Martin Murray
@drmartinmurray.bsky.social
I teach and write about music, literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis, politics and art: low, high, local, global, comprehensible, obscure, joyful and dark. Amateur musician. Original (i.e. South London) Arsenal fan.
I have to tell you, there’s a big difference between ‘absolute truth’ and a set of questionable generalisations that happen to match your experience.
August 31, 2025 at 1:51 PM
I have to tell you, there’s a big difference between ‘absolute truth’ and a set of questionable generalisations that happen to match your experience.
And yes, this isn’t atypical in big cities - in fact cities - in a globalised world, and the right-wing depiction of them as dystopic is nonsense. But the sense that they’ve simply got better does beg the question: better for who?
July 23, 2025 at 6:02 AM
And yes, this isn’t atypical in big cities - in fact cities - in a globalised world, and the right-wing depiction of them as dystopic is nonsense. But the sense that they’ve simply got better does beg the question: better for who?
Which is to say that the city, in general and historically, has got wealthier and many of the ‘once very deprived areas’ now have richer people in them. One example among many: Shoreditch. Sure, there are poorer areas, but poorer populations have generally been pushed to the outskirts and beyond.
them.one
them.one
July 23, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Which is to say that the city, in general and historically, has got wealthier and many of the ‘once very deprived areas’ now have richer people in them. One example among many: Shoreditch. Sure, there are poorer areas, but poorer populations have generally been pushed to the outskirts and beyond.
People aren’t denying it, but neither are they saying it.
July 23, 2025 at 5:38 AM
People aren’t denying it, but neither are they saying it.
Yes, London is safer and ‘nicer’ than it was, as the comments show. But many of the good things people appreciate about the city here have been coincident with gentrification. There are still areas that are deprived and where there is violence, and most poorer people have been priced and pushed out.
July 22, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Yes, London is safer and ‘nicer’ than it was, as the comments show. But many of the good things people appreciate about the city here have been coincident with gentrification. There are still areas that are deprived and where there is violence, and most poorer people have been priced and pushed out.
In the long run, doctors get paid more than MPs. Taxing Jeff Bezos won’t solve the problems of the public finances - wealth taxes will help, but won’t be anywhere near enough. Ask the IFS and the OBR. It actually *isn’t* an easy problem to solve.
July 12, 2025 at 3:10 PM
In the long run, doctors get paid more than MPs. Taxing Jeff Bezos won’t solve the problems of the public finances - wealth taxes will help, but won’t be anywhere near enough. Ask the IFS and the OBR. It actually *isn’t* an easy problem to solve.