alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
@lappypercival.bsky.social
chairman of the overseas committee for the promotion and defence of british interests | nanny-statist | anglican protestant (TEC) | grad student somewhere (econ)
Philippians 2:12-13
Philippians 2:12-13
Pinned
how many books from 1870-1920 have you read? i think i've read four (the flight of the heron (dk broster), in desert and wilderness (sienkewicz), my childhood (gorky), and max weber for one of my classes)
November 11, 2025 at 2:43 AM
how many books from 1870-1920 have you read? i think i've read four (the flight of the heron (dk broster), in desert and wilderness (sienkewicz), my childhood (gorky), and max weber for one of my classes)
dining hall has chosen to put so much salt in the white rice that it's literally more salty than the meat i'm eating the rice with, which kind of defeats the point of the rice
November 10, 2025 at 11:08 PM
dining hall has chosen to put so much salt in the white rice that it's literally more salty than the meat i'm eating the rice with, which kind of defeats the point of the rice
at this book talk. q&a has predictably devolved into comments about china vs the US instead of questions
November 10, 2025 at 10:29 PM
at this book talk. q&a has predictably devolved into comments about china vs the US instead of questions
at a book talk about capitalism where both the speaker and the host/questioner expressed sympathy for social democracy and keynesianism and had a thought that some people like social democracy *because* it looks apolitical and that's no way to advocate for an economic system actually
November 10, 2025 at 10:17 PM
at a book talk about capitalism where both the speaker and the host/questioner expressed sympathy for social democracy and keynesianism and had a thought that some people like social democracy *because* it looks apolitical and that's no way to advocate for an economic system actually
it's not about *who* is middle class, it's about *what* is middle class
Could someone explain to me what is meant when a British person refers to "the middle class" ? Like, in the US, as I hear it, it basically just means a person who makes a certain amount of money, not too far below and not wildly above the median. Seems like a complex concept when UK writers use it?
November 10, 2025 at 9:52 PM
it's not about *who* is middle class, it's about *what* is middle class
'one thing i learnt at the new yorker is that if you want people to read your book and not just say it's great and never read it is to include some people'
November 10, 2025 at 9:43 PM
'one thing i learnt at the new yorker is that if you want people to read your book and not just say it's great and never read it is to include some people'
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
Democrats won landslide victories in Georgia and Pennsylvania where turnout collapsed vs 2024. And won by larger than expected margins in New Jersey and Virginia www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
November 9, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Democrats won landslide victories in Georgia and Pennsylvania where turnout collapsed vs 2024. And won by larger than expected margins in New Jersey and Virginia www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
not sure how a state manages to get a homeownership rate among under 25 higher than west virginia lmao
Making Minnesota the best state to raise a family means focusing on affordability and addressing barriers to owning a home.
We’ve made the largest investment in housing in state history and today, we rank as the top state for young homebuyers.
We’ve made the largest investment in housing in state history and today, we rank as the top state for young homebuyers.
November 10, 2025 at 6:39 PM
not sure how a state manages to get a homeownership rate among under 25 higher than west virginia lmao
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection
November 10, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection
this is off-topic but my parents taught this to me as if you *react* to bullies they will only bully you more
Some of the most powerful and well-paid people in the world don't understand a lesson that every schoolchild knows: if you surrender to bullies, they will only bully you more
November 10, 2025 at 6:08 PM
this is off-topic but my parents taught this to me as if you *react* to bullies they will only bully you more
the longest i've heard of this song is when a reel of a woman doing a hungarian cover of it ended up on my instagram feed (she sounded great)
(in case you're wondering what that number one song is, it's some crap from Kpop Demon Hunters)
November 10, 2025 at 6:05 PM
the longest i've heard of this song is when a reel of a woman doing a hungarian cover of it ended up on my instagram feed (she sounded great)
'people love having control' - also why middle class americans will detest socialised medicine that prevents them from queue jumping
November 10, 2025 at 4:48 PM
'people love having control' - also why middle class americans will detest socialised medicine that prevents them from queue jumping
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
The problem from their point of view is that rapid decarbonization requires public, collective decisions about the organization of production, in a way that threaten capital-owners' authority over both the production process and the political system.
November 10, 2025 at 4:20 PM
The problem from their point of view is that rapid decarbonization requires public, collective decisions about the organization of production, in a way that threaten capital-owners' authority over both the production process and the political system.
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
I should write the argument up properly somewhere, but I think this is fundamentally wrong. A decisive fraction of the capitalist class does oppose addressing the climate crisis, but *not* because it would be bad for profits. If anything, a green New Deal type program would raise aggregate profits.
Yes, this is correct. And the reason is because our capitalist classes have decided that it is not sufficiently profitable, so they're not going to do it.
We must understand this reality. Capital *cannot* be relied upon to address the climate crisis.
We must understand this reality. Capital *cannot* be relied upon to address the climate crisis.
November 10, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I should write the argument up properly somewhere, but I think this is fundamentally wrong. A decisive fraction of the capitalist class does oppose addressing the climate crisis, but *not* because it would be bad for profits. If anything, a green New Deal type program would raise aggregate profits.
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
It's been a rough year for European trade policy. The deal with the US, disputes with China and an overall sense of a worsening economic climate. My latest piece tries to draw out some lessons for Europe www.cer.eu/insights/thr...
Three hard lessons for European trade
Global trade policy is now dominated by great power politics, putting Europe under pressure. The EU will have to accommodate the US, confront China and derisk from both.
www.cer.eu
November 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM
It's been a rough year for European trade policy. The deal with the US, disputes with China and an overall sense of a worsening economic climate. My latest piece tries to draw out some lessons for Europe www.cer.eu/insights/thr...
although in some ways this comes back to whether you think hiding some of the diversity of thought from both elites and voters is a load-bearing part of maintaining any shared discourse terrain, i.e.
November 10, 2025 at 3:17 PM
although in some ways this comes back to whether you think hiding some of the diversity of thought from both elites and voters is a load-bearing part of maintaining any shared discourse terrain, i.e.
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
Which is a long way round of saying: a lot of the pieces I’m reading on the crucial role of the BBC massively overweight news and underplay the wider role of 50 odd radio stations, a dozen TV stations and the vast majority of its output.
November 10, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Which is a long way round of saying: a lot of the pieces I’m reading on the crucial role of the BBC massively overweight news and underplay the wider role of 50 odd radio stations, a dozen TV stations and the vast majority of its output.
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
I reckon a shared national popular culture is just as important (if not more important) than a fact based, impartial news service for liberal democracy to work.
November 10, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I reckon a shared national popular culture is just as important (if not more important) than a fact based, impartial news service for liberal democracy to work.
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
The combination of Cass invoking fortress USMCA as an example of sovereignty prevailing over efficiency & Miran getting excited about $ stablecoin expansion pushing down US rates is a reminder of a (bipartisan) view that US sovereignty requires asymmetric interventions in the sovereignty of others.
November 10, 2025 at 2:19 PM
The combination of Cass invoking fortress USMCA as an example of sovereignty prevailing over efficiency & Miran getting excited about $ stablecoin expansion pushing down US rates is a reminder of a (bipartisan) view that US sovereignty requires asymmetric interventions in the sovereignty of others.
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
my rational brain does not like many things about my hindbrain one of which is that apparently sometimes sleeping can cause me to want even more sleep than before, leading to me doing basically no work from thursday to yesterday bc i was mostly sleeping
November 10, 2025 at 1:44 PM
my rational brain does not like many things about my hindbrain one of which is that apparently sometimes sleeping can cause me to want even more sleep than before, leading to me doing basically no work from thursday to yesterday bc i was mostly sleeping
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
Who do the public trust? And how the 14% who vote Reform have contrasting views to most other people: low trust, except in GB News, which most other people don't trust
November 10, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Who do the public trust? And how the 14% who vote Reform have contrasting views to most other people: low trust, except in GB News, which most other people don't trust
my rather westernised high school has a lot of student clubs that operate relatively independently of the classroom structure (the teacher sponsor is mostly nominal) but my mum as a teacher dislikes this and has really tried to bring back the youth union/classroom as a unit of social activities
(most communist party states have children's organisations! i was a member of that from third grade to ninth grade! both that and the youth union are basically just where the budget for social activities go)
November 10, 2025 at 12:17 PM
my rather westernised high school has a lot of student clubs that operate relatively independently of the classroom structure (the teacher sponsor is mostly nominal) but my mum as a teacher dislikes this and has really tried to bring back the youth union/classroom as a unit of social activities
i mean sometimes it's content and sometimes it's art, i don't think anybody started thinking even airport romance novels are 'content' no matter how bad they think those novels are as art
November 10, 2025 at 11:43 AM
i mean sometimes it's content and sometimes it's art, i don't think anybody started thinking even airport romance novels are 'content' no matter how bad they think those novels are as art
Reposted by alistair pomegranate 'lappy' percival
It's crazy how much the answer to a simple question like 'how confident are American consumers feeling about their current situation?' varies depending on how you measure the concept.
Conference Board: "Not as good as a year ago, but still above average."
University of Michigan: "WORST EVER!"
Conference Board: "Not as good as a year ago, but still above average."
University of Michigan: "WORST EVER!"
November 10, 2025 at 11:27 AM
It's crazy how much the answer to a simple question like 'how confident are American consumers feeling about their current situation?' varies depending on how you measure the concept.
Conference Board: "Not as good as a year ago, but still above average."
University of Michigan: "WORST EVER!"
Conference Board: "Not as good as a year ago, but still above average."
University of Michigan: "WORST EVER!"