Taking notes 66: When the political is personal and the personal is political

by Sanjay Perera
The collective aspirations of its people go beyond the Who’s Who of Singapore and their supporters. The country also includes those who have no one in particular to speak for them. Continue reading Taking notes 66: When the political is personal and the personal is political

Taking notes 37: Meritocracy, repression and Piketty’s apocalyptic asymptote

by Sanjay Perera
Much has been said about Thomas Piketty’s important and much talked about book. But not enough has been said about his nuanced wit and jibes at a system of meritocratic capitalism that is starting to merge with the hereditary accumulation and growth of wealth termed as patrimonial capitalism. But then it can also get quite serious. Continue reading Taking notes 37: Meritocracy, repression and Piketty’s apocalyptic asymptote

Taking notes 3

There are many lines that need to be crossed for things to be made better. For some it is daunting and means ‘crossing the Rubicon’. Recently, it was the attempt to cross the ‘Buffett line’ (or impose the ‘Buffett rule’) which the corporate-owned American congress stopped Obama from doing. The US is predictably prevented from even a token stance of doing what is right by its political system that actively stymies the interests of the people. It has lost the chance to ensure that those making over a million dollars annually pay a minimum effective tax rate of at least … Continue reading Taking notes 3