ok! ok! good morning! good morning!
(sorry. horsemouth apologises he will stop being so hyper).
horsemouth is up. he has his cup of coffee (ok he's nearly finished his cup of coffee).
'the counter-revolution of neoliberalism has been a process of privatization, fragmentation and separation,.. today’s proletarians are caught up in a new kind of serfdom, dependent on networks and practices through which rents are extracted at every turn. when production is insufficiently profitable for accumulation, holders of capital seek returns elsewhere... neofeudalism speaks to that.' - jodi dean, same as it ever was?, nlr sidecar, 6th may 2022.
horsemouth has some questions pop-pickers.
is what is going on now (uber, amazon, task-monkey, increased rent seeking rather than production and profit) sufficiently bad that it is in fact a new thing?
and if it is a new thing is it something that resembles on old thing (generally agreed to be bad) feudalism?
or is it just that our somewhat chippy marxist would be intellectuals are inclined to overstate this tendency for rhetorical purpose?
horsemouth has retired from the workforce (or so he says). he has decided to return to the economic inactivity of his youth. if he were still economically active he would not benefit from the reduction in the lower rate of income tax from 20 to 19 percent (because he didn't tend to earn that much) but he would probably benefit from ending of national insurance on earnings below the lower tax limit. he would be a whole £300 richer. (small woo-hoo).
horsemouth's monkish existence (when he was working) was made possible by (comparatively) low rent and by a (comparatively) low cost of living. his monkish existence now similarly. both of these conditions are ending.
but all things are not sweet for the lower echelons of the rentier class. they too have acquired debts to purchase the assets which they charge you a rent to use (housing for example). these debts are becoming increasingly expensive to service. (probably leading to more rent rises)
finally horsemouth would like to ask that if we have to survive under neofeudalism (if that's what it is) could we please not make and be forced to listen to any more bad fake-folk music (aka. neofolk)? now horsemouth has no objection to fake folk music (the singer-songwriters etc.) but he likes it to be done well and he likes to know that his money is not going to feed fat fuck (ex-)nazis.
yesterday horsemouth went out to the powerscroft road book box (no joy). on his way up there he noticed a copy of the FT weekend in the trash, on his way back he snaffled it. later a video chat with pete, some book recommendations, he too had been up to powerscroft road (but had returned with a book). horsemouth is enjoying reading an actual newspaper. last night he watched yet a.n.other scandinoir detective serial. apparently there is a post-wire series coming about the further adventures of the baltimore police department (various officers opened up a side-hustle (so characteristic of new working patterns) of being gangsters and drug dealers).
lou and martin were playing at waterintobeer (he should have gone out and seen them but now he supposes he will have to catch up with them at another gig).
today another beautiful sunny day. the day before yesterday horsemouth washed many of his rugs (and sat out in the back garden and read). later the weekly phonecall with his mum (instituted at the start of the pandemic).
coronavirus in the UK seems to be bouncing about (friday 228 deaths up about 5% on the previous week but the other indicators heading down). horsemouth doesn't think it is over, new variants could arrive and start cutting through and of course the long-term health effects of covid will start to become more obvious. horsemouth tends to still use masks for public transport and visits to the supermarket but on the other hand he has sat indoors in pubs taking to coughing people. in many respects he doesn't mind the not meeting in doors (so much) restriction and we are heading into summer anyway.
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