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Alasdair Cannon
Alasdair Cannon

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Published in The Startup

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The Enjoyment of Negativity: On ‘The Social Dilemma’

I If God Is Dead, Social Media Is Permitted At the mercy of whatever obscure algorithmic forces now dictate our lives, many of us recently watched new Netflix film, The Social Dilemma. Enraptured by our irascible gods — postmodern deities whose digital powers make a mockery of self-determination, autonomy, free will, the Enlightenment project at large, etc. — we…

Social Dilemma

11 min read

The Enjoyment of Negativity: On ‘The Social Dilemma’
The Enjoyment of Negativity: On ‘The Social Dilemma’
Social Dilemma

11 min read


Jan 17

Secondary Narcissism & Freudian Subjectivity

An essay I wrote for the Concepts in Psychoanalysis Module, undertaken as part of Birkbeck, University of London’s MA in Psychoanalytic Studies. I received a High Distinction for this piece. ‘Without a movement of narcissistic reappropriation, the relation to the other would be absolutely destroyed…’ Jacques Derrida (1987). I Introduction Ever since…

Freud

12 min read

Secondary Narcissism & Freudian Subjectivity
Secondary Narcissism & Freudian Subjectivity
Freud

12 min read


Dec 16, 2021

I was vaccine-hesitant. Now I’m fully vaxxed I know why.

How to address vaccine hesitancy — It is 9:25 am on November 23rd and I am sitting in Brisbane’s Convention Centre Vaccine Clinic, where, for the second time in three weeks, I am absolutely sure that I am about to die from myocarditis. …

Vaccines

4 min read

I was vaccine-hesitant. Now I’m fully vaxxed I know why.
I was vaccine-hesitant. Now I’m fully vaxxed I know why.
Vaccines

4 min read


Sep 16, 2021

Can Australia Afford COVID-Zero?

Originally written for RealTimeCEO — The Australian government’s lockdowns and COVID-Zero policies have saved many lives, yet they cost our economy tens of millions of dollars a day. With all the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic’s future, can our current approach continue? This article looks at the health and economic implications of Australia’s policies. I The Cost of COVID-Zero It is…

Covid 19

14 min read

Can Australia Afford COVID-Zero?
Can Australia Afford COVID-Zero?
Covid 19

14 min read


May 14, 2021

‘Another Now’ by Yanis Varoufakis

A Review (That Sort of Became an Essay on Why You Should Respect This Man) — I Political Symphonies As Vintage’s resident ‘erratic Marxist’, Yanis Varoufakis recently had the opportunity to pen an introduction to their new reprint of the Communist Manifesto. There, he expounds on the nature of great manifestos. To succeed, a manifesto ‘must speak to our hearts like a poem while infecting the mind with images…

Economics

11 min read

‘Another Now’ by Yanis Varoufakis
‘Another Now’ by Yanis Varoufakis
Economics

11 min read


Mar 4, 2021

Voodoo Finance for Sick Markets: Stocks & COVID-19

Written for RealTimeCEO Today, finance and economics have nothing to do with one another. I deliberately open with this ridiculous statement, because financial markets in the last 12 months have behaved in ridiculous ways. In 2020, the real economy in the USA shrank significantly; yet, financial markets boomed. Some commentators…

Finance

15 min read

Ersatz Capitalism?
Ersatz Capitalism?
Finance

15 min read


Jan 6, 2021

Shoshana Zuboff’s Techno-Inevitabilism

The Politics of Technological Change, Pt. I — ‘Technological inevitability is the mantra on which we are trained, but it is an existential narcotic prescribe to induce resignation: a snuff dream of the spirit.’ - The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, p. 516. Of the many threads that comprise Shoshana Zuboff’s excellent book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, we…

Social Media

6 min read

Shoshana Zuboff’s Inevitabilism
Shoshana Zuboff’s Inevitabilism
Social Media

6 min read


Dec 15, 2020

Modern Monetary Theory

Written for RealTimeCEO — As our leaders look to repair our economies after the COVID-19 crash, a wild new way of economic thinking has surged to prominence: modern monetary theory, or MMT for short. MMT’s supposedly radical ideas for money creation and government spending have caused fear and confusion. ‘It’s dangerous,’ we hear. ‘We’ll…

Mmt

10 min read

Modern Monetary Theory
Modern Monetary Theory
Mmt

10 min read


Nov 12, 2020

‘F*cking My Stepson for Stimulus Check’: On Ideology + American Pornography

“Nobody ever goes broke overestimating the rage and misogyny of the average American male” — David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster. I Iso-Sex The most depressing moment¹ of the COVID-19 economic crash so far occurred on Thursday 09/10/20 at approx. 2130h on the homepage of the USA’s eight-most popular website,² PornHub.com, where…

Ideology

15 min read

‘F*cking My Stepson for Stimulus Check’: An Essay On Ideology + American Pornography
‘F*cking My Stepson for Stimulus Check’: An Essay On Ideology + American Pornography
Ideology

15 min read


Sep 26, 2020

COVID-19 & Capitalism, Pt. IV: “Unshackling the Banks”

There’s a scene in Armando Iannucci’s Death of Stalin where Krushchev et al. lament the loss of their leader. ‘A great reformer,’ they say. Despite their praise, all of them are terrified. Deviating from the party line means death, after all. For those who don’t get it, this scene relies…

Covid

5 min read

COVID-19 & Capitalism, Pt. IV: “Unshackling the Banks”
COVID-19 & Capitalism, Pt. IV: “Unshackling the Banks”
Covid

5 min read

Alasdair Cannon

Alasdair Cannon

77 Followers

Writer / Author. Debut book, Holding Patterns, out now via Bonfire Books.

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