Aaron Bastani

England

Freelance Writer and Journalist at London Review of Books

Contributing Editor and Co-founder at Novara Media

Co-Founder @novaramedia. Author of Fully Automated Luxury Communism. Next book on politics and economics of an ageing planet.

Articles

How Israel Became A Fascist State

2 weeks ago | znetwork.org | Ilan Pappe |Aaron Bastani

Historian Illan Pappé discusses the current situation in Israel with Aaron Bastani. ZNetwork is funded solely through the generosity of its readers.
How The Deep State Actually Works

1 month ago | znetwork.org | Matt Kennard |Aaron Bastani

Global politics has profoundly changed in recent years. Russia’s war in Ukraine, Israel’s genocide against Gaza, and the election of Donald Trump for a second time, have all shifted expectations, norms and policies. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu; after some of the most punitive sanctions in history the United States now wants rapprochment with Russia. Meanwhile countries around the world, including the UK, are cutting their aid budgets and spending more on defence.
How The Deep State Actually Works

1 month ago | f.mtr.cool | Matt Kennard |Aaron Bastani

Global politics has profoundly changed in recent years. Russia’s war in Ukraine, Israel’s genocide against Gaza, and the election of Donald Trump for a second time, have all shifted expectations, norms and policies. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu; after some of the most punitive sanctions in history the United States now wants rapprochment with Russia. Meanwhile countries around the world, including the UK, are cutting their aid budgets and spending more on defence.
The left needs to abandon its miserable, irrational pessimism | Aaron Bastani

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Aaron Bastani

Illustration: Edward Carvalho-Monaghan/The GuardianAt the start of the millennium it was widely presumed each successive generation would achieve a higher level of prosperity than the last. Today that is no longer the case. Just 19% of Americans expect their children’s lives to be better than their own, while two-thirds believe their country will be economically weaker by 2050.
Starmer’s Conference Speech Was Utterly Vacuous

Sep 24, 2024 | novaramedia.com | Aaron Bastani

In a meandering, often listless speech – which mostly consisted in attacking the Conservatives and his Labour predecessor, albeit never by name, one line from Keir Starmer particularly stood out. Britain, the Prime Minister declared, had “fairness in the water”. Perhaps that wasn’t the best metaphor given the efforts of the country’s poultry farmers and privately owned water companies (fairness, effluent and e.coli is a little less catchy).
The Left is coming for Starmer

Sep 22, 2024 | unherd.com | Aaron Bastani

2024 General ElectionJeremy CorbynKeir StarmerLabour PartyPoliticsThe leftUK As Labour gather in Liverpool, in an attempt to regain some moral credibility after a dire first few months in power, a storm is gathering on Starmer’s Left.
The Guardian Is Basically Giving The Observer Away. Here’s Why

Sep 18, 2024 | novaramedia.com | Aaron Bastani

Everyone knows that the economics of print media no longer stacks up. Where London’s Routemasters were once packed with readers of newspapers and magazines, today’s buses are full of passengers doom-scrolling on their phones or listening to podcasts. As a result, the circulation of titles like The Sun, The Mirror and The Times has collapsed. The Evening Standard, which used to run multiple daily editions that people once paid for (yes, really) has moved to once a week.
If Keir Starmer Wants to Avoid Government Misspending, He Should Pay Local Media to Expose It

Jul 29, 2024 | novaramedia.com | Aaron Bastani

If a single question can ever be a useful guide to understanding another person’s politics it is surely the perennial: “What policy would you introduce if you were prime minister for a day?” If the respondent says something about public spending and poverty, it’s safe to presume they are on the left. Tax cuts indicate a Thatcherite bent. Immigration, meanwhile, is the likely response from someone on the hard right.
Southern England Needs Metro Mayors

Jul 16, 2024 | novaramedia.com | Aaron Bastani

Last week, city mayors from across England gathered at Downing Street to meet Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer. Every metro mayor – those who represent a combined authority – has been tasked with generating a strategy for economic expansion, with Starmer declaring that regional leaders would be “central” to his ambition of securing the fastest growth in the G7. Yet on examining the places represented at that roundtable, one thing stood out.
The Greens’ Rise Seems Unstoppable. How Are They Doing It?

Jul 3, 2024 | novaramedia.com | Aaron Bastani

Over the last 15 years, British politics has been a volatile place. Labour saw its share of the vote rise by 10% – its largest single increase since 1945 – only to record its worst result since the 1930s two years later. Boris Johnson, the Caesar of Brexit, came and went like a bit-part figure. Liz Truss? The shortest serving prime minister in history. But amid all this tumult has been the slow – and comparatively boring – emergence of a new political force.