Ben Ansell
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Ben Ansell
@benansell.bsky.social

Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions, University of Oxford, FBA. http://benansell.substack.com. BBC Reith Lecturer 2023. Host BBC Radio 4 Rethink. Columnist for Prospect. Director, Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods. www.benwansell.com .. more

Ben W. Ansell is Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, University of Oxford and, with David Samuels, editor of Comparative Political Studies.

Source: Wikipedia
Political science 47%
Economics 40%

Some people are calling it a 'spiv tax'...
Former PM Rishi Sunak in the Sunday Times challenges the rise of ethno-nationalism in British politics, as an argument within the right about Britishness being about ancestry, DNA and ethnicity
www.thetimes.com/article/e89d...
The Greenland “deal” epitomizes Trump. A huge amount of drama, a huge amount of damage that won’t be fixed for years and maybe never. And in the end he gets literally nothing but the diplo equivalent of Danish FIFA peace prize. 🏆 Stood down by Greenland and Denmark. Both hilarious and pathetic. Sad!

OTOH most of the underlying normative assumptions in my own formal models are basically utilitarian because, well makes the maths easier. So 🤷‍♂️

If I was being tough on the EA crew, my line would be, "huh, it's surprising no-one discovered utilitarianism til you guys"

At the same time, I find it hard to disagree with this: "A more​ pressing objection to utilitarianism is not that it demands too much, but that it demands the wrong things, the things that constitute us as humans: our personal attachments, loyalties and identifications."

Gives me the opportunity to post one of my favourite reviews though

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v3...
Amia Srinivasan · Stop the Robot Apocalypse: The New Utilitarians
Philosophers may talk about justice or rights, but they don’t often try to reshape the world according to their ideals...
www.lrb.co.uk

lol fair enough

It is a bit harsh fair enough. But also quite funny imo.
Why do so many care about inheritance tax when fewer than 5% of estates pay it?

Because that statistic counts the dead.

Our new model counts living pensioner households instead. 20% have enough assets to face the tax. Over 50% in parts of London.

Thread:
Just checking how Calvin Robinson and Andrew Bridgen are getting on these days....

Read it…
When I tell you this is one of the most riveting, concise and accurate depictions of the catastrophically defective thought processes behind Effective Altruism and the larger Broligarch Epistemic Universe...

Run, don't walk, to read the whole thing (link below), which concludes thus:
When I tell you this is one of the most riveting, concise and accurate depictions of the catastrophically defective thought processes behind Effective Altruism and the larger Broligarch Epistemic Universe...

Run, don't walk, to read the whole thing (link below), which concludes thus:

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell

Sounds like a <pre-existing> deal!
Trump: "We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many"
"your holiness, it's called a sankey diagram"

Where have I seen this before…?…oh

A club with the last name United, formed in 1893, produced this shirt

You could not possibly guess what this refers to…

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell

More Britons are failing to comply what used to be seen as civic obligations. Disparate, sometimes important and sometimes trivial, overlay them and it seems like something has slipped in the relationship with the state

Coming up at 4pm on BBC Radio 4 and wherever you get your podcasts, this week's Rethink on the future of warfare and whether Britain is ready for it. With @florencegaub.bsky.social Anthony King, @spettyjohn.bsky.social and @mtsavill.bsky.social

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Sounds - Rethink, Rethink... warfare
Is the UK ready for the challenges of modern war?
www.bbc.co.uk
The RNLI has said the abuse of volunteers in Portsmouth has forced it to close the lifeboat station there and stop operating since September 10. Nearby stations have been providing cover to the area instead. One of the UK's largest coastal cities without a lifeboat because of the far-right.
The original reporting of what happened in Portsmouth was a joke. This is just a hate mob that has been whipped up who are now targeting the RNLI. Throw the book at them.
RNLI closes Portsmouth lifeboat station after huge anti-migrant protests
RNLI volunteers were branded ‘traitors’ after bringing migrants ashore
www.independent.co.uk

I simply did not have Burnley in their top ten target seats I must admit

Now now that’s what got me in trouble with Mel Stride (RIP) and the tabloids

How many pensioners could there possibly be in the UK? 650?
unsure if it's a me problem, a you problem or a little bit of both but christ Bluesky is feeling dour these days, every time I open the app I have to ready myself for 75 Very Serious Debates About Serious Issues, whatever happened to getting jiggy with it, don't make me spend more time on Instagram

@jamesrball.com Red Alert Red Alert
“Aella is fighting gyges about if ai safety is just a sex cult”

You bolt awake. You are not online. It is 1415. You are Charles d’albret, and you have seen the future. It cannot come to pass. The English army must be destroyed.
“Aella is fighting gyges about if ai safety is just a sex cult”

You bolt awake. You are not online. It is 1415. You are Charles d’albret, and you have seen the future. It cannot come to pass. The English army must be destroyed.