The Rentier City takes a geographical approach to arguing against the latest form of neoliberal conquest sweeping Manchester. Hinged on the concept of rentierism, something which writer Isaac Rose argues has been an undercurrent in the shaping of the city we see today, the book makes a wider warning about cities in the UK at large. Published by Repeater Books, the book makes its case by charting the Manchester story from the end of industrialisation to the present day, via historical examples of resistance, class struggle, racial equality, politically managed decline and Manchester’s obsession with memorialising certain aspects of its history.
Enough Is Enough: have we had enough of Prime Minister Liz Truss?
The new PM has only been in charge for one month, yet already there are rumours of a Westminster coup. Not only that, but the nation is in crisis. How long before her MPs and/or the public say ‘enough’?
Manchester’s New Ruins, Ten Years On
Ten years after publishing A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain, author Owen Hatherley reflects on the past decade of neoliberal development in Manchester and its impact on the city. Last weekend, a few items down on the headlines, below the pandemic and the protests and curfews in the US, was a story […]
Can degrowth steer us towards a sustainable future?
Vincent Liegey is a spokesperson for the degrowth movement, which is investigating and promoting alternatives to our current unsustainable global economic model. A model which is proving disastrous for our climate and environment while creating growing inequality, instability and misery in societies across the world. On a recent visit to Manchester he discussed the myriad […]
The Six Acts, inspired by Peterloo, aims to reboot democracy now
It’s two hundred years since Peterloo, where those calling for democratic reform were slaughtered by government forces. A new campaign called The Six Acts aims to honour those who fell, in the struggle for a more inclusive democracy, by rebooting democracy today. And they need your help to do it! On the 16 August 1819, […]
Can alternative models of ownership alleviate the housing crisis?
The housing crisis is a prime example of the economic term market failure. Politicians of different stripes have followed policies, introduced by Margaret Thatcher, of increasing market forces in the housing market, by promoting private ownership of homes, and degrading social housing by selling it off with heavy subsidies – while promising but failing to […]