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The Glasgow Effect Ellie Harrison

The Glasgow Effect By Ellie Harrison

The Glasgow Effect by Ellie Harrison


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The Glasgow Effect Summary

The Glasgow Effect: A Tale of Class, Capitalism and Carbon Footprint - The Second Edition by Ellie Harrison

I will not travel beyond Glasgow's city limits, or use any vehicles except my bike, for a whole calendar year. - Ellie Harrison, January 2016

This simple proposition - to attempt to live a 'low-carbon lifestyle of the future' - put forward by an English artist living in post-industrial Glasgow cut to the heart of the unequal world we have created. A world in which some live transient and disconnected existences within a global 'knowledge economy' racking up huge carbon footprints as they chase work around the world, whilst others, trapped in a cycle of poverty caused by deindustrialisation and the lack of local opportunities, cannot even afford the bus fare into town. We're all equally miserable. Isn't it time we rethought the way we live our lives?

In this, her first book, Ellie Harrison traces her own life's trajectory to examine the relationship between literal and social mobility; between class and carbon footprint. From the personal to the political, she uses experiences and knowledge gained in Glasgow in 2016 and beyond, together with the ideas of Patrick Geddes - who coined the phrase 'Think Global, Act Local' in 1915, economist EF Schumacher who made the case for localism in Small is Beautiful in 1973, and the Fearless Cities movement of today, to put forward her own vision for 'the sustainable city of the future', in which we can all live happy, healthy and creative lives.

About Ellie Harrison

Ellie Harrison was born in the London borough of Ealing in 1979. She moved north to study Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University in 1998. In 2008 she continued northwards to do a Masters at Glasgow School of Art and has been living in Glasgow ever since. She has previously described herself as an artist and activist, and as 'a political refugee escaped from the Tory strongholds of Southern England'. In 2009 she founded Bring Back British Rail, the national campaign for the public ownership of our railways. As a result of thinking globally and acting locally during The Glasgow Effect in 2016, she is now involved in several local projects and campaigns aimed at making Glasgow a more equal, sustainable and connected city.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Second Edition 3
Summary of Key Ideas 7
Preface 13
Introduction 15

part 1 a brief history of neoliberalism

Chapter 1 Thatcher's Children 20
Straight outta Compton 20
What the fuck is neoliberalism? 24
Privatisation 25
Deregulation 27
Trade liberalisation 28
Social mobility isnae what they say 32
Waste not, want not 35
Major setback 36

Chapter 2 Creative Decade 40
Things can only get better 40
The knowledge economy 46
A golden age 49
Technologies of the self 52
Community vs career 55

Chapter 3 Welcome to Scotland 57
Dark clouds 57
Creative education 59
Bring Back British Rail 66
Hedonism vs asceticism 73
Austerity politics 76
Long-distance love 82
Reality check 89

Chapter 4 Socialist Dystopia 92
Turning point 92
You are what you eat 96
System change, not climate change 102
Asceticism and the spirit of capitalism 107
Compromise and complicity are the new original sins 110
Progress trap 114
The leaky bucket 119
Worst inequalities in Western Europe 123
Settlers and colonists 127
First as tragedy, then as farce 131
Carbon Graph (2021) 138

part 2 the glasgow effect

Chapter 5 When the Chips Hit the Fan 144
Calm before the storm 144
I like Glasgow and Glasgow likes me 149
Facebook wormhole 158
The Divide 173
Small is Beautiful 174
Could there be a worse insult? 178

Chapter 6 Creative Destruction 183
But is it art? 183
Money can't buy you love 187
Every human being is an artist 195
I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore! 198
Career suicide 203
Where art and politics become one 205
Public property 208

Chapter 7 Lived Reality 211
Low-carbon lifestyle of the future 211
Citizen's Basic Income 214
Biographic solutions to systemic contradictions 216
History, politics and vulnerability 219
Overcrowding 219
Rip it up and start again 220
Brain drain 220
Hypocrisy kills 221
Other causes of 'the Glasgow effect' 223
Diseases of despair 224
The elephant in the room 225
Remunicipalisation! 230
Reflection and action 236
We need to stop 'researching' and start fighting! 239
Practising what we preach, preaching what we practise 243
Thrift radiates happiness 247
Hostile environments 251
The outsiders 253

Chapter 8 Aftershock 255
The end is the beginning 255
Impact agenda 266
The report 269
Homecoming 272
Worst nightmare 275

part 3 the sustainable city of the future

Chapter 9 Think Global 282
Climate emergency 282
Downward mobility 285
Back to the future 288
Prosperity without growth 293
Deconsumerisation 297

Chapter 10 Act Local 298
City as a site for social change 298
Regional power 299
Community control 303
Fearless Cities 305
Non-material pathways out of poverty 309
World-class public transport 310
Sharing is more sustainable 312
Motivational structures and meaningful work 314
Variety is the spice of life 315

Chapter 11 Universal Luxurious Services 319
Those things we all need to live happily and well 319
Information 321
Transport 321
Food 322 Healthcare 323
Housing 325
Co-production 327
Foundational economy 329
Public luxury 331
Localism and protectionism 332
Positive alternatives 334
Car-free future 336

Chapter 12 Travelling Without Moving 341
Equalising mobility 341
Minimising migration 346
Paradox of repopulation 349
Education for life, not for work 352
Rekindling our radical past 355
Love-hate relationship with the city 356

Acknowledgements 359
Endnotes 361

Additional information

GOR012102374
9781910022795
1910022799
The Glasgow Effect: A Tale of Class, Capitalism and Carbon Footprint - The Second Edition by Ellie Harrison
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Luath Press Ltd
2021-11-01
400
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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