redundant on Tuesday the 27th of September, and told that Friday the 30th would be her last day. In a letter received by Alba from Noonan in August 2016, she was told that Noonan would be cutting down the number of Supervisors from 18 to 13, and restructuring the role to that of ‘Team Leader.’ The letter stated, “Having reviewed the Supervisor structure within the LSE, the nature of the contract and the roles and responsibilities of all employees assigned to this contract, and taking into account how we can best deliver a more efficient service to our client and the public, we propose the removal of the supervisory function and the introduction of a Team Lead function of 13 Team Leads. Regrettably we therefore propose the loss of 5 of the current Supervisor roles at the LSE.” When Pasmino was informed last Tuesday that she was one of the Supervisors being made redundant, she asked if she could apply for the Team Leader position instead, but was told that the application deadline for the
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Photo Credit: Peter Marshall & UVW
role had already passed. The only other role available was that of Cleaner, which she could not take up due to an occupational incident in 2012 when she contracted hand Dermatitis, and so she was made redundant. Cleaning staff are especially prone to contracting occupationrelated Dermatitis, and a report by Nottingham University’s Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology lists 80% of work-related skin disease as being contact Dermatitis (THOR-GP data). Speaking about the incident, Pasmino said that the cleaners are exposed to strong chemicals, and that the skin on her hands was severely damaged as a result of using these chemicals in 2012, with her condition worsening significantly in 2014. As a result, her skin started peeling off and she developed a bad case of Dermatitis, which meant that she couldn’t work for several months. Pasmino started taking medication such as cell regenerating cream which was prescribed by a Doctor so that she could continue working, as she said neither Noonan nor LSE provided her with any form of support.
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From the Executive Editor Spring Cleaning Anyone? Taryana Odayar LAST WEEK, I ATTENDED the open meeting organised by the United Voices of the World (UVW) trade union which was held in support of the LSE Cleaners. The cleaners are directly employed by Noonan Services Group, to whom the LSE has outsourced its cleaning contract. A number of pressing concerns were raised at the meeting, pertaining to a pernicious culture of discrimination and maltreatment, as well as the recent round of redundancies initated by Noonan, which UVW intends to take to both the LSE management and Noonan. Some of you may recall the pivotal role UVW played in the successful reinstatement of the ‘LSE 3’ last year, which befits UVW’s history of organising and pushing for improvements in the working lives of their members. In fact, earlier this year, UVW organised what was touted by the media as the longest strike in the city of London, and the longest strike by an entirely migrant workforce in the UK. Migrant workers undertook a record 58 days of strike action at 100, Wood Street, against Thames Cleaning and Support Services, after claiming that over half of their workforce had been fired without justification. The fact that Thames had also refused
to pay the cleaners the London Living Wage added fuel to the fire, and the strike only ended when Thames agreed to resolve the issues with the cleaners as well as pay them the minimum wage. The LSE cleaners are therefore not alone in their struggle for increased support and recognition of their services in what seems to be a be a spring of uprisings by cleaning staff against corporate giants in London. Just last week, the cleaning staff from Virgin Trains said that they may go on strike over fears of losing their jobs. Virgin, like the LSE, has contracted out its cleaning services, but to French multinational Alstom as part of a facilities contract. Alstom, in turn, have subbed the cleaning to Voith Industrial Service, which has proposed to cut dozens of jobs adding up to the equivalent of 37 full-time roles, resulting in a 15% drop in the number of staff according to the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union. More deeply-rooted problems such as the poor treatment of cleaning staff also seem to be an issue across the board and are symptomatic of a wider management and contract outsourcing katzenjammer. A rail union spokesman recently stated that the cleaning staff on Virgin West Coast trains, which
include the Liverpool to London route, are “treated like dirt”, and described, “...the nightmare, complex world of contractors and sub-contractors” which cleaning staff employed within the private sector have to put up with. But what legal measures are open to employees who feel wronged by these conglomerates, especially in cases where the terms of their employment restrict them from taking class action? Well, Hillary Clinton (of all people!) may have an answer to that. By the time this goes to print, Clinton will have revealed her plan to curb mandatory arbitration clauses that require consumers, employees and other individuals to resolve legal disputes in private arbitration proceedings instead of in courts. If elected on November 8th, the Democratic nominee will make it easier for claims to be pursued on behalf of a class of similarly siuated individuals as opposed to on an individual basis, as the latter makes it extortionately expensive to take legal action. Clinton is expected to target Wells Fargo specifically during her scheduled speech in Ohio, as the bank’s employees notoriously opened as many as 2 million checking, savings and credit card accounts without their customers’ permission in order to meet sales quotas. Earlier this month, Wells
Fargo reached a $190 million settlement with federal regulators to settle their customer fraud dispute, with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau receiving an unprecedented $100 million of the total sum, in the largest fine ever levied by the agency. Bringing these issues full circle, I recently came across a poem published by UVW on social media about the plight of the LSE cleaners which I particularly enjoyed. So until next week, I shall leave you with this as food for thought. “We are not the dirt we clean, We have standards, They are mean, They are wrong, We are right, Cleaners of the world unite! We are many, They are few, They are wrong in what they do, We’re ready to stand and fight, Cleaners of the world unite! We love justice, They love gold, They are cowards, We are bold, Victory is in our sight, Cleaners of the world unite! LSE don’t turn away, Listen to the words we say, Outsourcing won’t work please see the light, Cleaners of the world unite!
From the Managing Editor Ain’t Nobody Got Time(Tables) For That! Greg Sproston ONE WEEK INTO TERM AND my freshers’ week optimism has given way to the comfortable and familiar frustration that comes with being an LSE student. The cause? The school’s hallmark blinding bureaucratic incompetence. I was badly premature when I rejoiced about timetables last week; I no longer have one because I have a clash that lasts for precisely 30 minutes for a single week. Others are less fortunate still, a number of core IR 3rd modules clash, and a couple of people have claimed
that some compulsory philosophy modules clash. To add insult to injury, a class I attended last week included 3 King’s students who were taking the module as their outside choice; they got their timetables a month ago meaning that either the LSE timetables department is prioritising King’s over their own university, or the timetables were made in advance but, for whatever reason, they didn’t release them until the first day of term resulting in students engaging
in a mad scramble to try and get their clashes sorted out in a timely fashion. It beggars belief that we’ve encountered these problems for a second year running. The timetables department have 4 members of staff and ample time to prepare for the start of the academic year, and after the absolute shambles that unfolded in MT 15/16 it’s reasonable to think that lessons would have been learned. The annual timetable farce is
fast on its way to becoming a well established LSE tradition, and it handily exposes the gaping chasm between the school’s rhetoric and its action on quality and student experience. The £11m investment on teaching and learning over the next three years (a miserly sum of around £350 per student at LSE - hardly breaking the bank considering the fees we pay) is all but pointless if students cannot even access their teaching and learning due to unacceptable administrative blunders.
News | 3
Continued from front page.. Taryana Odayar Executive Editor
“Noonan are making the redundancies but the idea to make the Supervisors redundant was agreed with the LSE before Noonan won the contract.” Indeed, details from accounts filed by Noonan which were published by the Irish Independent News showed a surge in revenue from €203m to €303m in 2015. Group CEO John O’Donoghue stated at the time that, “Strong organic growth coupled with full year impact of a prior year acquisition helped revenues to exceed €300m for the first time in our history.” This acquisition presumably refers to that of Noonan acquiring LSE’s formerly outsourced cleaning contractor, Northern Ireland-based Resource Services Group, in September 2014. Just last year, the Noonan
“ The new International Inequalities Institute seeks to understand ‘why inequalities are escalating in numerous arenas around the world.’ They need look no further than the way LSE treats its outsourced workers.” Group enjoyed operating profits of €12m compared to €7.6m in 2014. However, the number of employees at the group rose last year from 6,812 to 7,125, and staff costs reportedly went up from €118.93m to €140.68m. Mr Elia further stated that, “Noonan are making the redundancies but the idea to make these Supervisors redundant was agreed with the LSE before Noonan won the contract. That was told to me by the Director of Noonan here at the LSE. This was in the terms of the contract given to Noonan that they would restructure the Supervisors’ positions. The cleaners here have never sought to organise themselves and enter into a Union or campaigned or demanded anything, but simply put up with it. And they’ve put up with it for too long.” An LSE Estates Facilities Management newsletter dated January 2016, announcing the successful retendering of the Cleaning contract to Noonan, seems to support the claim that Noonan and LSE agreed to the budget cuts beforehand, “The Cleaning contract for the first time was a combined Main Campus and Halls of Residence undertaking, this resulted in an award being made to one cleaning contractor and their tenure will commence as of 1st February 2016. This has made a significant saving of £250k to the cleaning budget across campus. The successful contractor was the incumbent main campus contractor, Noonan.” Speaking to The Beaver, MSc Programmes Manager at LSE’s Department of Media and Communications, Michael Etheridge, stated that, “LSE is a wealthy institution – we have a surplus of £168 million, and our Director’s salary is £381, 000 (plus benefits!). It is inexcusable that such inequality of working terms and conditions exists between inhouse and outsourced staff. We are one LSE community, and every
member of staff deserves the same dignity and respect. We claim to be committed as an organisation to the values of equality, diversity and inclusion, and yet my colleagues in Cleaning Services are largely invisible, regularly disrespected and ignored. This must end now. The new International Inequalities Institute seeks to understand ‘why inequalities are escalating in numerous arenas around the world’. They need look no further than the way LSE treats its outsourced workers.” In response to The Beaver’s request for an official statement from the school, a spokesperson for the LSE stated that, “LSE has been in constructive conversations with both Noonan and Unison to help set up discussions on pay and terms and conditions for Noonan-contracted staff. The School will continue to be part of the conversation with Noonan and Unison about employment matters for all the relevant staff members, and looks forward to working with Unison as the officially recognised union for our cleaning staff.” When The Beaver pressed the LSE for more details in follow up emails, we were told that discussions about establishing Unison as the official union to represent the cleaners on campus at LSE have been taking place for a number of weeks, and that the School has also agreed to join Noonan and Unison at what are likely to be quarterly negotiation and consultation meetings. This is intended to be a three-way partnership to provide a forum to discuss employment matters, while recognising that the proper employment relationship is between Noonan and their staff, who are represented by Unison. Details of this new partnership arrangement are likely to be confirmed within the next fortnight. General Secretary Busayo Twins also attended the open meeting on Thursday, and speaking to The Beaver afterwards said that, “There is no doubt that there has been an injustice, regardless of who we point fingers to. As one of the cleaners rightly said, “we are all human beings” and nobody should feel like they are worthless and unprotected by those who should be safeguarding them. For me personally, I have come to see many of the cleaners as family having built a rapport with them as an undergraduate here. They do more than just clean; they encourage and support students. As the General Secretary, I am adamant to use my platform and student networks to campaign with them. We are an LSE community and if any one of us is maltreated then we should all feel obliged to come to their defence. The founders of LSE, the Fabian society, built these walls to contribute to the ‘betterment of society’ – so let’s do them justice and first, work for the betterment of the cleaners!” The Beaver contacted Noonan directly for a statement but did not receive a response.
Section Editor: Joseph Briers Deputy Editor: Bhadra Sreejith
News
The Beaver tried to contact LSE Director of Facilities Management Allan Blair last Friday at his office on No.1 Kingsway, but were turned away very rudely by the Head of Admin and PA to the Estates Director, Mandy Hooker, who repeatedly stated that Mr Blair would be unavailable all afternoon, and that none of the other staff in Facilities Management would be able to speak to us. The undeserved hostility and immediacy with which we were met, despite having visited the offices only to obtain LSE’s side of the story, points to a more serious concern on the LSE Facilities Management’s lack of transparency and unwillingness to cooperate with the rest of the LSE community. Indeed, if this is the way the FM and Estates staff treat LSE students, one can only imagine how they treat the LSE cleaners. Despite being told by Mrs Hooker that Mr Blair would be unavailable all afternoon, later in the day Mr Blair found time to meet with The Beaver at the reception of No. 1 Kingsway, along with the Head of Facilities, Mr Chris Allister. Mr Blair stated that the LSE would be facilitating discussions between Noonan and Unison this week on the terms and conditions of the LSE cleaners’ contracts. He further stated that the United Voices of the World Union is not recognised by the school, although The Beaver recalls that UVW played a pivotal role in the successful reinstatement campaign for the ‘LSE 3’ cleaners (Henry, Earney and Kingsley) earlier this year, who were fired without notice pay for leaving work an hour early on a Saturday evening, having worked through their lunch breaks and completed all of their tasks. Hence, although the school is unwilling to recognise UVW, it is clear that they have certainly taken note of it as well as the bad publicity brought about as a result of UVW’s campaigning efforts. When questioned on Pasmino’s redundancy and chemical exposure, Mr Blair initially refused to comment, but then stated that the LSE had asked Noonan for clarification on the nature of her redundancy, although he said he was unaware of her medical condition as a result of chemical exposure. However, in an LSE Estates Division letter written by Mr Blair dated 13th December 2011, there is a reference to the chemicals that were newly introduced to the cleaning staff in 2012. The letter is titled, ‘Appointment of new cleaning contractor: Resource Group’, and announces Resource Group (which was later acquired by Noonan in 2014) as LSE’s cleaning contractor commencing 3rd January 2012. The letter details that the Academic Planning and Resources Committee (APRC), “have tasked Estates to review the
specification of the service, to drive down costs and ensure value for money… Other new technology coming on line includes chemical dosing systems that will reduce consumable usage and cost, and an ionized water solution that is environmentally friendly and will further reduce chemical usage across the LSE campus.” Noonan has been awarded the OHSAS 18001 certification, which is an international occupational health and safety standard which sets out the minimum requirements for identifying and controlling health and safety risks, reducing the potential for accidents, as well as aiding legal compliance. Speaking to The Beaver on the ongoing redundancies, General Secretary of United Voices of the World, Petros Elia, stated that, “In a completely unnecessary moneysaving mechanism, Noonan has just decided to sack five supervisors. I actually spoke really frankly to the Director of Noonan who works here on site (Noonan Account Director, Richard Seddon) and I said to him, what is this all about? You know that there’s no business need for this and you’re just trying to save money, and the consequences will be terrible for those who lose their jobs, and those who don’t lose their jobs will have a greater workload than before. And he said, yeah, its just about saving money. They’re not even making a pretence about this being a necessary restructuration or necessary re-organisation of the way the cleaning is done. Its just thinking, how can we save some money, yeah take it off the cleaners and the supervisors, they’re easy to sack.”
4
| Tuesday 04 October, 2016
Women Make Up Less than a quarter of Top Ear ners, New LSE Study Discovers
Cerri Jenkins Post Graduate Student
DESPITE RECENT PROGRESS, the higher echelons of income remain largely inaccessible to women, who make up less than a quarter of the top one percent of earners according to a new ‘High Income’ study conducted by LSE’s International Inequalities Institute. In a report which marked the first time researchers investigated the gender composition of those with top earnings from all sources, not just from earnings, Tony Atkinson (Oxford University and LSE), Alessandra Casarico (Bocconi University, Milan) and Sarah Voitchovsky (Graduate Institute, Geneva and University of Melbourne) studied eight countries, using tax data from the 1980s and earlier. They found it crucial to look not only at the gender gap in terms of pay, but to also take into account other kinds of income such as interest and dividends. The study showed that, although the presence of women in the top ten percent of earners has generally increased over time, the speed of the fall in the presence of women moving from the
top to the very top has become more marked – there appears to be a ‘glass ceiling’ at the very top. Indeed, they found that women are less than a third of those in the top 10% in all countries, and less than a quarter of the top 1%. The UK has the lowest of the six countries that can be compared, with only 9% of women in the top 0.1%. However, the share of women in the top 10% and 1% in the UK has risen since the 1990s. Speaking at LSE, Alessandra Casarico said: “Women now make up more of the top income groups, but they still are a distinct minority and they become rarer the higher one climbs. Composition of income is important: In the old days, the rich were those with property; they have been replaced by CEOs and entrepreneurs, among whom women are not well represented.” Sarah Voitchovsky and Alessandra Casarico presented their work at an International Inequalities Institute seminar on Tuesday 27 September 2016.
Students Launch the LSE’s First Ever Policy Society Dan Shears Features Editor FOR TOO LONG THERE HAS been a gap in the LSE society marketplace. Most of you will know that the motto of the LSE, adopted in 1922, is rerum cognoscere causas - “to know the causes of things”. This axiom became the basis for the infamous LSE100 course (Freshers beware), but more fundamentally should be the apogee of any university. The whole point of academia is to understand why things happen, and use this knowledge to improve the world we live in. While this may sound rather grandiose, this is ultimately the goal of any
academic institution; the research which emulates from world class establishments such as the LSE is directed towards making our society a better place to live in. We harness knowledge, and then we act upon it. In this way, as Foucault postulated, knowledge really is power. Therefore, it is odd that, up until now, the LSE student body has no society which aims so directly to pursue this quest for knowledge and truth, and by extension embody the motto of the school. In a political climate increasingly dominated by populist rhetoric on both the right and the left, our times are increasingly reminiscent of the maxim espoused by Guardian founder C.P.Scott: “comment
is free, but facts are sacred”. Policy must be based on evidence, research and truth, not vacuous slogans or vague value-statements. This is the bedrock upon which the LSE SU Policy Society is founded. It’s ultimate aim is to translate the ideas which emanate from the student body of the LSE into credible, compendious and substantiated policy proposals for real-world implementation. The society strives to contribute, in a refreshing and intelligent way, to the fight against an all-talk-and-no-substance politics, and towards a rational, nuanced and evidence-based political discourse, in which experts and academics are more deeply and actively integrated into the policy
making process. The Policy Society will host regular events and speakers to give talks on a wide breadth on topics. Regular socials will necessitate political indulgence and possibly moderate social debauchery, whilst biweekly meetings will revolve around committee meetings, to work towards the publication of termly policy reports, culminating in a summative annual journal. We are still open for memberships so join now! We want a diverse, passionate and motivated membership who believe in the power of academic research to improve the decisions our parliamentary representatives make. So if you want to make a dif-
ference, if you want your name on a published policy journal, and if you, ultimately, believe students have the power and the ability to shape the future of this country, and potentially other countries across the globe, then join the LSE SU Policy Society today, to be a part of the process. We believe that the most challenging problems require the most innovative solutions, and what more suitable a place than the London School of Economics, an international hub for academic research excellence and renowned for the assiduous ambition of its students. If you’ve got ideas, interests and a want to make a difference, then look no further than here.
News | 5
Brexit Brain-Drain: Fears up to 15% of Academics May Leave Following EU Ref Joseph Briers News Editor
UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING research funding and a wider climate of antiimmigrant rhetoric and xenophobia following the EU referendum is fuelling fears of an unprecedented exodus of academics from UK Universities. According to new research from the Ger man academic organisation the DAAD, 15% of academics currently working in the UK may leave their posts for similar positions abroad if the gover nment does not maintain a comparably liberal standard of free movement of people to that presently enjoyed by EU citizens. DAAD chief, Margret Winter mantel, writing in the Guardian, said - “The mobility of researchers should not be restricted, either for British academics in EU countries or EU citizens at British institutions…It is now up to the British gover nment to create the necessary framework to ensure this can
happen.” The news comes as many British universities consider opening EU campuses or EU-based research centres in order to access European students and funding. Among those thought to be exploring such options include the University of Buckingham (rumoured to be setting up shop in Budapest or Sarajevo), and the Russell Group pair Cardiff and Exeter. Various European exchange schemes, including Erasmus, are thought to be under threat as the UK posits a life outside the European Union, something Winter mantel describes as potentially “catastrophic”. Only Ger many currently receives more EU research funding than the UK. The nation has benefitted from over £8 billion in grants and projects in the last decade alone, and whilst the gover nment has looked to assuage concer ns by promising to provide similar levels of financial support, many fear that this will be insufficient to maintain the UK’s status as a world-class
location for academia and research. The University of Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor, Louise Richardson, told the BBC: “Our concer n is that
“The mobility of researchers should not be restricted, either for British or EU Citizens... It is now up to the government to create the necesary framework...” our academics who are at Oxford might decide to leave if they are concer ned that they may not be able to get their research funded in the future. There are many universities in the world who would be thrilled to have them and who are approaching them and are asking them if they would
retur n to their universities instead.” In an effort to quell such fears, the Education Select Committee has been assigned a new brief to consider the implications of Brexit for British universities and provide potential solutions to help maintain the UK’s inter national standing in the field. Chair of the committee, Neil Car michael MP, said, “There are fears that Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union will have a negative impact on higher education. Concer ns range from being able to attract the brightest students from across Europe to making sure UK universities maintain their places among the world’s best. The education committee is keen to hear from university leaders, academics, students and others, as we examine the opportunities for higher education postBrexit and consider what the gover nment’s priorities should be for the sector going into the negotiations with the EU.”
News In Brief ‘Beaver’ Makes Ofcom’s ‘Most Offensive’ List (WARNING: contains material some may find offensive). The word ‘Beaver’ has made a star turn on the communication standards agency’s hit list of offensive words, being nominated in the ‘Strong words’ category. Despite being a noble, much-loved institution of student journalism, the Beaver has found itself unfairly slandered - forced to mingle with the likes of ‘bastard’ and ‘knob’ in the ‘stronger words’ category. The survey canvassed the opinion of approximately 200 people on 150 different words. Naturally, we the Beaver wish to apologise profusely for plastering highly offensive material across campus on a weekly basis.
Ancient Chinese Skeleton Dating from Roman Era Found Near Bankside A centuries-old Chinese skeleton, thought to date back to times when Romans strolled this city’s streets, has been discovered in a Southwark Cemetery. Just a stone’s throw from LSE Halls of Residence Bankside House, the body is a vital piece of evidence in learning more about Roman-Asian trade along the Silk Road trading path. Dr Rebecca Redfern, curator of Human Osteology at the Museum of London, told Radio 4’s the World at One: “This is absolutely phenomenal. This is the first time in Roman Britain we’ve identified people with Asian ancestry and only the 3rd or 4th in the empire as a whole”.
New LSE partnership with UN Special Rapporteur LSE has joined forces with the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Dr Dubravka Šimonovic, as part of a new partnership overseen by the Centre for Women, Peace and Security. Head of the CWPS, Professor Christine Chinkin, said: ““We are all at the Centre delighted to have the opportunity to directly inform and support Dr Šimonovic’s important work on violence against women.” Both academic staff and postgraduate students at the LSE will be working to support Dr Šimonovic at the UN.
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| Tuesday 04 October, 2016
London Happenings: Things to do This Week in the Capital Aya Allam Post Graduate Student TO THOSE WHO ARE RECOVERING from fresher’s week (it seems Fresher’s flu is making the rounds again), those who are settling into London and figuring out the transportation (it gets easier, I promise), and to those already in the library studying, I hope you can all take a break and use this week to explore all the fun things happening in and around London, which include exhibitions (Frieze is back again!), interactive experiences, and exhibitions and parties. Monday 3rd October: London Cocktail Week : Anyone who considers themselves to be alcohol, more specifically cocktail, connoisseurs or those just wanting to try out funky drinks in a number of bars around London, or perhaps itching to join in master-classes from renowned bartenders, will find this event extremely interesting. Various locations around London, running all week, £10 festival pass.
Law, Michael Palin, and many others, but the line-up and, to add to the drama, the letters are always kept secret until your arrival. Covent Garden, 7:30 pm (running until Saturday), from £40.
Tuesday 4th October: Letters Live: It’s pretty much as theatrical an experience as one can get: enjoying the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch and Sir Ian McKellen read emotive, historical letters. This extremely popular event hosted 3 times a year, is known to be an extremely emotional experience (the letters can sometimes be quite heartbreaking). This year’s performers include Jude
Southbank Yoga class a classical Orchestra.
Peckham, 11am-5pm all weekend, free. 1066 Pop-Up Encampment: For those British history fanatics amongst you, an enactment of the Battle of Hastings (using vegetables) will be occurring in Lon-
Christie’s Lates: For those who are interested to see exactly what Christie’s has in it’s rooms (and for those who do not know Christie’s, they are one of the biggest auction and private sales companies in the world), world famous auction house is opening its doors to the public and allowing them to sneak a peek inside, and attend specialist talks. This seems like a nice event to wonder at expensive and rare objects. South Kensington, 6pm8:30pm, free. Bring your own mats and yoga outfits as there are no changing facilities or mats provided. Southbank, 7:30am, free. Bogan Bingo: Not your average bingo night, I can assure you of that. A fun, Australian Bingo night that is filled with fun prizes, 80’s rock music, and a night you’re bound to remember. Each night is different and crazy in its own sense, and it is highly recommended for those for those who are interested in an extremely chaotic but fun night out. Fulham, 6pm, £9.
Wednesday 5th October: Fire! Fire!: An interactive exhibition that highlights London before and after the Great Fire of 1666. See how the fire started, and discover the personal stories of Londoners who lived through this horrifying historical ordeal. Barbican, 10-6pm, £8.
The Story of the Banknote : In honour of the new £5 note, the Bank of England is hosting an exhibition on the history of paper money, which extends from the Ming Dynasty to Nazi forgeries. Centuriesworth of artwork and interesting stories relating to the history of money will be shown throughout this week. Bank, 10am5pm, free.
of physical relaxation, the Centre is hosting an outdoor on their River Terrace, with soundtrack performed by an
Friday 7th October: The Campfire Club: An event where you get to gather around a fire, listen to stories, and sing-along, with home-made wines and ales available. Even better is that the person performing is Gwyneth Herbert who is an award-winning com-
Pongathon: A night just full of all kinds of ping pong.Highlights include beer pong, and games of ‘Sofa-Pong’. Ping pong tables are free, and for those who want to improve their ponging abilities, there are coaches available. Stratford, 6pm, free. Thursday 6th October: Thom Foole’s House Party: Join some of the UK’s top comedians for an evening of comedy, storytelling, and various party games. As the website says, it’s pretty much ‘TGI Fridays meets Live At The Apollo via Little Britain’, the evening is
be Saxon food available to try, and you will be able to ‘weave some willow and do a bit of smithing’. Hyde Park Corner, 10am Saturday, free. Frieze London: A world famous event, Frieze brings together a host of contemporary artists from around the world and presents them in Regent’s Park for the Weekend. Immerse yourself into the contemporary art world, and even go experience some of the controversial art that this festival is known for (art in the toilets, sculptures animated by acrobats?). It is pricey but it is a well-known event in London and extremely good value for those
poser and lyricist, so expect a nice relaxing night by the fire. Secret Location by Bow Station, 7-10:30pm, £10. Weekend (8th and 9th October): Backyard Cinema: For those who are tired of watching their movies in the Cinema, Backyard Cinema is hosting an interactive experience where you get to watch a movie in a temple ruin in the middle of a jungle (in Central London!). There are beanbags, tropical cocktails, and also for those traditional moviegoers: popcorn. There are a variety of movies on offer this weekend! Elephant & Castle, 11/3/7pm all weekend.
supposed to be hilarious so if you are in need of laughter after studying all week, this is your night Angel, 7-10:30pm, £7. Classical Yoga: For those in serious need
don. There will be a camp set up. There will be weapons, games, and period soldiers guiding you through their living arrangements back in 1066. There will also
Crafty Fox Market: Peckham is hosting a market specifically focused on types of craft. Many up and coming designers will be selling their wares which include ceramic, jewellery, prints, and more. There will also be a range of workshops to teach you to make your own artefacts, as well as a DJ to entertain throughout the day.
interested in art. Regent’s Park, Runs from 6 October until Sunday, £28. Epic Sundays at the British Museum: The Crick Crack Club (a crew of performers based around the UK) will be filling the British Museum with performances and interactive experiences to tell various historical and mythical stories. This event consists of telling the myth on Kali, a ‘bloodthirsty’ goddess and shapeshifter, so this performance should be extremely interesting.
News | 7
War Bee-gets War: Battle of the Pollinators
University Round Up King’s College Hires Robot Receptionist Always at the forefront of technology, King’s has a new robot receptionist, named Kinba. Kinba, who was initially developed as part of the undergraduate curriculum, has now become an ongoing project which has benefitted from the input of undergraduate and postgraduate informatics students. Kinba gives students the opportunity to be hands-on in their learning, by helping to develop elements of the robot’s hardware and software. The robot receptionist can be found at the Strand campus reception desk, where it gives directions, speaks to passers-by, and even makes the odd joke or two. Insert robot pun here. Perhaps about artificial intelligence.
Bhadra Sreejith Deputy News Editor THE HUMBLE BEE IS THE world’s most important pollinator of food crops. It is no secret that these striped heroes of nature are absolutely vital to our ecosystem and beloved by environmentalists. One third of the food that we consume every day relies on pollination by bees. Unfortunately, the species is under severe threat from climate change, having been added to the US endangered species list for the
first time. British bees aren’t doing much better than their American counterparts. The predatory Asian hornet, which first arrived in 2004 and preys on Western honeybees (curse you Asian Hornet!), is seeing its population skyrocket while the British bee population takes a tremendous nosedive. Bee numbers in rural England are declining rapidly and this, unsurprisingly, is the cause of much concern for scientists and policymakers alike. London, however, is still a-buzz with bees. More than
2,500 apiaries can be found on rooftops in the capital—far smaller than the traditional apiary, but valuable nonetheless. Dr Clint Perry, a leading biologist, says, “London is unique because there are so many green spaces. The typical Victorian London home is small, but it has far more greenery than in other cities of a similar size.” The LSE famously has its own beekeeping network. Passfield Hall, an LSE Hall of Residence in Bloomsbury, keeps bees on its rooftop and there is also an apiary on the rooftop of Connaught
House. LSE Bees, who you may have seen at the Fresher’s Fair, is, as one might imagine, a society dedicated to the practice of beekeeping, and membership is only £1.50 a year! Beekeeping practices, which are increasing across the city, are also helping to boost wild bee populations. The London bee scene is doing so well, in fact, that scientists are not overly worried about the arrival of the Asian Hornet in London, although the rest of Britain may have a problem on their hand...zzz.
Khan to Ban Thousands of Lorries from London’s Roads in bid to Reduce Fatalities Joseph Briers News Editor IN AN EFFORT TO REDUCE the troubling number of cyclist and pedestrian deaths caused by Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) in London, Mayor Sadiq Khan, has announced plans to ban certain lorries from the capital. Mr Khan has proposed a zero to five star visibility rating system for HGVs which would see any vehicles with a score of zero banned from driving on London’s roads by 2020. This cut off score is then set to rise to three stars by 2024. Lorries inflict a staggeringly disproportionate percentage of London’s road deaths. Despite only registering 4% of miles driven in the capital, HGVs accounted for 58% of cyclist fatalities and 28.5% of pedestrian
deaths in the years 2014 and 2015. Khan’s reforms aim to drastically reduce these numbers, with a particular focus on making roads safer for the city’s cyclists. “I’m not prepared to stand by and let dangerous lorries continue to cause further heartbreak and tragedy on London’s roads,” the mayor said. “Our groundbreaking direct vision standard will be the first of its kind in the world, directly addressing the issue of lethal driver blind spots. I’m also proud that TfL will lead by example and will not use any zero-star lorries in its supply chain from the new financial year.” However, former mayor Boris Johnson’s cycling commissioner, Andrew Gilligan, told the Guardian of his disappointment over the fact that lorries would not be required to make any reforms for three years. Johnson’s
administration had previously planned to introduce a new window which would improve visibility from the cab. Gilligan
“I’m not prepared to stand by and let dangerous lorries continue to cause further heartbreak and tragedy on London’s roads...” claimed this measure would have been both quicker and cheaper, and warned that Londoners will “pay the price” for Khan’s dithering.. The majority of fatal cycling accidents occur when lorry drivers turn left, unable to see
cyclists beside them due to poor visibility from the cab, and thus cutting across them. Yet, industry spokespeople have been quick to shift blame and insist lorry drivers are being wrongly “demonised”. Richard Burnett, Chief Executive of the Road Haulage Association, said “Lorries, including construction vehicles, play a vital part in the economic life of London. Without them the capital’s businesses would grind to a standstill. We want to bring balance to the argument. We’re not convinced these measures are the solution. Improved visibility isn’t going to sort the problem alone.” According to City Hall, 70% of London’s cycling fatalities involve the 30,000 zero rated vehicles currently operating in the capital and which these new proposals look to ban.
Make Ugly Friends, says Royal Holloway Research from Royal Holloway, University of London shows that “the company we keep has an effect on how attractive we appear to others”. Dr Nicholas Furl, of Royal Holloway’s Department of Psychology, demonstrated in this new study that an averagely attractive face surrounded by uglier faces becomes more appealing than it would had it been alone. The study also shows that the presence of a crowd makes us pickier when it comes to discerning more attractive people. Participants who were shown two attractive faces and a “distractor” face were more critical about the attractive faces than they had been when they were shown only the two attractive faces.
UCAS Report Shames Imperial Recently released data on race and admissions from UCAS made painful reading for those in charge at Imperial College London this week. The statistics showed that, even when similar grade predictions were made, black students were far less likely to be accepted into the university. During the June 2015 cycle, black applicants were 6.5 percent less likely to receive an offer from the institution. Union President, Jennie Watson, told the Imperial paper Felix, “It is inexcusable that fewer black applicants are receiving offers... there are unconscious biases in the Higher Education recruitment process.”
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Tuesday 04 October, 2016
Section Editors: Frank Morley Hakan Ustabas Deputy Editors:
Why Black History Month?
Black History Month is necessary in a ‘post racial’ age Dhibla Idris Mahamud at this very institution “Now racism is gap BME Officer, is at a dire 16.2%. In the LSE Students’ Union a mindset. One work place there are conversations on whether afro where white is the hair is professional (must I Racism is still a thing. I wish it was as simple as my hair to look privilaged norm straighten accepting this as a fact and whiter and suit your view working together to make and anything that of professionality?) In the racism less of a thing. Yet streets black men are being still in 2016 ‘all lives mat- threatens it will be betrayed by their own skin, ter’ and but wait, race is being harassed for fitdismissed.” are a social construct - so that ting the description police thing that happened to you at work, just say some long words at it and it’ll go away. No matter how many times you utter your isms or declare your ‘social constructs’ the very real and very present experiences of black people will not just go back to the past. The past however is necessary to show that although there is progress, many black people today are going through very similar oppressions as
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“No matter how many times you utter your isms or declare your ‘social constructs’ the very real and very present experiences of black people will not just go back to the past .”
200 years ago. Racism has transfor med, from nor malised and very evident for ms of abuse and subjugations to micro aggressions and denials, although the obvious for ms of abuse and subjugations are not extinct. Now racism is a mind-set. One where white is the privileged nor m and anything that threatens it will be dismissed. For a black woman like me, race is everywhere, from the white man in the SU who was complaining that affir mative action for BMEs was hurting his chances at getting internships, to the white woman lead of every rom-com on TV. Institutionally the disadvantage of black people is undeniable. In the UK there are 7 times more black people in prisons than the black proportional makeup of the UK population; young black people face the worst career prospects in generations, not to mention the BME attainment
look for in a criminal. In the US its worse, put best by Claudia Rankine: Because white men can’t police their imagination black men are dying.” Indeed ‘The past is a life sentence, a blunt instrument aimed at tomorrow.’ Without learning about the way black people were treated in the past, we can’t see the similarities in the treatment of blacks today. Without creating a month to celebrate black achievement and black history we will remain erased in a world dominated by white everything. Here are some of the reasons why black students thought black history month was important in a world deemed by some as ‘post racial’: “To celebrate and recognise important figures and events in black history and to place a spotlight on history and culture which is too often ignored by the mainstream” – Trey “Well I don’t think we are living in a post ra-
cial world but beyond that I think that Black History month is about celebrating and raising awareness about black history. A history that has suffered erasure and a diaspora which is in search of its own past.” – Anon “It’s important for black history to be showcased in order to provide context and balance to every other type of history we are taught.” – Hayat, third year student. “It’s an important month to appreciate how the black community particularly in America is shaped the way it is today. It helps to understand the plight of black people and the inequality that they’ve had to overcome and continue to fight against today.” - Anon.
“It’s important for black history to be showcased in order to provide context and balance to every other type of history we are taught.” - Hayat.
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May’s Missed Moment
The PM had the opportunity to move the Conservative Party to the right but has failed to do so campaigning begins. in tandem with free market It is undoubtable that a ConHakan Ustabas “May has ported From a right wing perspective, economic policies. The best way servative election victory will be seComment Editor a lack of opposition provides the moved the Party for the poor to increase their in- cured. What’s less certain is whethperfect opportunity for the Concome and status is through a grow- er the premiership of Theresa May even further ing economy in which wealth and will amount to anything more than FOR ANYONE OF SOUND servative Party to recreate some of mind, Jeremy Corbyn’s reelec- their more classic policies. The top are being created every day. another period of blue-tie Blairism. to the centre- jobs tion as leader of the Labour Party rate of income tax has remained at Merely reciting anecdotal evidence By missing this golden moment to highlights the clearest signal that 45% for far too long, with the midground than her about grammar schools does lit- return to successful right-wing polithe Conservatives will win the next dle classes of the UK continuing to tle to create the conditions needed cies, the Prime Minister has abangeneral election and significantly forgo an unfair and disproportion- predecessor David to secure the future of the current doned the ideological purity of the increase their majority in Parlia- ate level of income every year. A Party. Cameron did.” generation of young people. ment. A poll from YouGov (Sep- free market candidate would seize tember 21st) puts Theresa May comfortably ahead of Corbyn when it comes to strength, decisiveness, quality of ideas, understanding of public needs, and likability. The Labour Party has been polling at around a ten point deficit to the Conservatives, and this is only likely to get worse when election
“From a right wing perspective, a lack of opposition provides the perfect opportunity for the Conservative Party to recreate some of their more classic policies.”
the reinforced strength of the Government in order to pursue unpopular but needed policies while the Opposition is at its weakest. Furthermore, now (soon to be) free from the legislative shackles of the European Union, the UK could continue its programme of market deregulation which began under Mrs Thatcher. By cutting state regulations on businesses, the right have the ability to appeal to the wealth creators of the country, and provide even more jobs and investment to one of the world’s leading economies. In addition to deregulation, the Brexit vote was partly a mandate to pursue free trade opportunities around the world, and to also create the conditions in which British businesses can survive. The Prime Minister needs to act on this intention of the electorate. Unfortunately, however, Theresa May has not grasped these opportunities as a candidate such as Boris Johnson may have done. Rather than use the newfound entrenchment of government power
to produce an ideologically purer manifesto, May has moved the Party even further to the centreground than her predecessor David Cameron did. Following consent from the Prime Minister, Chancellor Phillip Hammond has suggested that the Government’s ‘Fiscal Charter’ may be abandoned. This would allow Parliament to increase its spending, and so further enlarge the already bloated pot of national debt. May has also talked about tackling corporate greed in a variety of ways, most notably by placing workers on company boards. Such rhetoric will at best attract a few votes from the left, but has the potential to stifle the efficient workings of the private sector, and alienate many businesses who would otherwise have considered further investment in the UK. May’s focus on inequality of opportunity certainly is welcome. However, there seems to be little else in policy terms which the Government is creating. A social mobility agenda needs to be sup-
Credit: Wikipedia Commons
Check Your Privilege, LSE.
The narrow class background of students inhibits the effective teaching of social sciences Benjamin Thomas Undergraduate Student
THE LSE LIKES TO PRESENT itself as the pre-eminent social sciences institution in the world. As in its name, it dedicates itself to the study of politics and economics, and has long gained recognition for the instruction and research thereof. Its founders sought to instruct and promote learning about the everyday political economy, and the effects thereof on the ills of poverty and inequality. As the University matured it diversified its studies and earned its current reputation. However, this elite reputation does put at risk students’ abilities to understand its basic goal; the success of the LSE as a university of social sciences weakens its ability to teach the social sciences. To explain myself, I would like to look at the diversity of LSE students. By virtue of its elite reputation and the resulting demand for admission, the LSE must be selective in its admissions procedure;
selecting the best candidates, and thus advantaging students privileged to receive the education, support, and nurturing needed to achieve top results. It is no surprise that this results in a disproportionate population of students of wealth and elite education. The LSE’s own statistics demonstrate that only 70% of its intake are from state schools, well below the 90% for the entire university sector. The University itself admits in its Access Agreement, low representation from low-participation neighbourhoods, low socio-economic backgrounds, and students of African-Caribbean heritage. This is particularly poignant when one considers that this document only covers home/EU students. International students likely display even greater elitism of background due to their higher fees as well as the fact so many are from international schools or selective schools that cater to those of particular backgrounds. The exorbitant costs of many of the graduate and post-graduate programmes almost certainly factor into the
demographics of the students who take such courses. What makes this problematic is the effect it has in the classroom. If students are to study policy or eco-
“The LSE harbours a disproportionate population of students of wealth and elite education.” nomics or law or any other field on offer it is important that they understand the effects of their disciplines from multiple perspectives. Normatively good economics should consider the effect of high prices not just on the incomes of employees or shareholders but also on the un- and under- employed consumer. A good understanding of law should consider its effects on a variety of lifestyles and cultures,
not just one’s own. Good public policy considers all stakeholders. If classrooms and seminars act more like an echo-chamber reinforcing an experience of privilege certain vital perspectives are overcrowded or silenced, which is bad social science. One of the great failures of Brexit’s Remain campaign was an emphasis on ‘the economic argument’ which trumpeted to effect on the wider economy, but ignored the motives of most voters who would ultimately chose to leave. In concrete terms, what is problematic is students who lack understanding of key issues in their subjects. Economists who do not understand poverty, law-makers with no understanding of law-breakers, sociologists with no experience of being the other, elites who do not understand the masses. Any academic or learned person must understand their subject. This article is not meant to criticise students, academics, or the institution that is the LSE. The institution has undertaken considerable efforts to widen participation; reaching out to under-
served populations, supporting under-privileged students at the University, and attempting to consider students backgrounds and communities during admissions. Academics and staff have lead campaigns to pursue these aims and support struggling groups of students; for the most part, their research seeks to be thorough and resist bias. Students should not be blamed or criticised for their background, which they have little to no control over. What is important, however, is that students be aware of the marginalisation or silencing of certain voices. Students should be cognisant that their experience is by no means the only experience of a subject and should seek out other perspectives both among their cohort and from other sources. Academics should note if a discussion is particularly one-sided on a particular topic and introduce alternate perspectives and arguments. The University should continue its efforts to widen participation, and if possible, lower the costs of entry.
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| Tuesday 04 October, 2016
The Third Option at the US Elections
Gary Johnson and the Libertarian Party provide the alternative that America needs. Kacper Zajac Postgraduate Student
THE US ELECTION season is upon us. While everyone was enjoying their holiday, the primaries determined that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton would be the candidates for the office of the President of the United States from the Republican Party and Democratic Party respectively. Neither of them needs any special introduction. Donald Trump is an old businessman with a long record of successful financial deals that made him a billionaire. He is most
“It is the first time in modern history where both parties have nominated candidates which trigger such strong negative emotions.” famous for his statements on immigration, most notably, the proposed wall on the border with Mexico and ban on Muslim immigrants. Trump also takes pride in describing himself as anti-establishment, although he has
Credit: staticflickr
been involved in American politics in one way or another for decades. Hillary Clinton’s path to the nomination has been based on the opposite features. She portrays herself as experienced in politics as she has held various important positions such as the Secretary of the State (2009 - 2013) and US Senator from New York (2001 -2009), not to mention her honorary position of the First Lady during her husband’s term as the President of the United States between 1993 and 2001. Clinton’s campaign has also revolved around the notion that she would be the first female to assume the office of the US President. Both Trump and Clinton are rather massively unpopular in the United States. Trump is widely accused of racism, even by those who are not the usual supporters of political correctness. His language has been consistently bold and campaign rallies have turned violent on at least a couple of occasions. Trump tends to appeal to emotions rather than reason and is very weak on potential legislative ideas. His opponents also point out that he has never held any public office, and therefore lacks the necessary experience to assume the responsibility of the head of state. On the other hand, Clin-
ton has been investigated by the FBI in respect of her use of a private server for official email communication while she was the Secretary of State. In fact, although no criminal prosecution has been brought against her, Clinton’s actions were described by the FBI as ‘extremely careless’. Various commentators claim that she had in fact broken federal law and has only avoided the prosecution because of President Obama’s pressure on the FBI. Nevertheless, her prob-
“Both Trump and Clinton are rather massively unpopular in the United States.” lems do not end there. The Clinton Foundation, which she presides over along with her husband Bill, has been widely criticised for lack of transparency. The Wall Street Journal reported that Clinton, on behalf of the Foundation, had been consistently accepting significant financial donations from figures which are forbidden by law to donate to political candidates in the United States. Donors also include states such as Saudi Arabia, which
is known for its widespread human rights violations and also benefited from massive arms sales from the United States which were facilitated by Clinton as the Secretary of State. Furthermore, in this position, Clinton was the main person responsible for the deaths of the US Ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans when the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi was attacked in October 2012. It is the first time in modern history where both parties have nominated candidates which trigger such strong negative emotions. It seems that it is only the peculiar two-party system that has enabled them to become the frontrunners in this most important political race. The whole campaign does not revolve around any substantive issues such as the gigantic national debt, rising costs of government-managed medical care, labour force participation at a record low, or countless military interventions abroad. In this respect, it is safe to say that both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party have failed the American people in this difficult time. In these circumstances it appears completely reasonable to explore other available options in the presidential race. The third candidate
“The Republican Party and the Democratic Party have failed the American people in this difficult time.” to appear on the ballot in all 50 states is Gary Johnson, running as a nominee of the Libertarian Party. Johnson is a former Governor of the State of New Mexico (1995 -2003, then as a Republican) with a very good record in the office. In fact, he cut taxes fourteen times and never increased them. Since 2003 he has been a successful entrepreneur. In 2012 Johnson ran for the presidency as a Libertarian receiving 1.3 million votes. This election Johnson runs again with a former Republican Governor of Massachusetts, William Weld, as his running mate. Unlike Trump’s and Clinton’s, Johnson’s campaign revolves around problems America faces today. Johnson has been described as socially liberal while fiscally conservative with a philosophy of limited government. Johnson and Weld advocate abolishing personal and corporate income taxes, balancing the federal budget, cutting spending on social programmes, dismantling the Federal Reserve, and ending surveillance programmes such as the one revealed by Edward Snowden, whom Johnson would like to see pardoned. At the international level, they would ‘bring troops home’ and pursue a purely non-interventionist policy. At the moment Gary Johnson is polling at around 13% to 15% across the country. With the American public debt exceeding $14 trillion, US dollar losing half its value between 1981 and 2009 and the highest prison population in the world, it seems that the two-party system has failed the United States potentially creating a chance for the Libertarian Party to gain significance.
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A 25 hour working week is possible.
A 25 hour working week is not only possible but necessary to create a just economy. Owen French Undergraduate Student A 25-hour maximum working week? To be implemented on as large a scale as possible. Utopian? Wrong. For the skeptics let me start by saying that according to the OCED Ger many - the economic powerhouse of Europe - has the shortest working week in the EU. And Greece? The Highest. When it comes to hours of labour everything is not as it seems. A 25-hour maximum working week would change everything. Below are three effects: 1. Wages would actually go up (and unemployment down). A 25-hour maximum working week puts a cap on the supply of labour. Whenever the supply of something goes down, the price goes up. For hours of labour that means wages go up, which is good news for us. There are about 200 million unemployed people in the word. The 25-hour maximum working week law would make everyone’s labour a whole lot more valuable. Driving up wages and then soaking up the
excess unemployed. Breaking the world economy out of the low wage, low productivity trap it’s in. I know this goes against every gut reaction we have about how to get more money but just look at the evidence. Look at Ger many and Greece. Look at the ‘workshop of the world’ - according to China Labor Watch, our Iphones were assembled by people working 12-hour shifts for $1.85 an hour. No amount of extra hours and hard work will give them (or you) a higher income. As counterintuitive as it may seem a 25hour maximum working week would lead to higher wages. 2. The economy would become more productive. Businesses need to make profit. If current employees only work 25 hours a week, and their wages arenow higher, then the only way a business can make profit is by investing in labour-saving technology. From the steam engine to the selfdriving car, capitalist innovation has always been driven by the need to minimise labour costs. Super markets have invested millions in automatic
“Germany the economic powerhouse of Europe - has the shortest working week in the EU.” checkouts because someone has done the maths and knows its more profitable employing one person to oversee 10 automatic tills, then 10 workers on manual tills. A more productive economy can produce the same quantity of goods and services with less labour. Usually resulting in lower prices. This is the only real source of economic growth. Not Keynesian demand management or monetarist policy. Agriculture is the clearest example. Never before in the history of humanity has so much food been produced, by so few, for so little. Great news for consumers. Bad news for wage-ear ners as automa-
tion usually means more unemployment. But with the 25hour maximum workingweek law these productivity gains would benefit both wageear ners and society. Incentivising innovation and technological development. 3. More free time! Monday motivation, Friday feeling, living for the weekend.
“Right now we are a little bit more satisfied when we are another 8 hours closer to our inevitable deaths.” These hashtags and slogans sum up the attitude of most workers to the majority of their time. A good shift is one that goes quickly, as my co-workers say. Which, when you think about it, is incredibly depressing. Right now we are a little bit more satisfied when we are another 8
hours closer to our inevitable deaths. Why? Well, most work for others is arduous, boring, repetitive, and just seems to go on and on. Imagine all the better things youcould be doing with an extra 15 hours a week? You could paint a picture, volunteer at a soup kitchen, spend time with loved ones, make your own jam, make your own music, or just watch more Netflix. You get the idea. Imagine the amount of human creativity that is waiting to be unleashed by more free time. Given how capitalism works a shorter working week is coming whether you like it or not. Or so implies the CEO of Uber. And not even complex knowledge work will be exempt, as this study shows. We can either sit by: scrabbling for the declining number of jobs, relying on handouts, or we can stand up and pass this law. Then we sit back, chill, and wait for the economy to do the rest. Wouldn’t that make a nice change?
Disabled Student Officer blocked by LSE. LSE Staff are already stopping the LSE SU’s Disabled Students Officer from doing his job.
Muhummed Cassidy Disabled Students Officer, LSE Students’ Union Last Thursday saw the first Union General Meeting (UGM) of the year, chaired by Mahatir Pasha, from the democracy committee. The Union General Meeting (UGM) is a weekly meeting where students can find out what their elected student union representatives have been up to and debate policy that shapes the LSESU’s campaigns. In attendance was all the part time officers, including myself the Disabled Students Officer (DSO). I was elected in March 2016 to represent the interests of students with disabilities, wellbeing issues, or illness, to the Union and the School. Two of our full time officers were also present: General Secretary, Busayo Twins, and Activities and development officer, Julia Ryland. The event was well attended by members of the student body. I was able to report on how I have been working on implementing my manifesto commitments. I spoke about how I have been implementing my main manifesto commitment of creating a disabled students mentoring scheme. Essentially, this is a scheme whereby second and third year students can volunteer as peer supporters for first year disabled students. Mentors will offer general support and guidance on all
things student related. Mentees will seek to gain practical advice, encouragement and support, learn from the experience of others, and increase their social and academic confidence. If you are interested in participating in this mentoring scheme, or getting more information, either as a Mentor (if you are a second or third year student) or as a mentee (if you are an incoming first year), please email su.disability@lse.ac.uk. There will be a launch event at the end of this month. I also spoke about how it was proving difficult to reach out to disabled students at the LSE because I do not have a set mailing list for this constituency; I mentioned that I was now looking into establishing a mailing list for disabled students at the LSE. However, I did not have the opportunity to mention the background as to why it is that it has been difficult to reach out to disabled students. Essentially, Disability and Wellbeing Service Manager, Sarah Slater, has refused to share any of my messages with disabled students on the DWS mailing list. During the summer I had asked her to share the mentoring opportunity with second and third year disabled’s students. Yet she ignored my emails; following follow up emails she responded by saying ‘we can’t really email students for you - so sorry’. Naturally, I was taken back by this response because as part of my role as DSO I am required to
“I would like to use this opportunity to make a promise to students: As a disabled student officer, I want to foster a more co-operative relationship with the disability and wellbeing office.” work directly with the LSE DWS. I simply could not understand why they, of all people, would decline to share this opportunity with disabled students given that it is an opportunity that will be of great benefit to many disabled students at the school, of whom this department directly work with and supposedly support. I, therefore, asked Sarah to explain why it is that she will be unable to share this opportunity with students on the DWS mailing list and whether she had any concerns about the scheme that I could address for her to feel more comfortable about sharing the opportunity. I was further ignored.
I was finally contacted by the Head of Student Wellbeing, Adam Sandelson, who reinforced that the DWS would not be sharing the opportunity and that they ‘would not wish to become a vehicle for mass mailing of students’. In my response to this, I noted the many instances where the Disability and Wellbeing Service had previously emailed students about opportunities, including those which were not run by the school or SU. I noted that that I find most concerning with the conduct of the school is the lengths and efforts the DWS had taken in order to be uncooperative, unhelpful and difficult. It would have costed them less time and effort, and most importantly would have been in the interest of all concerned, for them to have shared the opportunity. I am currently exploring what measures I can take to challenge the uncooperative nature of the DWS. Indeed, during my election as Disabled Students Officer, I spoke to many disabled students who expressed dissatisfaction with the uncooperative nature of the LSE Disability and Wellbeing Office and I have to say that I myself can relate to these concerns having experienced them in a personal capacity as a disabled student. Its appears that I am also experiencing this even when trying to exercise my duties as an elected officer in the SU. I would like to use this opportunity to make a promise
to students: As a disabled student officer, I want to foster a more corporative relationship with the disability and wellbeing office. In addition, I will work to ensure that they, and other departments within the school, are fulfilling their duties towards disabled students. You can count on me to challenge and act upon any concerns that students report regarding any unfair approach that departments within the school may have towards students with disabilities. Going back to my experience at the UGM, this was my first ever time attending a UGM so I was not too sure what to expect; I enjoyed the experience and was happy to directly interact with students in the audience. For the next UGM, however, I will be sure to brief the chair that, as a disabled speaker, I will require extra speaking time. This UGM was also an opportunity introduce the discussion of whether social mobility is a problem at LSE and whether the LSESU should take the step of introducing a part time student officer to tackle this. Members of the panel included Mateusz Maciejewski, the founding president of the new LSE Social mobility society at LSE, and Ronda Daniel, a final year Sociology student, who offered a very personal insight into her time at university as a working class student. The UGM was recorded and can be found on the LSESU Facebook page.
12|Tuesday 4 October 2016
A.I. and the job sector: Demon 2.0? Recent progress in A.I. is likely to jeopardize jobs in a wide range of sectors Photo Credit: Kenny Louie, Flickr Philip Apfel
Undergraduate student
Features
Section Editors: Daniel Shears Stefanos Argyros Deputy Editors: Currently vacant
IN THE 18TH CENTURY, when the industrial revolution meant that newly created machines were bound to render obsolete or at least fundamentally redefine many jobs, developments in the world of machinery were often met with borderline apocalyptic cris de coeur by the anxious citizen. Thomas Carlyle, a wellknown satirist, philosopher and historian at the time, spoke of the “demon of mechanism” annihilating the modest workman’s source of livelihood; destructive and cruel. With the benefit of hindsight, we now know that he was mistaken. Though it was no doubt a bumpy ride, technological innovations ended up creating more jobs than they destroyed, heralding an unprecedented era of economic growth and prosperity. Today, ground-breaking developments in artificial intelligence throw up similar questions. Only this time, history might not repeat itself, as the challenge that AI poses to human employment is both multi-sectoral and more difficult to adjust to than it was in Carlyle’s days. According to a 2013 study published by Frey and Osborne of Oxford University, about 35% of current UK jobs are at high risk of being taken over by computers in the coming 20 years. Considering that the service sector makes up more than three quarters of the UK economy, this number is striking. Across the pond, a very recent report by ‘Forrester’ states that by 2021, robots will have eliminated 6% of all jobs in the US, with employees in the customer
service and transportation industries affected first. Virtual assistants that can be used in the customer service industry, like Apple’s ‘Siri’ and Microsoft’s ‘Cortana’, are becoming ever more sophisticated, and a fleet of driverless cars, hitherto only to be found in sci-fi movies like “I, Robot”, was recently let loose onto the streets of Pittsburgh by transportation network company ‘Uber’. High levels of investment into AI companies, to the tune of almost $9 billion in 2015, and sophisticated new and revamped AI techniques, such as the idea of “deep learning”, have helped propel the industry to a level where present machines are already indifferent to the colour of our collars. In medicine, some machines developed by San-Franciscobased start-up ‘Enlitic’ already outperform expert radiologists in the identification of tumours from x-rays. In accounting, a German tech start-up called ‘Smacc’ has managed to develop cloud-based accounting software
“A.I. is now also making inroads into journalism {...} For all you know, a machine might have written this very Beaver article.” which can already provide for most accounting needs that small and medium-sized enterprises might have. In the legal sector, doc-review tasks can already be
carried out by machines using predictive coding technology. This technology allows machines to read, analyse and distract pertinent information from thousands of documents in a much shorter time than the human eye. In Brown v BCA Trading 2016 EWHC 1464 (Ch), London-based law firm Berwin
‘’ there is the
uncomfortably dystopian possibility of all future gains of a robotdriven economy accumulating amongst the few, without proper distribution of wealth.” Leighton Paisner recently won the first contested application to use predictive coding as part of a document review exercise. Within the next few years, use of such technology could well become common practice. Finally, and perhaps most impressively, AI is now also making inroads into journalism, an area that at first blush would seem to be one of the least susceptible to a take-over. Appearances can be deceiving. Artificial Intelligence from the American tech company ‘Automated Insights’ researched for and wrote 1.5 billion newspaper articles last year. For all you know, a machine might have written this very Beaver
article. Leaving aside the seemingly limitless efficiency and productivity opportunities that AI-developments in all these sectors represent, it is clear that these developments herald considerable challenges for the labour market of “the coming years. Challenges which dwarf those of our assiduous forefathers. Whereas the move from agriculture to manufacturing was a process that took many years, giving people time to adjust, sophisticated AI software can be developed quickly, and brought into use even faster. A bank can start using algorithms executing equity trades from one day to the next, rendering the employee who made them previously redundant in just as short a time. Furthermore, disruptions are no longer limited to a particular sector of the economy. Instead, they span most sectors. As a result, escaping to a sector in which one can still add value as a human being will be more difficult than it was for our predecessors. If current progress in Artificial Intelligence continues at such a rapid pace, we may soon have to fundamentally rethink the way we organise ourselves as a society. Perhaps the notion of a ‘job’, where you ‘work’ every day will become obsolete. That may sound quite attractive to some. But then there is the uncomfortably dystopian possibility of all future gains of a robot-driven economy accumulating amongst the few, without proper distribution of wealth. That sounds much less attractive. Alternatively, one can always go into philosophy. Or acting. They probably won’t take those away just yet.
Features | 13
Should the EU adopt a Common European Army? Reflecting on the benefits and challenges of establishing an EU army Eponine Howarth Undergraduate student THE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER “New Europe” published an article entitled “Germany says it’s time for a European Defence Union” on September 8th 2016. Indeed, Ursula Von Der Leyen, German Defence Minister, said so while on NATO business in Vilnius, Lithuania. The idea of a European Defence Community, aiming for common institutions, a common budget and a common army, had been proposed by the French Prime Minister, René Pleven, in 1950. The British had never been very fond of it, and the idea lost its momentum when it failed to secure ratif ication by the French Parliament. Recently however, there has been a renewed impetus to pursue the idea of a European Army. MEP Guy Verhofstadt seems to acclaim the idea : “It’s great to see a serious debate about EU security and defence capabilities is f inally staring.”, he stated on his Facebook page. The European army was highly opposed by the UK which believed it might obstruct US-UK alliances. But now that the UK has opted to leave the EU, its objectiosn will carry little weight. As the Cat Stevens song Wild World goes : “If you wanna leave, take good care. I hope you make a lot of nice friends out there, but just remember there’s a lot of bad and beware”. Brexit has given EU leaders a rare opportunity to attempt a number of ambitious reforms towards a common EU defence policy. Firstly, there is an opportunity to consider creating a supranational army that could further develop the objectives of a European
Superstate: to go beyond the traditional concept of nationstate and nationalism in order to create a federalised United States of Europe. It would also make war between member states totally unfeasible, make European defence effective and common research would allow the greater development of new technologies. However, The Telegraph seemed to bring a number of unenlightened objections on June 14th 2016 : only the British would have had the resources to make it feasible (Objection : what about pooling current army budgets? What about French and German funding ?), no soldier would want to serve it in the same way he/she would serve his/ her country (Objection : what about binational citizens and citizens considering themselves f irst of all European?) and “An EU army is not just a stupid idea - it’s a grave threat to our security. (…) Such a proposition is dangerous because, by establishing its own command structure, the EU is setting itself up as a direct rival to Nato. There are many in Europe, particularly in France, who resent America’s dominant role in the transatlantic alliance, even though it is largely due to American f irepower that Europe has enjoyed peace and prosperity since the end of the Second World War. When you consider Donald Drumpf could become the next President of the United States, not constantly relying on the Americans might be a good idea. Moreover, not all members of the European Union are currently part of NATO. It does not necessarily have to be created as a rival to NATO. NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance, which assures mutual
defence in case of attack. One could imagine a Treaty between the European Union, Canada, the United States, Albania, Iceland, Turkey and Norway. Creating a supranational army does not necessarily erase
“When you consider Donald Drumpf could become the next President of the United States, not constantly relying on the Americans might be a good idea” intergovernmental alliances. “One former US ambassador to Nato said the US would welcome a European army if it meant addressing the “sharp, steady decline in Europe’s capabilities”.”, The Guardian reports on May 27th 2016. Furthermore, Merkel and Juncker both seem to welcome the creation of a European Army because of the diff iculties the European Union currently faces. The German Chancellor believes joint military operations would also serve states vulnerable to Russian threat - the Baltic states for example. A common European Army would potentially have also been useful in the case of the crisis in the Ukraine. However, the trouble with the creation of European Army are following : How would one get all member states to agree on deployment (states having been
unable to agree on assistance to the French deployment of troops in Mali for example)? How would decisions for interventions be taken? By the European Parliament (the same way national Parliaments would vote on interventions)? Added to which, although its initial post-war rebuilding and lasting peace objectives, the European Union is currently a political, economic and social one (not a military one, although there are Common Foreign and Security Policies (as part of the CFSP), which includes promoting human rights, the rule of law, international cooperation and democracy, and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)). The fact that the European Union does not have a common army makes undesirable interventions impossible. This contributes to the ability of the European Union to be considered as a pacif ic union. Soft Power. Great Powers are usually def ined through their military capacities (not exclusively). However the perception by others and legitimacy is also very important. And the European Army could erode this reputation. In sum, the European Army is a project for going beyond intergovernmental cooperation to a supranational level of decision. It would also protect the European Union from close neighbours (Russia) or ones across the Ocean (USA with Donald Drumpf as president). It should also be of no rivalry to intergovernmental alliances and could potentially be a useful tool in the European Union’s foreign policy. Alas, the project of European Army would still need the unanimous approval of all member states.
The Pocket Philosopher Musings on the different understandings of logic Edmund Smith Undergraduate Student WHAT IS LOGIC? WE ARE often told to think logically, or to respect the laws of logic, and a great deal of popular intellectuals like to talk about its virtues. In the light of this, we should ask the question again: what is logic? The answer is by no means obvious. Most philosophers will point to a formal mathematical system; but there is not just one of these, and not all mathematical logics are consistent with one another. To make things worse, until the 1960s it was quite ordinary to learn a descendant of Aristotle’s old syllogistic logic, and one might even say that Aristotle’s logic has had a rebirth in the form of critical thinking. Still more strangely, thinkers such as Christopher Hitchens invoke ‘laws of logic’ in their books and talks. These are claims which they believe they can always appeal to during debates, one example being: ‘extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence’. It is therefore completely possible for us to imagine disagreements where two people disagree not because one lacks salient evidence, nor because of concealed intuitions, but simply because both believe themselves to be logical whilst their understandings of logic differ. I do not want to appeal as some kind of outrageous postmodern figure, and so I shall stop here. My small point is that we accord a great deal of value to logic, without always being aware that logic is not a single cohesive doctrine. Perhaps slightly more radically, I suggest that anyone who wants to say that their logic is the right one has to make a positive argument for that position. But how could one possibly do such a thing?
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| Tuesday 4 October, 2016
Was Gordon Gekko right? Is greed good? Exploring the ethical and practical advantages of pursuing unadulturated self-interest Michal Wolangiewicz Masters student WAS GORDON GEKKO right? I s greed good? It is. Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed as stated by Gordon Gekko – is right. Greed works. Greed, in all of its forms – for life, for money, for love, knowledge – clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of… corporate social responsibility (CSR). Just few people (even economists) know that the afamous “invisible hand of the market” is not – contrary to stereotype – just a simple theory about a spontaneous mechanism of controlling the economy, or some kind of the
“Greed, in all of its forms - for life, for money, for love, knowledge - clarifies, cuts through , and captures the essence of corporate social responsibility” “magic spell” that always allow giving men a pole, not a fish. It is rather one of the first ideas of what is contemporarily called “corporate social responsibility”. Adam Smith used the term as a metaphor. Namely, he wanted to show how “impersonal mechanisms” guide human activities in order to make many people fulfilled by satisfying their material needs. He wasn’t the first. Several years before him Italian economist, Abbé Ferdinando
Galiani (1728-1787) presented similar conclusions. In the book “Della Moneta” (“About the money”) published in 1750 he described market mechanisms enabling to achieve economic balance, which serves prosperity resulting not from “the prudence and integrity of a man, but a simple stimulus – greed”. Of course, CSR is still associated with the sponsorship of cultural or sport events, social campaigns, codes of ethics, employee volunteerism, and eco-labeling of products. Its essence, however, is about “taking into account social needs while doing business”. And entrepreneurs have never dealt with anything else. They always try to anticipate upcoming supply, which is nothing more than emanation of the future, waiting to meet human needs and desires. In other words, they try to meet their own needs by meeting the needs of their customers… In his 1776 opus magnum “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” Adam Smith wrote about it as follows:
“People need the leave the paradigm of social justice, which portrays the capitalist as a hated privateowner who scavanges on the toiling masses” “[Entrepreneur] generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is
promoting it. [He] intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it
“ In the developed world it is easy to forget that poverty is the default state of human existance” was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good”. Nonetheless, to look at it from that side, not from the perspective of those who perceive the free market as the sum of profits and losses, and people earning above-average as the exploiters, people need to leave the paradigm of so-called social justice, which portrays the “capitalist” as a hated privateowner who scavenges on the toiling masses. The paradigm indeed very unfair, because it is that individual and not the working masses who takes the responsibility for the society. “In order to enable this whole group of people who do not want to [or are unable to – M.W.] work to live with dignity, the [hard-working and creative] individual must earn in the first place,” said Professor Janusz Filipiak, the founder of Comarch (an international software house and systems integrator based in Cracow, Poland). Without this initial creation of wealth, charities would have
nothing to distribute. In the developed world it is easy to forget that poverty is the default state of human existence. Wealth is not found in nature; it must be created, and this is precisely the role of businesses and entrepreneurs. And what is interesting, in the recent survey conducted by TNS 74 percent of respondents in Poland have expressed a similar opinion by admitting that thanks to the taxes paid by businesses the government has funds for healthcare, education, police, army, roads, social benefits etc. Unfortunately, a lion’s part of the society still does not understand that simple fact. Many people do not only not know what the “invisible hand” is, but also have no clue about the free market as a natural environment for it. Despite this, they blame it for any economic disaster and
“Many people do not only not know what the ‘invisible hand’ is, but also have no clue about the free market as a natural environment for it ” “low wages”. People who have achieved success in business are in turn viewed by them as vicious and sleazy. For instance, 64 percent of respondents claim that they try to cheat the system in order to pay lower taxes. And is there something wrong with being rich? The journalist with the attitude similar to that described above
calculated how much was Janusz Filipiak’s hour of work worth (taking into account his salary as a CEO). The outcome was 6125 zloty (around 1500 dollars). “Didn’t it ever occur to you that I have to earn 800 million zloty in revenues for my company each year? So it will be – let’s count now – 250 working days, 3 million zloty per day... hour of my work is worth 400 thousand zloty(...). In the sense that I have to work in a way that allows me to invoice400 thousands zloty per hour. This lets me to maintain 3,500 jobs. And this is my point of view, and it is true,” answered Filipiak. And he was right. As stated unequivocally by Ludwig von Mises: “Nobody is needy in the market economy because of the fact that some people are rich. The richest of the rich are not the cause of the poverty of anybody. The process that makes some people rich is, on the contrary, the corollary of the process that improves many peoples’ want satisfaction.” In addition, it gives an example and a rise to the development. In fact, social impact of high wages is such that many people work very hard, because they see the opportunity to earn just as much. “If young people didn’t see this chance, they wouldn’t work so hard. [Besides], when the rich spend their money, people have earnings. What follows, they don’t need social housing, because they work,” Comarch’s CEO pointed out. Exactly. Of course, greed will not solve all problems of mankind. It is impossible, however, to claim otherwise – it is both, even if sometimes contrary to our intentions, good and socially responsible. Fortunately – as Gordon Gekko said after having served his sentence for financial fraud – it is legal now.
Credit: ytimg.com
Features | 15
Jeremy Corbyn: the death of progressive politics in Britain
The re-election of Corbyn has imperilled Labour’s electoral prospects and bolstered extremism Joe Perry Undergraduate student AND SO, THE INEVITABLE happened. Nobody was really surprised when the result was announced, and Jeremy Corbyn had been re-elected leader of the Labour Party with an increased mandate – that thing he and his supporters love so dearly, and will demand everyone respects, despite their own failure to do so for past leaders. Neither were
“ Eventually,
the Labour Party will either end up like the Lib Dems, a progressive party now discarded and irrelevant, or it will just die” people particularly surprised when the first announcements came on Twitter from people leaving the party in protest, despite attempts from many moderate MPs to persuade those quitting to stay on and continue to fight for a Labour Party capable of winning power.
You have to wonder whether those same MPs truly believe there is now still a prospect of that.The reality is, the cementing of Corbyn’s place at the head of the Labour table is just another step on the long, painful path that is the death of progressivism in Britain. He and his team, supported by their legions of Momentum members and other new additions to the party (Owen Smith, after all, actually won among those who had been Labour members prior to 2015), will now go about spreading their tentacles across the Labour machinery, finalising their total takeover and transformation of a once serious party of government into a permanently frustrated protest movement. This will include the re-selection of MPs, for which Corbyn will take advantage of the constituency boundary changes, and will no doubt be assisted by the loss of many of the more moderate members both in Parliament and in the party as a whole following the inevitable annihilation at the next general election. The shell of a party that remains following that defeat will blame it on the moderates for undermining the leadership, will continue to support Corbyn – or a Corbynite replacement – and the collapse will continue. Eventually, the Labour Party will either end up
like the Lib Dems, a progressive party now discarded and irrelevant, or it will simply die. The collapse of the Labour Party as a feasible party of government – and, soon, even just as an influential and important party in Parliament – marks the end of the time when progressives in Britain had a realistic hope of gaining power. Theresa May’s ability to move further towards the authoritarian right shows the end of the ability of progressives even to put meaningful pressure on the government, in the hope
“This continuing collapse of progressive politics means that out muchmaligned ‘liberal elite’ is now being replaced by a right-wing, nationalist, isolationsit, racist one”
of softening its policies; the lack of an opposition means the government can now ignore the cries from those of a more socially liberal persuasion. Brexit gave the clearest evidence yet that the majority of the British population as a whole no longer buys into the internationalist and cooperative ideas of progressivism. Progressives have lost their path to power, their influence, and their support. This continuing collapse of progressive politics means that our much-maligned ‘liberal elite’ is now being replaced by a right-wing, nationalist, isolationist, racist one. Corbyn, and Corbynism, simply enables this. Were the government to face an opposition with a chance of replacing it in a general election, rather than one taking self-indulgent comfort in its ideological purity, it would not feel so able to itself push towards the extremes. If the government did not feel able to push towards those extremes, those who hold nationalist and racist views would not feel so legitimised. If such views were still perceived as unacceptable, progressives would already have an advantage. As it is, Corbyn isolates the left into its own little bubble, while destroying the only party which had a chance of advancing progressive politics
into the British government. Labour may never see power again. The forces of the right will continue to strengthen, as the progressives watch a once great party collapse
“ Corbyn
isolates the left into its own little bubble, while destroying the only party which had a chance of advancing progressive politics into the British government” into a protest movement. Of course, as indeed Corbyn himself shows, a resurrection of old ideas is possible in politics, and it may be that in a couple of decades progressivism rises out of the ashes currently being created as the Labour Party burns. But for now, nationalism and authoritarianism are on the rise across Europe and America, and it is in Britain that they meet no competition for power.
The Left Should Learn to Embrace National Pride Ambivalence on patriotism and nationalistic sentiment hinders the ability of the left to prosper Daniel Shears Features Editor NATIONALISM SEEMS TO be exclusively a right-wing phenomenon when it comes to identities in our modern political space. The meteoric rise of nationalistic far-right parties across Europe is testament to this. We witnessed the ascendency of Norbert Hofer of the Austrian Freedom Party in April of this year, when he came a hair’s breadth away from winning the Presidency in the final round of voting, leaving the centrist establishment quaking in their boots. And it’s not just Austria; whether it’s the National Front in France, Lega Nord in Italy, Party for Freedom in Holland or Jobbik in Hungry, conservatism and nationalism appear to coalesce into an inextricable political identity which is gaining significant traction amongst disillusioned, working class voters. Even amongst moderate rightwing parties who don’t subscribe so fervently to xenophobic, populist caterwauling, patriotism is still frequently invoked as a seemingly organic element of the conservative ideology. Whenever the left does attempt
to elicit patriotism or appeal to nationalistic tendencies within voting populations, it seems reluctant, lackluster and reactionary, as opposed to being rooted in the very spirit of the leftist movement. Stalin’s potent mixing of disastrous central planning and the theory of “socialismin-one-country” seems to have tainted the idea of leftwing nationalism, which to many reeks of 20th century dictatorial authoritarianism. Flag waving thus seems to be reserved for the political right. By why is it that only free marketers or out-and-out racists are allowed to be proud of their country? Rationally, it makes no sense. Pride in your country isn’t so much a political belief as an instinctive feeling; you can’t map national pride on the traditional political spectrum. The new, radical, cosmopolitan left seem to have rejected the very concept of the nation state, seeing national sentiment as a useless relic of the past. Anecdotally, I can tell you that pragmatic, socially-democratic centre-
left individuals feels very differently. These people love their country, celebrate their country and are not ashamed to display proudly the British flag on their Facebook page. I suspect that the political left are scared to embrace nationalism because of what it is most obviously and overtly associated with: xenophobia, intolerance, racism and bigotry. But I believe that the concept of the nation-state and the idea of being proud of your country inherently rooted in the left-wing tradition; being a socialist is about believing that the state has a duty to protect those who live within its borders; those who are citizens of its country. Hell, Labour’s greatest achievement is called the National Health Service, not, as far-left Communists would likely prefer, the International Bandage Dispensary. Furthermore, it’s not hypocritical to love your country and also be an internationalist. National identity doesn’t equate to parochialism, myopia, or isolationism, and it doesn’t make you racist or xenophobic. The fact I feel compelled to point
this out is very much evidence of the scale and severity of the problem the left faces. Why is all of this important? Because by appealing to patriotism (NOT pandering to xenophobia and bigotry, or giving into fear), the left stand to gain electorally. The SNP provide an excellent example, whose cocktail of Scottish nationalism and progressive politics helped deliver them to electoral victory in 2015 (and Labour’s parallel electoral oblivion in the country), winning 56 out of 59 seats in the Scottish parliament. Owen Smith postulated in an interview that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn “doesn’t really understand patriotism”, symbolized in his refusal to sing the national anthem, and which he attributes to Corbyn’s “metropolitan” attitude. And while defenders of Corbyn will doubtless argue that this is a trivial point, distorted and abused by the vitriolic right-wing press to demonize the current leader of the Labour Party, I would argue it is again symptomatic of a new British political left (what has been referred to as “new-
old-Labour”) which is reluctant (at best) or even scared (at worst) to mention anything that might vaguely sound patriotic. A report by the Fabian Society, written by Lewis Baston, concludes that, while Labour are performing well in “the most modern bits of England”, their neglect of historically safe heartlands is beginning to cost them dearly. While hardline socialism has been well received in leafy London suburbs and urban centres, in crucial Northern and Midland constituencies, such as Nuneaton and Cannock, Labour’s popularity was much lower. In fact, Labour’s performance in the North of England has fallen by 1.8% since 2015, according to Baston’s analysis. The New Statesman’s Helen Lewis recently speculated that this was because “many voters there want a party with a distinctively English flavour, and don’t feel that Labour is it”. Given that many working-class voters are jumping ship from Labour to UKIP, I’m inclined to agree. If Labour doesn’t get its act together, I worry it may fade into political insignificance.
16 | Tuesday 04 October, 2016
Vivienne Westwood on the Rotten Financial System, Taryana Odayar Executive Editor
Renowned fashion designer and ardent political activist Dame Vivienne Westwood delivered two public lectures at the LSE last Monday and Wednesday, on ‘The Rotten Financial System (Rot $) is the Enemy. We Are the Opposition’, to commemorate the LSE Resist Festival of Ideas and Actions; a 3-day series of public discussions, film screenings, workshops, debates and exhibitions hosted by LSE’s Department of Sociology. Both lectures were chaired by the Head of the Sociology Department Nigel Dodd, who was joined on Wednesday by former Policy Director of the New Economics Foundation and co-founder of the New Weather Institute Andrew Simms, as well as the Executive Director of the Land Research Trust (London) Fred Harrison. I had the opportunity to interview Dame Westwood following Wednesday’s discussion. (Q) I recall that on Monday you were wearing a T-shirt with a slogan – ‘Theresa Talk Vivienne.’ Could you just talk about why you wore that T-shirt and what you’re trying to tell Theresa May? I think it’s a very good idea to group what I’m trying to do around the focus of ‘this is what we want to tell Theresa May’ and prepare something, because I’ve got lots of talks to do, and its to do with Intellectuals Unite. And what we need to talk to her about is our enemy the rotten financial system, and we need a green economy because we’re all in danger of mass extinction, which she is ignoring. And so, if we do that, its going to
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build all this support. You’ve always got to work through government, but they don’t listen, no matter how many people are there with the experiences, they just don’t listen, they do what they want. So what can we do, except to try and build up absolutely massive support, but with a real focus so we know what the enemy is, we know what we need to tell her. At the LSE today, what I did also was to try and involve the LSE in the idea that we have to provide for government a plan of how to transfer to a green economy. And if we do that, its an incredible, solid thing, you’ll get that in the press eventually, they’ll have to start reporting it somehow. I want also to tell Jeremy Corbyn this is what we’re doing. We’re sending all our petitions to Theresa May at the moment, but this is what they’re all about and these are some examples of the kind of thing people have been saying, and we want you to know that there is this incredible, massive support for converting to a green economy, because a green economy is all that will save us. Our enemy is the rotten financial system that causes climate change, causes poverty. Our way out of this into richness and life is through the green economy. We’ve got Intellectuals Unite – its ‘IOU’ – and it means get a life, I owe you a life, I owe my children a life, I owe future generations a life, but I also owe myself a life, and I’m not going to be this consumer anymore, I’m going to try and think ‘what would make a better world, what can I do to try and help’. One thing I didn’t mention today is that you have to start doing
things like save a plastic bag. The wonderful thing would be if people stopped eating meat, but that’s a bit too difficult to just come out with. I don’t eat meat, its great not to eat meat. But people eat far too much. You can see even in the last 10 years, we’ve got 7 billion people but half of them in the rich part of the world are twice as fat as they were - its like they’re even heavier on the ground, its mad! So you might think, what’s this got to do with eating meat? I believe its got everything to do with eating meat. It stops craving if you have a vegetable diet, and its so good for the world, its good for you. And it’s the second biggest polluter in the world; animal livestock farming. If you get involved and just do one or two things, you will just keep on going. It makes you responsible, it makes you always think, ‘I should turn the tap off, I should turn the lights off.’ All these small things, it means that you follow what’s being said and done and you can talk to people. You have a view of the world you can tell them about so that they also can try and personally do something. For you to do that, the most important thing is that it gives you this responsibility to yourself and to everything, to try and make everything better and not just consume without thinking. Because that’s the problem. The rotten financial system is all about ‘we want everybody to consume more of this crap.’ The cheaper things are, the more they’re subsidised so that business can make a profit, the more they’re packaged the more horrible things they’ve got in them so we’re all dying of this bacteria that we can’t
do anything about. You’ve really got to understand that 1 million people control 7 billion people. There is no opposition. We have to be an opposition, and we have to do it through the rotten financial system. The rotten financial system is our enemy, and we’re targeting Theresa May as a kind of trick, as a kind of device, in order to build that opposition. And maybe she will have to do something, and if she doesn’t, then maybe somebody else will. And I’m concentrating just on this country, because if it happens here it’s the most important place it could happen to, our incredible reputation being the best friend of America. And its small enough, so if you can do something here, it would make shock waves throughout the world. But hopefully, I’m not the only person who knows that, and hopefully, other people will try and do things but you’ve got to do something as well. Just think about it, just save a plastic bag, anything. (Q) Are there any particular politicians who would be able to take this forward and implement the green economy? If Caroline Lucas had the job of Theresa May, it would be completely different. We would get what we’re talking about, she would just start to do that. (Q) If you could design T-shirts with slogans for both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, what would the slogans read? Well, I don’t know, but I would not be able to vote for either of
them if I were in America, because they’re both locked into this system - the rotten financial system - and people who are locked into it are no better than another. So for example, in this country, if either Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn at the next election would say we are going to do certain things that have a green policy, I would vote for that. But otherwise I would vote for the green party. It’s the only non-wasted vote. And if I were in America I would have to try and find somebody with a green party and I would vote, but I don’t believe in voting for the least bad option; tactical voting. I think you’ve got to vote for someone you believe in. (Q) You famously drove up to David Cameron’s house in a white army tank, and also cut off all your hair to promote climate change issues. Are there any particular issues you feel strongly about right now, and have you got any stunts planned? I think its important to say everything is connected. Human rights are connected, the government today, the banks. The 1 million people who control us have laws to suit themselves, they are anti-people. They are anti-people in everything they do and they are anti-people in law as well. They use the law for their own purpose. So you’ve got Bradley Manning in jail for revealing American war crimes. They don’t want their war crimes revealed. And war is completely connected with it. War is fought for land and cheap labour and power of course. And its all connected to the rotten financial system.
Interviews | 17
Julian Assange and Telling Off the Queen of Sweden www.telegraph.co.uk
So probably one of the first things I would do here – and we did a T-shirt for them anyway and somebody had a badge on of them – is the junior doctors. I think all these people here, if they want to do anything, next time there’s some kind of protest for the junior doctors we should try to join them. Its only going to be a small amount of people because we haven’t got very far yet with Intellectuals Unite, but it would be very wonderful because when these junior doctors do protest, they’re so busy, so knackered, that not many of them manage to go on these demonstrations. And I can’t believe how some of them do. They’re wonderful people so I think we should just go with realistic things and human things as well. So anytime you can help anybody in any way, don’t forget that its all connected, its all part of the rotten financial system. And that 1 million people control 7 billion. Its completely to do with that. (Q) You mentioned Bradley Manning, and during the talk today you also mentioned that you’re good friends with Julian Assange. Do you visit Julian Assange in the Ecuadorean embassy? Usually about once a month. That man has not seen the sun for about five or six years. Total example of the 1 million controlling and pretending that they know best for people. The United Nations declared Julian innocent because no crime was ever committed, and there was an allegation that the Swedish government won’t drop these appeals. I spoke to the Queen of Sweden and told her off about it. (Q) How did the Queen of Sweden take it? Well it was at a dinner and she asked the host there, “who was that woman who attacked me” and he told her, “oh she’s this famous fashion designer” and whatever, and she hadn’t heard of Julian Assange. And he’s busy and I’m just waiting for him to send me her address because I’ll write to her properly about it. But when I met her, they said “this is the Queen of Sweden,” and I said, “I’m no friend of Sweden! What you’ve done to Julian Assange is shocking. Your country should be ashamed of it!” All you need to say about Julian is that he is America’s most wanted man, and that’s why he’s there in the embassy in Britain. They say they’ll arrest him if he’s ill or steps outside that door, and send him to Sweden so that Sweden can send him to America. Its very simple. (Q) When you meet Julian, what do you usually talk about? Are you collaborating with him on anything? Well sometimes we try and I’ve got one idea. Something might
happen. He’s the most famous victim of human rights abuse in this country. He has not been able to step outside and get sunlight on his body for the last 5 years coming up now. And he’s done nothing wrong at all. There’s no crime ever been written down about him or anything, except the police made up an allegation which has got nothing to do with whatever happened. (Q) Your talk today was based on the theme of resistance, as was your talk on Monday. And in the late 70s Mr McLaren and yourself shaped the punk rock movement in fashion, which in many ways was an artistic vehicle of resistance. Since then, you’ve been a vocal resister of capitalism and consumerism. But since the fashion industry is one of the most hyper-capitalist and consumerist industries in the world, do you ever feel that your personal values sometimes clash with your job? My fashion isn’t anything to do with what you’ve mentioned. I make the best things I can make, and my criterion has always been ‘I have to like it.’ I’m never trying to flog something. If people don’t want it then I just stop, and I try to offer them a choice and I say, ‘Buy less, choose well, make it last.’ Its very labour-intensive with highly skilled work and I’m trying to draw in some of the expansion
“... they said, “this is the Queen of Sweden” and I said, “I’m no friend of Sweden! What you’ve done to Julian Assange is shocking. Your country should be ashamed of it!” - its expanded too much. And that means you lose control and things go through when you haven’t seen them. So I’m trying to do this in order that it is a perfect model of a company for the future. And this is one reason I have stopped using the word ‘capitalist’, because capitalism has got within it the seed of what is happening. Its got the seed that big fish eat little fish and then get the monopolies. And they are about anything to make a profit, and I’m not about that. I don’t consider myself a capitalist, except technically you
have to make a certain profit in order to continue, and then you use your capital to do something. I absolutely agree with somebody called Carnegie. He built all the libraries in England. He was a steel magnate in the 19th century. He came from Scotland originally and he made all his fortune at Lake Michigan where all the best steel was and he just happened to get it all. But he said its a sin to die rich, and he spent the last 25 years with his mother going around deciding how to give his money away. I think that was brilliant. He was a capitalist, but that’s what he did with his money. (Q) Would you ever do something similar? Well I already do give my money away to stuff, where I think its going to do something very important. And of course I’m working with a charity called Cool Earth, and what attracted us to that is that their method is something that only requires a hundred million pounds to save the whole of the equatorial forest, because they work with the indigenous people. They don’t buy them out, they just spend with the indigenous people the same amount of money they would get from the loggers by helping them with schools, helping them sell their coffee or their little beaded bracelets or whatever. So that they slightly enter the world economy now, and they’ve got schools and transport and can support themselves. These people have had amazing histories just like we’ve had. They’re not just people who happen to live in the jungle, they love their land. They’ve got a culture that they want to protect. So what happens is you ring-fence the forest so the loggers can’t get in, and the first thing that Cool Earth does is to work on their entitlement - it is their land and the documents are put in a safe place in Lima or Peru or wherever. One thing you could ask Theresa May is, ‘can’t you just dig into your pocket and just give a hundred million pounds?’ And we could give you a certificate saying, ‘I saved the world.’ Because if you don’t save the rainforest, forget it. So that’s where I started and I still work with them and I must design a couple of T-shirts for them - we’ve already got a couple - but so that they can keep on raising money. I’ve got a very good idea for them and I hope to raise this hundred million pounds. But what I was saying is if I had that hundred million pounds myself I would give it immediately, but I don’t have it. (Q) You’ve spoken a lot about culture in the past and even just now. What do you think about the political culture in Britain? Do you think Britain is going backwards or forwards?
Well I’m glad you mentioned culture because that’s how I started this activism. Punk was active, ‘follow us because the world is being totally mismanaged and we don’t accept what the older generation is doing’, and ‘we kids want anarchy because we’re not going to do what we’re told by these terrible people.’ So that’s what punk was about. And I left it because I thought you need culture, and that’s when I did the Pirate collection. Forget about all this jumping and spitting - because I wanted the look of an urban guerrilla which is what we did - and that’s when I had the Pirate idea with Malcolm (McLaren). So when I started this thing about the environment, before that, I started to do something about culture. I thought, what would I do today at this little shop, ‘Worlds End’, where we did the Pirate collection and all these things, and I thought what would I tell young kids today, and it is that we’ve got consumption and we don’t have culture. And I said the world suffers from three evils, which I remember reading in an essay by Aldous Huxley. One is nationalist ideology, which is taking the place of religion. The other one is organised lying, and the other one is nonstop distraction. And Huxley said the greatest evil is nonstop distraction. And I don’t know if there are any people I would call artists today. They are people just supplying a demand and think they’re successful. It’s a bit of a bubble isn’t it? People invest in it but it doesn’t have any real value and its just something they can pass on. I don’t think we’ve got any art and I don’t think we’ve got any culture and we
are becoming alienated because of it. You get out what you put in, that’s what culture’s about. And consumption is about just sucking up any old rubbish. I don’t think we’ve got much culture today, no. The hippies politicised my generation, and we were trying to politicise with punk, and then we got the 80s where these kids didn’t have a clue about politics and nobody was telling them anything. And soon after that is when I started to do something, and my first campaign and my first website was all about propaganda and it was called ‘Active Resistance’ to propaganda. So what I did was a little manifesto about a journey to find art, and there were 20 different characters including Pinocchio and Alice in Wonderland who were all trying to find art, but who couldn’t find it very well. But we talked about what art really was during the process. I went to 18 different universities with this. I read the part of ‘Active Resistance’ and all the other 20 (people) who were on the platform read the other parts. And the Royal Shakespeare company asked if they could do it with me and they did it in the theatre up in North London. So that was my first campaign to invest in culture. And if we did have culture, we would not have climate change. It would be ‘Buy less, choose well, make it last’, invest in things instead of sucking things up. We wouldn’t be destroying the earth. One very, very terrible thing is we don’t respect animals and cruelty to animals, and if we could address that also, then we wouldn’t have climate change. We would not be behaving like we are.
18 | Tuesday 04 October, 2016
LSESU Sabb Team 2016/17
Meet your Officers! Busayo Twins: General Secretary
The Union
Hi to the students of LSE, My name is Busayo Twins and I am your Students’ Union General Secretary for this academic year. I recently graduated having studied Bsc Economic History. During my second year I served as the President of the African and Caribbean Society and have been involved in several campaigns as a student here. As your General Secretary, I am the leading representative for students to the University. My duty is to act in the best interests of the student community whilst I sit on a vast
number of committees which makeup the University’s decision making body. The Students’ union, made up of Sabbatical officers, Part-time officers and staff team are committed to making sure all groups of students have an amazing experience during their time at LSE. The Sabbatical officers each have their own priorities but as a team we have shared agendas which we all work on. My priorities for this year is to better the experience of students from less advantaged Socio-economic backgrounds.
Julia Ryland: Activities & Development Officer
Hi, I’m Julia, and I am the Activities and Development Officer at LSESU. I’m responsible for developing societies, the Athletics’ Union, the Media Group, RAG and volunteering, and working with students to achieve a fun LSE! During my time as an undergraduate I studied Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method - although I probably spent more time getting involved in the Student’s Union! After joining the Women’s Rugby team in my first year I became club captain and have been proud to see the club grow and develop. In my third year I was elected Athletic’s Union (AU) President with the promise of increasing inclusivity, diversity
and accessibility of the AU through the #AUForALL campaign. I hope to continue working on this campaign this year. I am also working on improving communication within the SU by establishing society and club email addresses and two new newsletters. As well as this, I am hoping to develop the Arts Festival and run an international varsity with the Toulouse School of Economics. I am always keen to talk to students and hear what you’ve got so say, so whether you are an undergraduate, postgraduate or Phd, please feel free to get in touch su.activitiesdevelopment@lse.ac.uk
Riham Mansour: omm nit &
The most important thing about me is that I’m a Beninoise-Canadian who grew up in Swaziland and is consequently addicted to the sun-- winter is not a good time for me. I studied BSc Government at the LSE, and graduated this summer. As Education Officer I represent students’ academic interests to the School, in order to make sure that student issues are always at the forefront of LSE policy making ( unfortunately this is not a given at the School). This means I sit on loads of committees and spend a frustratingly large part of my job talking to the School’s administration. More interesting
el re Officer
I’m a Canadian-Egyptian who has spent her past four years living in four different countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, and the UK. I come from a tiny town on the tip of the Atlantic, St. John’s, in Canada. I moved to London to do my MSc in International Political Economy. The position of Community and Welfare is an interesting one; it’s an all-encompassing remit, which explains why the priorities of C&W sabbs can change dramatically from year to year. My priorities this year focus on the experience of BME students here at the LSE- rather, breaking ‘BME’ down. We have such a wide
Jasmina Bidé: for me though is talking to students to find out how I can best represent them, and working with students so that they are able to represent themselves to the School—I am responsible for training and organising course representatives, for example. My priorities this year are campaigning to introduce exam resits in Autumn, pushing the School to improve the education and experience of Black students, better the School-wide treatment of GTAs (our teachers) and finally educating students on the changes happening to the Education sector at the hands of the British Government.
diversity of ethnic identities on campus, and it’s problematic that they’re addressed as a mass of ‘BME’. So, empowering individual communities within the BME bracket is one of my largest priorities. Another point of importance for me is pushing for the mental health support for our students here, because LSE can be such a high-stress environment. Part of my role, however, is being responsive to our campus, so my priorities will also change depending on what happens this year. I’m here to protect your welfare and support your community, in whatever capacity that means to you.
c tion Officer
The Union | 19
Clockwise from Top Left: Lacrosse Give it a Go; SU Bowling Night; Swing Dancing Give it a Go; Fencing Give it a Go; Women’s [Bare Knuckle?!] Boxing Give it a Go; SU Thames River Cruise; Students stand in solidarity with cleaners at ‘Justice for LSE Cleaners!’, an open meeting see cover story for full details.
20
This poem was written as a reaction to the terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan in December 2014 which resulted in the death of 141 people, including 132 schoolchildren, ranging between eight and eighteen years of age.
ORIGINAL
| Tuesday 4 October 2016
“Homework? Not finished yet, I’ll take it down.” Feet scurry, secrets float, words whisper, words shout. Ties are straightened, Mornings wished, “Good Morning Ma’am!” “Yes, Good morning indeed.” Chairs scrape, desks are drawn, Notebooks open, pencils scratch. Whispers float, murmur sounds. Circulatory system here, Pre-Independence Struggle there. Wait. “What was that?” “Was that a blast?” Voices rise; Panic; Confusion. Running, screaming, rattle, thud. Bang-Bang-Bang! Doors fly inwards. Moving back, living, breathing, Panting, scared, confused. “Under your desks!” Men run in. Young men? Old Men? Who? Why? Why? Dear God, save us frThunder of metal. Metal pellets, metal bullets. Pierce the air, pierce the earth. Dreams of being a vet. Dreams of serving the country, Following the footsteps of fathers and mothers. Wishes, hopes. Hopes of good home-cooked food. Hopes of an eighty-percent. Hopes of a puppy next birthday. Hopes of good cricket in the weekend. Fractured, fragmented, dreams and hopes. Beating yet, in their hearts. Hearts long still, filled yet With imprisoned hopes and dreams. They were us, we are them. We have died, we have died With them. They live on, still live on, In us. Krittika Ray BSc Economics, Year I.
part
B
editorial team PartB Editor
Flo Edwards
Fashion
Film
Jamie Lloyd Meaghan Clohessy Tom Sayner Maria Maleeva
Food & Lifestyle
Literature
Caroline Schurman-Grenier Camila Arias Sean Tan Buritica
Music
Technology
Theatre
Visual Arts
Rob Funnell Will Locke
Edward Tan
Noah D’Aeth
Hanna Lee
FOOD
21
Review A Meal at Mildreds
Caroline Schurman-Grenier WELCOME BACK TO THE BIG BAD WORLD OF ADULTHOOD, OR AS SOME PEOPLE call it, university. Yes, you’ll have spent the summer back home with loved ones basking in the sunlight and delighted never having to lift a finger to eat. But now, you’re back in London and you don’t know what to do with yourself. You know what I think? You should try a new place for dinner because let’s face it, there’s only so much Wagamama a student can eat (said no one ever, but humor me). In Camden, Soho and King’s Cross lies a little haven for all you health fanatics or vegetarians. Simply decorated but filled with the sounds of chats and food questions, you will find Mildred’s Kitchen, one of the best vegetarian restaurants in town. No, Mildred is not my vegetarian friend from school who has the best kitchen in town. It’s actually a restaurant, and a great one I may add. Pan fried halloumi with tomato chili, ricotta and lemon tortellini, sweet potato curries, rose harissa hummus and vegan brownie sundaes (yes you read right), this place has it all. For the not so hungry customers, they serve wonderfully filling salads jam packed with ingredients you can’t even pronounce. If you’re very hungry, they’ve got some fantastic veggie burgers to choose from. I’m all about meat but every once in a while, I love me a good vegetarian meal. Mildreds is the place to enjoy said dinner. To all of you who think that vegetarian or vegan food is bland or boring, you have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m sorry to be so harsh, but I am entitled to be for this one. Being a vegetarian is by no means a sign of being high maintenance or annoying. Au contraire, it forces you to be more creative with your meals because the standard “meat, potato, veggies” way to cooking simply doesn’t apply anymore. I am not vegetarian but I admire everyone who is. You know why? They listen to their bodies and see what works for them and what doesn’t. I’ve been back 3 times in 3 months, that’s a good sign right? I should hope so. You can share a meal of starters or order yourself a big burger or a curry. Either way, if you don’t order too many drinks, you’ll walk out of there having spent less than 20 pounds. Treat yourself once in a while!
Find them in Soho here but check out their website to find the King’s Cross and Camden locations! 45 lexington street soho, london W1f 9An
22
FILM
| Tuesday 4 October 2016
14
Review Sausage Party Joe Vera-Sanso SAUSAGE PARTY IS, FRANKLY, something of a bore. Despite a fascinating trailer and genuinely hilarious moments, the film has little to say of substance. Whilst projecting such a limited message may indeed have been the intention of the film’s creators, it is hard to imagine that the collection of Hollywood liberals who wrote and starred in it really wanted to only provide a piece of entertainment. Instead, they cram a variable coterie of offences to the senses into the film,
Meaghan Clohessy MANY FILMS GAMBLE ENJOYMENT on finding the supposed ‘perfect cinematic formula.’ Employ a veteran director? Check. Base the film off a popular book by Cormac McCarthy? Check. Stock film with Oscar winners, nominees, and hopefuls? Got it. Ridley Scott’s new film The Counselor claims to have struck the balance of this formula. The film follows a defense counselor (Michael Fassbender) who enters a drug trafficking scheme so as to start a life with his fiancé Laura (Penelope Cruz). The Counselor soon discovers that when one thing goes wrong, everything does, often with disastrous consequences. Despite so-called strengths, The Counselor manages to both bore and confuse audiences. With its preachy nature, ambiguity, and misogyny, the film shows when you manufacture a perfect formula, a film more easily falls apart. The film attempts to entice audiences with the mysterious and erotic opening of the Counselor and Laura sharing pillow talk
including (but not limited to) orgies, ethnic conflict, drug abuse, tasteless violence and a rather off-putting amount of sex. All this, remember, through the medium of anthropomorphised foodstuffs. Whilst not wishing to sound prudish, it is really enough to at least make one’s jaw drop, and definitely put you off eating for a few hours. However, in the end, all this gratuitous nonsense practically smothers an underlying message that would’ve struggled to make itself heard anyway. Ostensibly a diatribe against organised religion and the brainwash-
ing effects of propaganda, it’s not hard to hear the distinct whine of middle-class liberalism behind the sexual moans of assorted breads and cold cuts. The lack of nuance or even the slightest hint of self-reflection on the part of the group of people behind Sausage Party makes the entire exercise not an amusing, offensive yet authentic call to liberal values of reason and logic. Instead it’s a joke entirely at the expense of the writers, actors and producers, even as they believe themselves to have so cleverly lampooned what I pre-
sume is the conservative-authoritarian-traditionalist mindset they seek to denigrate. As with most efforts to promote liberal values a la Family Guy, it instead displays the rather twisted irony of an ultimately intolerant faith in the supremacy of their own whingeing belief in rationality. This, in truth, is the really funny part of Sausage Party. Unless you’re the sort of person who truly finds a foursome between a hot dog, a bun, pitta bread, a bagel and an enchilada amusing.
Review The Counselor
underneath the sheets. Scott does a great job in setting audiences in a fragmented space. Two spaces exist within this scene: first is the intimate space between the Counselor and Laura, pure and naïve as demonstrated by the whiteness of their sheets. Second is the space of the desert, unpredictable and desolate. These spaces are often in conflict throughout the film as the Counselor tries to separate his personal life from the trafficking scheme. This ambiguity grows throughout the film through some subtle stylistic choices, such as the choice not to divulge the Counselor’s actual name. By not giving the Counselor a name, audiences understand his identity is connected through his job and that it will lead to his dehumanizing transformation at the end of the film. After the first half of buildup, McCarthy’s writing decides to throw subtlety out the window. Though this movie could have been a ninety-minute film, each character stopping to give the Counselor life advice gives the already dragging film an extra hour. Speeches that explain character motivations
remove the beginning mystery from the film. Each speech given so clearly foreshadows events in the film that it completely destroys the shock value of what should be a horrific ending. While the moral lessons are being beaten over our heads, key information is left a mystery throughout the film. What kind of defense counselor was the Counselor? There is indication in the middle of the film that he had the potential to be corrupt, but that point is not pursued further. In addition, what is the point of Cameron Diaz’s character, other than to play up the femme fatale? The moral lessons can only work if the audiences have the context to have these lessons explained. This thematic inconsistency is only accentuated in McCarthy’s fragmented framing technique and unnecessarily disjointed points of view. The misogynistic tendencies underscoring the film should be enough to draw audiences away. In films dealing with sexism, a difference should be made between characters being misogynistic and the film itself being misogynistic. However, The
Counselor has made the choice to become a ‘tell-all’ about how much women love wild sex. Much of the dialogue exchange between the Counselor and Reiner are about how women need to be entertained sexually. Once women have found what they like, they look for nothing else. Sexism extends into the stylistic elements of the film, most notably in the binary between Laura and Malkina, played by Cameron Diaz. They become the physical manifestations of the Madonna and the whore complex. While Laura wears the crucifix to go with her white suits, Cameron Diaz is covered with tattoos and has a penchant for having sex with automobiles. In addition, women are only viewed as something to be desired, abused, and then literally tossed away. The film is more an extended version of the song “Blurred Lines.” All that’s missing is a Robin Thicke cameo telling Malkina “but you’re an animal, baby. It’s in your nature.” If you don’t wish to become frustrated— or just like the sight of yellow Ferraris—it would be best to avoid this film.
FASHION
S/S 2017 London Fashion Week: The Review Matt Measor Over the last weekend, designers, bloggers and photographers descended onto Soho for London Fashion Week's Spring and Summer 2017 collections. The sense of excitement around Brewer Street Car Park - the main exhibition space - was undeniable, and this was mirrored in the styles of those either attending the shows or trying to catch a glimpse of any VIP who reared their heads. I was lucky enough to visit the Teatum Jones catwalk and experience the Edeline Lee presentation over the weekend and have finally had time to gather my thoughts for a brief review. Edeline Lee Starting with the smaller of the two collections, Edeline Lee's S/S 2017 collection - one inspired by the post-Brexit idea of an 'ode' to London. The Elms Lesters Painting Rooms provided a brilliant home for her collection; immersed in the chaos of Charing Cross Road, they still provided space and light to showcase the array of colours Lee worked with. The ubiquitous, everyday motifs distilled from the graphic detritus of contemporary life drew you in once you entered the rooms. What stood out most from the collection was the stark juxtapositions between the colours and cutting - minimalist shapes alongside maximalist textures. Displaying the garments against Kyung Roh Bannwart's photographs of London textures, including the back alleys of Soho against the neoclassical stones in Mayfair only enhanced the contrasts. Whilst these helped highlight the boldness of the collection, this was an interesting approach to the postBrexit London Lee described, when most of London seeks to draw people into the city, rather than bring about division. Perhaps this is reading into the message too much, as Lee was making the opposite statement. As she says, 'Everything you need is in London'. Regardless, the collection was bold and the care which was put into each
garment was evident. A bright and striking womenswear collection, which is most-needed for London this year. Teatum Jones Moving on to the larger collection, for both Menswear and Womenswear - the Teatum Jones catwalk. This was the debut menswear capsule collection for Rob and Catherine, even though masculinity has featured prominently in their previous womenswear collections, and the team definitely played with this idea. It is clear the collection is designed to blur the lines between the traditional male/female view of gender. Men's merino wool t-shirts with oversized pockets, both in bright primary colours and pastel hues were as invasive as the message around the non-binary sexuality the collection was inspired by. Skirts and trousers combined sharp daggers and random splashes of colour and black against white to form patterns that represent the sweaty sexual energy of Glaswegian house ravers in the 19th century. The menswear and womenswear collections were grouped by three intense and powerful colour palettes. The intricate navy lacework on the women dresses provided a sheer front to the body. British woven jacquards combine deep intense romantic palettes on the right side of sheen, to allow them to take their place on the 'boundary' between men and women tailoring. Teatum Jones sought to make this collection a visual open letter of thanks to Scotland for their legal protection they offer lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. Personally, as someone who believes this community finds its home within fashion and the world of art - as I do - this collection played with the tired view of gender and sexuality, and threw intense colours and passion into the collection. It was a joy to see everyone celebrate the collection in open arms, in the same way London and Scotland are very much open.
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24 | Tuesday 4 October 2016
MUSIC
14
Top 4 Summer Albums Tom Sheriff
The Avalanches - Wildflower After releasing their debut masterpiece Since I Left You in 2001, the Avalanches – Australian plunderphonics group (i.e. a couple of mates trading samples in their bedrooms) – seemed to disappear. Fifteen years of hopeful waiting later, they released Wildflower. Luckily for us, not all that time was spent smoking weed – lots of it went into making their second album brilliant. The first song, ‘Because I’m Me’, sets the mood perfectly: propulsive yet laid back; nostalgic yet enjoying the moment. Considering the length of its gestation, it’s a relief to hear how spontaneous Wildflower sounds, and how it refuses to take itself too seriously. ‘The Noisy Eater’ (a song about nothing less than a noisy eater) is plain funny; ‘Frankie Sinatra’ is a deliriously trippy ode to nonsense – these moments show that the Avalanches haven’t lost their sense of humour. Pleasingly, though, songs like ‘Colours’ and ‘Kaleidoscopic Lovers’ prove that they have also stayed true to their knack for beauty. Wildflower is an album to listen to on a warm Autumn evening with friends, remembering the good times of summers past. Sit back, close your eyes and get ready to smile.
Frank Ocean - Blond In 2009, Frank Ocean was writing throwaway pop songs for Justin Bieber. Now, he is a modern-day Marvin Gaye – a universally adored artist on the cutting edge of RnB, with a voice gentle enough to soothe pain and songs strong enough to survive the passing of time. Frank Ocean took a lot of time to record Blond, missing deadlines and retreating into self-imposed exile – much like Kanye West’s recording of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Unlike that opus, however, Blonde is not maximalist; Ocean spent the time taking elements away and perfecting those left. The result is a refreshingly simple record, but one with such clarity as to make its songs pack a powerful emotional punch. The melodies in songs like ‘Ivy’ and ‘White Ferrari’ quietly leave their impact as they slip by – you need to be paying attention to catch them. That isn’t a problem, though: from the moment you hear Frank’s voice on opener ‘Nikes’, he has your attention until the very end. His lyrics are richly emotive; his voice is deeply expressive. Blond is an album built on subtleties, but if you allow it to grab you it will hold you like no other.
Angel Olsen - My Woman When Angel Olsen released the fiery rock song ‘Shut Up Kiss Me’ in June of this year, it sounded like a statement of intent. The song’s titular demand indicated that Olsen wasn’t content with simply serving the needs of others – she has her own desires. Her album title confirms that: its bold, all-caps presence makes it clear that she is asserting herself as a woman and an artist. It’s unsurprising, then, that MY WOMAN is such a confident set of songs, one unafraid to venture into new territory with superb results. Olsen’s range as a singer-songwriter has always raised her above her contemporaries, with her ability to craft a lyrically complex slow-burner (‘Sister’, ‘Woman’) as good as her skill at producing an indie anthem (‘Never Be Mine’, ‘Give It Up’). Her idiosyncrasies as a performer feel stronger here than they’ve ever been: she is in complete control of her voice, turning it low and breathy or delicately shifting it higher. Folk and rock purists may abhor her synth touches, but Olsen isn’t here to please them – she’s doing things for herself. MY WOMAN is the sound of an artist finding out who she is and liking it. That is an exciting sound indeed.
MUSIC Young Thug – JEFFREY Does Young Thug take anything seriously at all? Probably not. That’s why he made everyone think he was going to change his name to ‘No, My Name Is Jeffrey’ (which would have been the worst rapper name since 2 Chainz was called Tity Boi) and why, on his latest mixtape JEFFREY, he named the tracks after his ‘idols’ – including ‘Harambe’. But his lack of care is exactly his appeal; he is a man living completely in the moment, having too much fun right now to even glance towards the future. JEFFREY shows him on top of his game. When he’s there, don’t let his carefree attitude distract from the quality of his music: the hooks are uniformly sticky; his delivery ranges from laid back (‘Swizz Beats’) to furious (‘Harambe’); the beats can be atmospheric (‘Floyd Mayweather’) or intricate (‘Kanye West’). Thugger will switch up his flow several times in one verse, let alone one song, creating a dizzying spiral of rhythm and wordplay. Forget that it’ll all probably be dated in a year – act like Young Thug and enjoy the moment while it’s as good as this.
FILM
A. J. Bergman AT SOME POINT IN HIS career, Jean-Luc Godard has allegedly declared that “Robert Bresson is French cinema, as Dostoevsky is the Russian novel and Mozart is the German music.” He was certainly one of the more stylistically original of the French auteur filmmakers, never subjecting himself (unlike Godard) to the compromises necessitated by commercial cinema. His 1959 film Pickpocket is by many regarded as his masterpiece, with the film topping Susan Sontag’s list of ‘best films’. On a first viewing, the film invites further comparisons to Dostoevsky, at least with regards to the plot, which seems to be loosely based upon Crime and Punishment: a young man called Michel (played by Martin LaSalle, who at the time was a non-professional actor) becomes a petty thief that gets sent to prison after committing a series of transgressions on the streets of Paris. While imprisoned, he finds redemption through his love of Jeanne (Marika Greene). But while Raskolnokov is moved to his crime by lofty philosophical arguments and finds recourse from his debauched utilitarian motives in a kind of spiritual transcendence, Michel is driven to crime by a sense of ennui and is fascinated more by the very art of pickpocketing than any
of its metaphysical (Nietzschean) implications. His moral stance does not change, he is convinced of the wrongness of his acts, but resorts to them from a lack of alternatives: it is only through a confrontation with society that he is able to realise his place in it. (I am giving the above kind of prosaic plot summary as per standard critical practice. However, when talking about Bresson, there is at least one way in which following such practice is out of place.) Andre S. Labarthe, writing on Pagnol in Cashiers du Cinéma in 1965, proposed a division of film auteurs with ‘what we remember about their films as the basic criterion.’ Thus in Pagnol, one remembers a character, while in a film by Bresson, a shot. This seems accurate when considering the distinctive acting style in Pickpocket with its deliberate limiting of facial, bodily and vocal expressiveness of the actors. What we normally associate with characterdriven drama is the heightening of emotional portrayal according to more or less theatrical conventions. As a result, many critics have labeled Bresson’s work a rejection of the theatrical and a commitment to a kind of ‘anti-expression’. By flouting the tradition of the stage, his blank-faced actors call attention to the medium— that is cinema—itself. The tendency toward empha-
sising the presence of the camera is characteristic of much modernist cinema and the Nouvelle Vague in particular, to which Bresson was somewhat of a precursor. Classical cinema, of which Hollywood of the studio system is the chief example, concerned itself with artifice and the development of narrative convention. Since the viewer identified with the camera eye, the ambition was to make the medium as ‘transparent’ as possible so as to provide seemingly unmediated access to the interesting material that was filmed. The turn to the more selfconscious modernist cinema was for many an acknowledgement of film as an art as well as a medium. No longer was it desirable to speak of characters as interesting independently of their cinematic depiction. The cinéphiles associated with the Cashiers and similar publications had a confidence in cinema and wanted it to develop into its own art form. Films like Pickpocket became exemplary of such a new, serious approach in opposition to the naivety of a cinema ‘turned toward the world’ and the dedramatisation of its characters was seen as a case in hand that a cinema on its own terms had to be cleansed of theatrical influence. What essence would such a cleanse reveal? In the essay entitled “Style and Medium in the Motion Pictures” from 1934, Er-
win Panofsky points out a formal difference that characterise the experience of each art form: when seeing a play the viewer is bound to a single point of view while the ‘essence’ of film is the deployment of many different perspectives. For this reason the exclusively cinematic art has been called an art of ‘spatial relations’ as the theatre offers what is essentially a single continuos establishing shot. One of the remarkable features of Pickpocket is the use of so called ‘constructive editing’ that does away with the establishing shot entirely and instead builds up a sense of space through such apparently uniquely cinematic techniques as the eyeline-match, where an actor’s gaze becomes an implicit suggestion as to the position of the following shot. Bresson uses such techniques to great effect, allowing him to show off the skilful hand movements of Michel while evoking the tense atmosphere surrounding his crimes by denying the viewer any general grasp of the situation. But whether the perspectives allowed through techniques such as constructive editing are in any way constitutive of cinema as an art and, in addition, radically different from those employed in cinema is to me unclear. I recall, for example, seeing Joe HillGibbins’ production of Measure for Measure at the Young Vic last year in which video cameras were
used by the actors themselves to film the action taking place behind large set screens (on which the footage was projected) that meant to remind us of the secret world lurking behind Duke Vincentio’s Vienna. It is an interesting case of the theatre borrowing and adapting so overtly a technique from cinema: it goes to show that the influence can be reciprocal, in which case talk of irresolvable opposition between the arts appears either naive or unnecessarily reductive. In an interview available on youtube, Bresson defends his departure from theatrically expressive acting as an attempt at drawing attention to the mechanical aspects of life. To this extent, dedramatisation has been practiced on the stage as well in various forms (think of Beckett’s Not I or Quad, the latter having been aptly described as a “piece for four players, light and percussion”). Elsewhere he has stated that the task of the director is to justify each image in relation to the adjacent ones to the extent that only one way of doing each shot can be seen as the correct one. Such a kind of precise chain of images seems only (if ever) achievable in cinema, and one gets the sensation that one sees the closest approximation of this directorial ideal when watching Pickpocket—an essential film.
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NAB
The NAB Horoscopes
Capricorn
Consider ditching all the friends you made at Freshers. You will inevitably do so anyway, and get a timehop picture showing up on your Facebook in a year’s time that makes you say ‘What the fuck was I thinking?’ By ditching these fresher friends, you will make room for new people in your life, and this next week is a great time for capricorns to make connections thanks to something to do with Jupiter (probably). Make sure to impress by reeling off your A level results in a monotonous drone.
Pisces
Pisces are ruled by Jupiter and often exhibit sensitive, self-sacrificing behaviour. This will manifest itself overtly this week as you meekly acquiesce to your flatmate’s chanting of ‘ZOO ZOO ZOO’. Your journey to Leicester square lasts 4 times longer than your actual night out - one of the BOYS throws up their cheeky Nandos all over you within 6 minutes of your arrival.
Aquarius
An unfortunate alignment between Mercury and the little known David Hasselhoff constellation means that you will try to switch feet on the Library stairs on Tuesday. Many people will see, and your desperate attempts to style it out will fail miserably. Consider staying at home all day. Excuse your seminar non attendance by mumbling something unintelligible about timetables.
Aries
Mars is high in the sky this week and that brings out the worst of your competitive and selfish side. You head out to Zoo with the lads and foolishly believe you can take on a greater amount of Jaeger and redbull than you actually can, and unleash the chunder cannon all over some hapless sod who doesn’t even want to be there. You hit the big time as a Bev Report sensation though. Worth it.
Taurus
The changing dates of star signs emotionally affects you much more than others, Taurus. You wonder what else about your life is a lie and inadvertently discover that your parents put you up for adoption. Angelina Jolie wasn’t interested.
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Your efforts at ‘getting more out of Uni’ and doing more beyond sitting in the Tuns will go horribly astray on Wednesday. Whilst attending the LSESU Active Lifestyles LED Sabres event (11:301pm, Old Building badminton court), you get hit so hard with a big plastic stick that you can taste your kidneys. Play it safe from here on out.
Your distracted, nervous nature is particularly pronounced this week thanks to some sort of Venus bullshit. The Lord of the Flies inspired queue structure at Wright’s Bar confuses you on Monday, and you spend the entire day hungry as a result.
You accidentally call a lecturer ‘mum’ during a Q&A thanks to an unfortunate alignment of Orion and Venus. If you plan quickly, you probably still have time to switch universities.
Virgo
Virgos are driven by logic and practicality. You might only be two weeks into your degree, but now is definitely the right time to start visiting careers fairs in order to make an impression on a junior grunt at Goldman. Make sure you stand out from the crowd by wearing a hellishly expensive suit that doesn’t actually fit you.
Libra
Scorpio
new star sign added by NASA. Ophiuchus The If your star sign was an LSE degree
Mercury’s position in the southern hemisphere brings out your resourceful side. You book a Careers Event titled ‘How to use LinkedIn effectively’ before spending 5 minutes staring blankly at your reflection on the bus, wondering how it ever came to this.
That snazzy thrift store shirt you got for a bargain price of £3? Don’t wear it. Everyone will ask if you shop at the same places as Paul Kelly and you will question every life choice you’ve ever made.
programme, it would be BSc Government. It sounds legitimate, you’re pretty sure you’ve heard of it, but you’ve you never actually met anyone who does the course. The coming week promises to be uninspiring and dull.
Sagittarius
Let loose the outgoing, blunt side of your personality this week by post-ironically attending careers fairs and making your peers feel terrible about their life choices. Ask people their post-graduation plans and reply to every statement with only the phrase ‘Oh. Interesting’. Ask the people in hellishly expensive suits if they borrowed them from their dad. This will make you feel fleetingly better about not bothering to do a penultimate year internship.
288 | Tuesday 04 October, 2016
The USA’s Presidential Race to the Bottom?
The City
Section Editor: Alex Gray Deputy Editors: Ramone Bedi
The recent presidential debate helped shed some light on the direction of tax policy in the US, and the belief in trickle down economics Sara Sindija LSE Undergraduate MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH was the first US Presidential debate of the 2016 election season. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took the stage, dueling over important topics ranging from race issues in America to terrorism and the threat of ISIS. However, it was the issue of taxes that fired up the candidates. When Trump was accused of not paying federal taxes, he quipped, “that makes me smart”. This suggests of course, that the US tax policies for the country’s top earners, are not. Most LSE students have not yet had the pleasure to personally delve into understanding the corporate tax structure. Below is a beginners guide to understanding who stands where, and what it all means. By debunking myths, explaining facts, and comparing the American discourse in the context of Brexit, below is what we were able to conclude. For companies moving their main operations overseas, an exit tax is something everyone can agree on. Though information is not available on Trump’s official tax plan, he expressed once again on Monday night that he was firmly in favor of taxing companies who choose to leave the US to conduct business more cheaply elsewhere. Clinton hopes to close
tax loopholes like inversions that reward companies for shifting profits and jobs overseas. Tax loopholes reduce the taxes paid by multinational corporations, while smaller firms are often taxed 20 times higher. Meanwhile, Trump hopes to lower corporate taxes from 35 percent to a mere 15 percent.
“When Trump was accused of not paying federal taxes, he quipped, ‘that makes me smart’” Lower corporate tax rates would not foster repatriation and incentivize multinational corporations to stay local. This summer, in a post-Brexit frenzy, former Chancellor George Osborne, announced that the UK would remain desirable in the world economy by cutting corporate taxes to less than 15 percent - the lowest rate of any major economy. The concern is two-fold. First, repatriations don’t typically lead to an increase in domestic investment and employment. In fact, in an internal memo from the head of tax at the OECD voiced concerns that the UK would become a tax haven economy. Secondly, the world’s largest multination-
al corporations such as Apple, Starbucks, and Pfizer, maintain a worldwide network of tax havens to park global profits, some of which don’t even have any employees. Lowering corporate taxes does not inherently equate to more jobs. It is no secret that widening inequality is a deeply concerning issue in the US and Britain. During Monday’s debate, Trump announced that with lower tax rates for big companies, “the wealthy are going to create tremendous jobs. They’re going to expand their companies. It’s a great thing for the middle class when companies expand”. What Trump has described is the theory of trickle-down economics. Ha-Joon Chang, faculty of Economics at the University of Cambridge recently explained that “once you realize trickle-down economics does not work, you will see the excessive tax cuts for the rich for what they are—a simple upward redistribution of income.” In reality, the only incentive for companies to expand is if consumers want to buy more products! With a shrinking middle class, consumers cannot afford more goods and services. Instead, any extra capital will continue to be used as it often has been historically: for companies to buy back their own stock, raise dividends, and increase executive salaries, rather
than investing in expansion. With growing inequality in the US and Britain, raising working and middle class wages will improve the economy more than lowering corporate taxes. Simply put, reduced corporate taxes reduce government revenue and broaden the deficit. All things held equal, one of two things could happen; either the deficit is deepened, or a larger portion of government expenditures must come from elsewhere. The likely source is the middle class. A prudent corporate tax policy is not only critical for the US economy, but is extremely important to the success of a post-Brexit economy for Britain. Corporate tax regulations certainly need reform, but not in the way Trump and Osborne envision that reform. Large corporations’ should not receive economic advantages over small, domestic businesses. The current US tax system benefits the wealthy and burdens the middle class, exacerbating the endemic of widening inequality. Unfortunately, the future of the economy lies in the hands of those least affected. History and economics tell us that when the middle class does well, so does the economy. To implement policies that further diminish the middle class continues the US and Great Britain on a course of deepening economic divides and increased
Credit: Wikipedia Commons
What is Going on at Deustche?
The City |29
An explanation of how Deustche Bank got here - and what it can do now Zikai Chua LSE Undergraduate SHARE PRICES FOR GERMAN financial giant Deutsche Bank hit a 52-year low on Tuesday as the bank struggles with the implications of a $14bn United States Department of Justice (DoJ) fine. Unconvinced investors started a steep sell-off over fears their shares would be further diluted, despite assurances
from CEO John Cryan that the institution would not turn to the markets in an effort to raise equity. Further impounding matters were reports coming out of Germany that Deutsche’s pleas for help had been rejected by Berlin, something the bank denies doing. Shares of the German based global banking and financial services provider, a crucial player in the global derivatives market, have been on a downward trend
since 2009 as the company struggles to recover from its postfinancial crisis in 2009. The decline has sharply steepened since the beginning of the year. Posting a $7.7bn full year loss for 2015, the rot has yet to show signs of stopping with 20% yearon-year fall in revenue in the second quarter of 2016, market capitalisation was only $18bn even before the latest sell-off. Whilst a $14bn fine may not cause it to go the way of Lehman Brothers, it would represent a significant blow to existing capital. How did Deutsche get into this mess? To provide some background for the fine, Deutsche were one of the major drivers of the housing bubble collapse from 20042008, promoting bad Collateralised Debt Obligations (CDOs) to investors and it is on this basis that the US DoJ is trying to impose a $14bn fine on the German banking giant backed by claims of mis-selling of bonds prior to the 2008 financial crisis. Of course, Deutsche insists it has no intention of paying the full fine, pointing to similar proposed penalties on fellow financial giants such as Goldman Sachs being eventually negotiated to a much more manageable sum The Department of Justice are grounding their case against Deutsche in relation to the misselling of subprime loans, as well as manipulation of foreign exchange rates and commodity prices.
Credit: Wikipedia Commons
Simultaneously the bank faces allegations of fixing benchmarks of Libor and Euribor (rates agreed by European banks on prices of mortgages and derivatives). The fines come in line with the increasingly strict standards on major bank’s customer vetting standards, however most expected the fine to be much smaller, closer to half of the astronomical $14bn What does this mean for the rest of us? Caught between a rock and a hard place and with share prices at an all-time low, Deutsche CEO Cryan is reluctant to turn to the markets, but yet share prices are unlikely to increase until the DoJ fine is resolved. The bank’s issues may also have political implications as Chancellor Angela Merkel has reportedly said that the bank would not be bailed out. Indeed Berlin’s hands may be tied on this issue as to bail out the German financial giant would be contradictory to the hard-line positions Berlin adopts. This is especially prominent in the face of both the Greek financial crisis as well as the evolving Italian banking crunch, when it insisted on enforcing euro-zone rules forcing the lay-people to bear the brunt of Banca Monte dei Paschi troubles. In the rest of Europe, this could have a knock on effect, particularly in France and Spain whose economies have all but stagnated, still reeling from the implications of Brexit. It could
also signal the final nail in the coffin for the Italians. What next? No one can be sure what the effects of the collapse of such a giant in the global financial market will be, or where the losses will stop, but most believe Berlin will step in before it reaches that point (despite its apparent reluctance not to) However, this would surely deal another heavy blow the Chancellor Merkel’s already frayed reputation, and any bailout may result in further uncertainty in the competency and future of both the European Union and the Euro. Deutsche’s problems are yet another in a long line of financial institutions many thought were “too big to fail”. May it signify that perhaps the reforms post-financial crisis have merely scratched the surface of the underlying problems in the world of finance, much akin to a builder trying to fix a crack in the wall by applying new layers of paint. As Financial Times writer Martin Wolf put it, “This new orthodoxy is merely a chastened version of the old.” It is surely time for more governments to scrutinise their banks financial positions and stop similar problems in the pipeline before it inevitably breaks the levees. As the old adage goes, prevention is better than cure. It is either that, or we continue the venerable tradition of keeping our money where it is the safest, tucked under the mattresses we sleep on.
LSE Needs to Clean up its Act
The scandal of LSE’s cleaners is symptomatic of a wider problem with the UK economy Alex Gray City Editor
THE PLIGHT OF THE LSE cleaners sheds light on the nature of precarious work in the UK economy. The cleaners’ contracts are outsourced from LSE, so the cleaners are actually employed by Noonan. This means that they have lower hourly pay, less holiday and 16 times lower pension contributions than those in LSE’s standard contracts. At a recent event, during their testimony about their treatment, some of the cleaners were brought to tears when describing their situation which includes being forced to take their own annual holiday whenever the LSE has School holidays. Noonan has also allegedly refused to replace cleaning products that are damaging cleaners’ skin. This raises a number of im-
portant questions. The LSE’s outsourcing of the cleaning to Noonan means that the university has a level of plausible deniability. This surely does not excuse the appalling treatment, however. As the LSE is a large customer of Noonan, there must be considerable corporate clout behind it. If LSE wanted to bring a large amount of pressure on Noonan, it could. There is a wider question about outsourcing - where company A pays company B to do roles that it would be inefficient or too costly for A to do. Typically, this will be functions like catering, sometimes IT and payroll, recruitment. This has obvious benefits in terms of the division of labour, and the ability of people to specialise in their given fields. This might not be a bad thing, where proper safe-
guards are in place and there is due diligence about the nature of the work being outsourced. It wouldn’t, for instance, make sense for a medium sized business with a canteen to build up the necessary expertise and cost to hire their own catering staff. It would be more efficient for a company that specialises in catering to do this work for them. This is particularly good for charities, or other social corporations that are able to use outsourcing to focus on making their donations go further. But this can often look bad, and for good reason. The power dynamic of a company employing highly educated, well remunerated professionals outsourcing often physical and historically demeaning tasks is not to be ignored. There is a wider issue around the hollowing out
of the middle of the economy; it is increasingly difficult to come by well paid and respected physical jobs that do not require university degrees, increasing inequality and impinging on the prospects of non-graduates. The LSE cleaners are symptomatic of this wider problem, but this is not inevitable. Whilst outsourcing has a clear and convincing economic logic, when it goes wrong it exhibits the worst of the modern economy. Mistreatment and casual work, the hallmark of the lower end of the UK’s wage distribution, is something that for once has an easy solution. Here the LSE is able to use its mass as a client, and its buying power to garner a better deal. The wider problem, however, has no easy and clear solution. Dynamism is an important part of a modern
and functioning economy, but those at the sharp end of these sorts of policies are often those in the worst position to cope.
Credit: LSE Occupy Facebook
Deutsche Bank db.com/careers
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045939-380x285-LSE Beaver.indd 1
09/09/2016 10:49
Sport | 31
The Rise and Rise of Women’s Cricket Richard Ingilby LSE Cricket CRICKET HAS A SOMEWHAT unfair reputation as being a backwards and conservative sport. Ok: the fact that the ball is made of cork and leather; the bats made by hand and the players still wear woollen jumpers isn’t exactly a display of rapid progression- but it isn’t quite the middle-aged white men in tweed blazers that many people think it is. Nothing better illustrates this than the explosion in popularity of women’s cricket in the last decade, all around the world. This year saw the inaugural seasons of both the ‘English Super League’, and the ‘Women’s Big Bash League’ in Australia. Both tournaments were greeted with unprecedented success in terms of quality of play, attendance, and earnings. The ECB (English Cricket Board) poured £3 million into funding the new coaching staff, training facilities and the wages needed to make this league a success. The benefits in training our elite athletes, inspiring the new generation, and tapping into the huge demand and potential market, make it one of the most exciting developments in women’s cricket, possibly ever. It’s creation of ‘city-franchises’ puts it at least 4 years ahead of the men’s game, where these are still only in the early stages of planning. The fact that both the Olympics and Euro’s didn’t help publicity. However, the ECB consciously chose to keep the first season low key, iron out any creases, and then plan on ‘releasing’ it to the market next year. In the immortal words of one of the world’s most respected statesmen, “it’s gonna be huge”. Now that the league has exceeded
all expectations- they’re ready to push it into the spotlight. The ECB are so confident about the women’s game that they’re aiming to increase uptake by 10% by 2017. The same thing is happening all over the world: The inaugural Australian ‘Women’s BBL’ was broadcasted live on terrestrial TV, garnered 400,000 followers and attracted outstanding attendances. In July 2014, Indian Women’s Cricket achieved a thrilling win in against England in their first test match for 8 years. Mithali Raj is the superstar batsman leading the charge which has seen women’s cricket go from fully amateur to largely professional in just a matter of years. In New Zealand, ‘Northern Districts’ this month became the first women’s team in the country to go professional; whilst the Kiwi’s international women’s players saw their wages doubled this year. Money talks. There’s still a long way to go of course: The English women’s county championship is still entirely amateur. In grassroots cricket there has been a long and happy tradition of women playing alongside men, but many leave the sport in their teenage years and sexism still exists, as it sadly does in many sports and walks of life. An LSE Cricket Alumni, Andy Gregoriou, was one of only two batsmen not to fall victim to England’s Kate Cross when she took 8-48 in the prestigious Central Lancashire League in 2015. He did have the ignominy of getting out to someone who wasn’t a professional England cricketer though. There’s also the danger that this boom in numbers will drop off - It’s happened before. In 1999, 40,000 people attended the Women’s
“Daddy, tell us the story again of how you met Mummy” “Well son, it all started in this wretched hive, awash with men and women of the most dubious moral fibre, that went by the name of Zoo Bar...” Zoo bar. That most hallowed vessel of degeneracy and debauchery. Within its sacred walls, stained with the discharge of a thousand stomachs, sanctuary has been offered to all manner of unconscionable individuals; a halfway house for the budding bankers and aspiring analysts of the LSE, as well for those who have gone on
to reach the heinous heights of a seat on the trading floor but still Carn’t keep themselves Awyn from it’s irrepressible wrench. Last week, saw Zoo Bar cast open it’s holy gates once more, after an all too long suspension in the decadence over the Summer holidays, and a swathe of as-of-yet unsullied freshlings were welcomed into it’s treacherous embrace. Wide-eyed and far too trusting, their wonderment soon turned to horror as the carpet of carnage unfurled before them… The Athletics Union president’s face was a pitcher when an administrative abomination saw dozens of exec members miss out on their complimentary jugs of soft drink laced with rat poison, but whilst some Doug deep to overcome the adversity, others
World Cup final in India, but then their women’s team didn’t play a single cricket match for the next year. This time, it feels grounded. There are more economic incentives to make it viable. The ECB committed itself to women’s cricket in 2014, by giving 18 women the highly sought-after central-contract. This year was England women’s busiest year of games ever- in fact they jetted off to the Caribbean last Friday. Next year we’re hosting the Women’s World Cup; I’d encourage snapping up tickets soon. Charlotte Edwards- the leading run-scorer EVER both in Women’s ODIs and T20s and one of the greatest English athletes of all time - wrote that, when she started “it just wasn’t normal for
were G’d up and set a belligerent tone for the night. One rugby clubman in particular turned green with Emvy when he saw his housemate behaving inappropriately with his considerably better half, but a closer Luke at the situation made it apparent that there wasn’t Amything to worry about. Fortunately, the majority of inmates succumbed to the devilish toxins effusing from the paintwork and embraced the more amorous side of our sect of sin. Suitably enthralled by the noxious fumes, most Ilyked what they saw and saw fit to redeem the Gemmarosity on display. Tensions threatened to Coombe to a boil when a rower had his way with the wrong Gall, but in his defense he just couldn’t re-sister. Atz off also to the dead ringer
girls to play cricket… That was the hardest thing for me to deal with at the time – that I wasn’t normal”. In the year of her retirement that picture is very, very different. When she found out about the central contracts she said: “I had to pull my car over into a layby, and I just sat there, stunned. I never thought I’d see it in my time”. She played a huge part in making cricket normal for women. We bumped into three members of the women’s team, who were training next to us at Lord’s last year; and they couldn’t have been more pleased to learn that we’d started a women’s cricket club here at LSE. They came over for photographs and encouraged everyone to carry on playing the
for Robert Pires who took home the loveliest of ladies, although she herself would be Elying if she said his finishing skills were anything other than far from Macnificent. In a similar vein, another footballsman was seen leaving with the crème de la Crean of women’s hockey, a real Gem, but typical of his struggle for form this season, he still couldn’t manage to hit a Barne door if he was sat on the handle. Ahh yes, Wednesday night. Truly the Jupiter of weekdays. And with twenty-three more Wednesday nights of glorious impropriety to come, the squaresfolk of Leicester Square cast an unsteady gaze across their beloved home, taking care to study and to take it in its in original colours. For the LSE Athletics Union are back. And ready to paint it purple.
sport they’ve loved from childhood. They overcame huge obstacles that don’t exist anymore, just to keep playing. There’s an incredible sense of optimism for the future in the women’s game at the moment, and opportunities to start are sprouting up thick and fast. One of those is happening at LSE this very week- this Wednesday the LSE cricket club are holding a give it a go session at Lord’s, open to all levels, with a professional coach and the opportunity to take it up over the entire year. Thanks to the Annual Fund and Active LifeStylE it’s also entirely FREE to take part in! So, if I’ve piqued your interest, just give me a holler on r.ingilby@lse.ac.uk to find out how you can get involved this year!
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Sport
Section Editor: Vacant
32
Huge Turnout for Womens’ Rugby ‘Give-it-a-Go’ Session
Lissy Verrall LSE Women’s Rugby THE INCLUSION OF rugby sevens in the recent Rio Olympics has raised the profile of women’s rugby. For the WRFC, Fresher’s Fair was a roaring success, with many girls noting the success of the England Ladies as one of their motivations to try their
hand at rugby. Over 60 women graced the pitches of Regents Park on Sunday to attend our Give It A Go session. It was amazing to see so many new faces eager to run around (a sharp wake up call to how unfit many of us, including myself, had become over the summer). Since its formation, the LSE WRFC has continued to thrive year on year. Last year, we saw the entry of our 2nd XV
into the BUCS League and a fantastic performance from the 1st XV on the pitch, finishing in a very impressive 2nd place to the undefeated Canterbury. Our notorious presence both on and off the pitch has drawn more and more girls to join up. Most had never picked up a rugby ball in their lives, and left having completed handling exercises, basic tackling and even a full game of touch rugby.
The standard of ability was incredibly high, both coaches and seniors were taken aback by the talent. The Give It A Go session gave a small taste of things to come, and its looking to be another exciting year for the Women’s Rugby family. If you didn’t get a chance to attend, feel free to come along to training - we are always open to new recruits! Who are we? We’re LSE ladies and we play rugby.
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