Shankar Nair
@shankarnair.bsky.social
Historian of science and technology, and 19th and 20th century India.
Reposted by Shankar Nair
New voter just dropped: Dead Man www.economist.com/britain/2025...
Britain’s parties cater to a voter who is, often literally, dead
To understand British politics, one must understand Dead Man
www.economist.com
April 10, 2025 at 5:50 AM
New voter just dropped: Dead Man www.economist.com/britain/2025...
'More important, the connection between military spending and job creation has weakened over time.'
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Military spending is touted as a remedy for Britain’s ailing economy. Here’s why it won’t work | Khem Rogaly
Since the 1980s Britain’s military spending has grown in real terms, yet more than half of military jobs have been lost. The sector is hi-tech and low labour, says Khem Rogaly, a senior research fello...
www.theguardian.com
March 9, 2025 at 1:50 PM
'More important, the connection between military spending and job creation has weakened over time.'
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
Calling something “military Keynesianism” suggests a deep misunderstanding of Keynes’ economic thinking in general and his views of financing the cost of the Second World War in particular Short 🧵 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘Military Keynesianism’? Reeves faces British defence dilemma after EU spending surge
Even Berlin and Brussels are bending fiscal rules in the face of Russia’s threat. Will the chancellor still stick to hers?
www.theguardian.com
March 9, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Calling something “military Keynesianism” suggests a deep misunderstanding of Keynes’ economic thinking in general and his views of financing the cost of the Second World War in particular Short 🧵 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Asim Ali writes: ‘It is this alliance of a rentier political elite, a co-opted professional middle class, and oligarchic capitalists which shapes the political economy of Indian finance.’ www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/crea...
Creative destruction
The Indian State nurtures sluggish and overly-protected conglomerates. The stagnant majority, battered by successive blows of GST, demonetisation and Covid, remain condemned to suffer
www.telegraphindia.com
March 6, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Asim Ali writes: ‘It is this alliance of a rentier political elite, a co-opted professional middle class, and oligarchic capitalists which shapes the political economy of Indian finance.’ www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/crea...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
If you’re wondering how on earth Europe navigates the post-transatlantic era of defense spending, self imposed fiscal restraint, energy vulnerability and climate goals… so are @70sbachchan.bsky.social and I www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/eur...
Europe Enters Its Metal Era | Kate Mackenzie & Tim Sahay
What kind of Europe survives a fractured transatlantic military alliance?
www.phenomenalworld.org
March 1, 2025 at 3:40 AM
If you’re wondering how on earth Europe navigates the post-transatlantic era of defense spending, self imposed fiscal restraint, energy vulnerability and climate goals… so are @70sbachchan.bsky.social and I www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/eur...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
This book deserves to be better known. It's a fascinating account of cotton processing technology from the early common era to the mid-1800s written with exemplary clarity. Completely dispels the legend of Eli Whitney.
February 21, 2025 at 4:23 PM
This book deserves to be better known. It's a fascinating account of cotton processing technology from the early common era to the mid-1800s written with exemplary clarity. Completely dispels the legend of Eli Whitney.
Reposted by Shankar Nair
BP to slash renewables spending in pivot back to oil and gas
https://www.ft.com/content/8bcf131f-c820-493f-8ea6-6a35440facd3
https://www.ft.com/content/8bcf131f-c820-493f-8ea6-6a35440facd3
BP to slash renewables spending in pivot back to oil and gas
Shift follows pressure from activist hedge fund Elliott Management
www.ft.com
February 26, 2025 at 10:15 AM
BP to slash renewables spending in pivot back to oil and gas
https://www.ft.com/content/8bcf131f-c820-493f-8ea6-6a35440facd3
https://www.ft.com/content/8bcf131f-c820-493f-8ea6-6a35440facd3
'The top 5 IT firms (TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL and Tech Mahindra) employ more Indians today than the Railways or the armed forces. Similarly, private sector banks have more employees compared with their state-owned counterparts.'
indianexpress.com/article/expl...
indianexpress.com/article/expl...
Middle Class 2.0: Changing employment sector in India, and its one big challenge
The top 5 IT firms (TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL and Tech Mahindra) employ more Indians today than the Railways or the armed forces. Similarly, private sector banks have more employees compared with their...
indianexpress.com
February 18, 2025 at 3:06 PM
'The top 5 IT firms (TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL and Tech Mahindra) employ more Indians today than the Railways or the armed forces. Similarly, private sector banks have more employees compared with their state-owned counterparts.'
indianexpress.com/article/expl...
indianexpress.com/article/expl...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
On advance access "Agricultural Workers, Tenant Farmers, and the Midcentury U.S. Welfare State: A View from the Lower Mississippi Valley"
by Samantha Iyer (@fordham.edu)
doi.org/10.1093/past...
by Samantha Iyer (@fordham.edu)
doi.org/10.1093/past...
Agricultural Workers, Tenant Farmers, and the Midcentury U.S. Welfare State: A View from the Lower Mississippi Valley*
Abstract. This article reconsiders what is often seen as a defining feature of the mid-twentieth-century welfare state in the United States: its exclusion
doi.org
February 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM
On advance access "Agricultural Workers, Tenant Farmers, and the Midcentury U.S. Welfare State: A View from the Lower Mississippi Valley"
by Samantha Iyer (@fordham.edu)
doi.org/10.1093/past...
by Samantha Iyer (@fordham.edu)
doi.org/10.1093/past...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
New PLI schemes are set to be given a quiet burial, with many of the existing ones yet to produce satisfactory results. “The spirit of PLI has been lost. PLI is no longer the favoured child,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
www.financialexpress.com/business/ind...
www.financialexpress.com/business/ind...
No more PLIs in India’s manufacturing push
The PLI policy was launched in 2021-22 to assist Indian companies to scale up and become large enough to compete globally.
www.financialexpress.com
February 17, 2025 at 10:15 AM
New PLI schemes are set to be given a quiet burial, with many of the existing ones yet to produce satisfactory results. “The spirit of PLI has been lost. PLI is no longer the favoured child,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
www.financialexpress.com/business/ind...
www.financialexpress.com/business/ind...
This is very good, on the decline of the US machine tool industry: www.construction-physics.com/p/what-happe...
What Happened to the US Machine Tool Industry?
Machine tools – machines that cut or form metal – are the heart of industrial civilization.
www.construction-physics.com
February 15, 2025 at 10:26 AM
This is very good, on the decline of the US machine tool industry: www.construction-physics.com/p/what-happe...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
This is one of the very strangest business stories we've ever read, one that will deserving of a full history - a history that one imagines it will be all but impossible to actually write.
www.theguardian.com/news/2024/de...
www.theguardian.com/news/2024/de...
Humphrey’s world: how the Samuel Smith beer baron built Britain’s strangest pub chain
Since the 1970s, Humphrey Smith has acquired scores of pubs and historic properties around the UK. But time after time, he has left the buildings empty. Why has he allowed his empire to moulder?
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2024 at 9:31 AM
This is one of the very strangest business stories we've ever read, one that will deserving of a full history - a history that one imagines it will be all but impossible to actually write.
www.theguardian.com/news/2024/de...
www.theguardian.com/news/2024/de...
‘The power station, a converted coal plant in North Yorkshire, generates approximately 6% of the UK's electricity and has received billions of pounds in subsidies from the government and bill-payers because wood-burning is classed as a source of renewable energy.’ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Drax power station didn't properly disclose burning forest wood
The Drax facility, which burns wood pellets, is required to report where it sources its wood from.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 12, 2025 at 11:58 AM
‘The power station, a converted coal plant in North Yorkshire, generates approximately 6% of the UK's electricity and has received billions of pounds in subsidies from the government and bill-payers because wood-burning is classed as a source of renewable energy.’ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today we have a revolution that took centuries to happen if it ever really happened at all: The Scientific Revolution. David talks to historian of science Simon Schaffer about what changed in human understanding in the age of Galileo & Newton.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today we have a revolution that took centuries to happen if it ever really happened at all: The Scientific Revolution. David talks to historian of science Simon Schaffer about what changed in human understanding in the age of Galileo & Newton.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
February 9, 2025 at 8:27 AM
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today we have a revolution that took centuries to happen if it ever really happened at all: The Scientific Revolution. David talks to historian of science Simon Schaffer about what changed in human understanding in the age of Galileo & Newton.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today we have a revolution that took centuries to happen if it ever really happened at all: The Scientific Revolution. David talks to historian of science Simon Schaffer about what changed in human understanding in the age of Galileo & Newton.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Reposted by Shankar Nair
I've written about the long boom and long bust in South Africa's mining industry and how the once close alliance between industry and state dissolved in @phenomenalworld.bsky.social.
It's a cautionary tale for countries relying on mineral wealth.
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/aft...
It's a cautionary tale for countries relying on mineral wealth.
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/aft...
After the Diamond Rush | Phenomenal World
For over 150 years, mining has constituted a core feature of the South African economy. The seemingly inexhaustible bounty of the earth made the country the wealthiest in the continent and financed on...
www.phenomenalworld.org
February 7, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I've written about the long boom and long bust in South Africa's mining industry and how the once close alliance between industry and state dissolved in @phenomenalworld.bsky.social.
It's a cautionary tale for countries relying on mineral wealth.
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/aft...
It's a cautionary tale for countries relying on mineral wealth.
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/aft...
Fine piece on new caste and class consolidations in Haryana.
Shifting Grounds: Society and Politics in Haryana
Haryana's social and political landscape is in the midst of a transition, with both backward castes and the younger generation of Jats seeking to break away from the old agrarian order. So far, only t...
www.theindiaforum.in
February 5, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Fine piece on new caste and class consolidations in Haryana.
'The global automotive supply chain is so complex and interconnected that a component made in Mexico could end up at an American plant before going back to Mexico for final assembly and then being sold to the US market — which could result in a tariff-on-tariff situation.'
www.ft.com/content/85b2...
www.ft.com/content/85b2...
Global car industry faces anxious wait on US tariffs
Industry braces for tit-for-tat trade war that could spark wave of bankruptcies among parts makers
www.ft.com
February 4, 2025 at 1:08 PM
'The global automotive supply chain is so complex and interconnected that a component made in Mexico could end up at an American plant before going back to Mexico for final assembly and then being sold to the US market — which could result in a tariff-on-tariff situation.'
www.ft.com/content/85b2...
www.ft.com/content/85b2...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
A less recognized genealogy for US foreign policy in the current era, from the book I'm writing on movements for sovereignty in the US. Thanks to @nytopinion.nytimes.com.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/o...
Opinion | The Lost Tradition That Explains Trump’s Obsession With the Panama Canal
Inside the lost tradition in American foregin policy that explains the president’s overseas obsessions.
www.nytimes.com
February 2, 2025 at 3:18 PM
A less recognized genealogy for US foreign policy in the current era, from the book I'm writing on movements for sovereignty in the US. Thanks to @nytopinion.nytimes.com.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/o...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
✍️Despite being the world's biggest oil producer, America is v reliant on Canadian oil. And getting MORE reliant, not less.
So what happens when tariffs get imposed on Canada?
The answers are quite unsettling, for the American people... and for everyone else edconway.substack.com/p/america-st...
So what happens when tariffs get imposed on Canada?
The answers are quite unsettling, for the American people... and for everyone else edconway.substack.com/p/america-st...
America still needs Canadian oil. Here's why
And why the tariffs on Canada could plausibly lead to America doing deals with considerably more shady countries. A dive into the weird and wonderful world of heavy oil
edconway.substack.com
February 2, 2025 at 5:35 PM
✍️Despite being the world's biggest oil producer, America is v reliant on Canadian oil. And getting MORE reliant, not less.
So what happens when tariffs get imposed on Canada?
The answers are quite unsettling, for the American people... and for everyone else edconway.substack.com/p/america-st...
So what happens when tariffs get imposed on Canada?
The answers are quite unsettling, for the American people... and for everyone else edconway.substack.com/p/america-st...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
my new article in Political Quarterly is now available on line. doi.org/10.1111/1467...
An Industrial Policy for Hairdressing?
Industrial policy is undergoing a notable revival in Britain, as well as elsewhere. But what are the aims of such a policy? The current government's core statement wholly subordinates its industrial ...
doi.org
January 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
my new article in Political Quarterly is now available on line. doi.org/10.1111/1467...
‘Among Indian states, Kerala has the largest wage gap between men and women engaged in casual labour.’
scroll.in/article/1078...
scroll.in/article/1078...
How Kerala’s trade unions have failed women
Kerala is the bastion of left movements and organisations in India. But within them, women have had to wage fierce battles to be heard and represented.
scroll.in
January 29, 2025 at 5:48 PM
‘Among Indian states, Kerala has the largest wage gap between men and women engaged in casual labour.’
scroll.in/article/1078...
scroll.in/article/1078...
Reposted by Shankar Nair
For the @newstatesman.com i wrote a profile of the historian Correlli Barnett, which charts the perils of self-loathing nationalism and the rise of Britain's new right
www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/0...
www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/0...
The prophet of the new right
In the life and work of Correlli Barnett, we can find all the most dangerous currents of contemporary conservatism.
www.newstatesman.com
January 25, 2025 at 8:07 AM
For the @newstatesman.com i wrote a profile of the historian Correlli Barnett, which charts the perils of self-loathing nationalism and the rise of Britain's new right
www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/0...
www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/0...