Michael Halila 🏳️‍⚧️@mhalila@mastodontti.fi

One of the few places where the political left intersects with far-right populism is this bizarre gendered nostalgia for industry. I'm reminded of both B. Sanders and D.J. Trump campaigning on bringing "good jobs" back. As if people, especially men, can only have fulfilling lives working in manufacturing. The children yearn for the mines?

Also, in a world that's literally on fire, the A.M. Burnham promise of "growth in every postcode" is sheer lunacy. theguardian.com/commentisfree/

the GuardianI’ve seen what the death of major industry did to Britain. Without a good revival plan, Burnham cannot succeed | John HarrisCollieries turned into retail parks, manufacturing in the doldrums. The problem is vast, but at least the PM-in-waiting sees it: and in that there is hope, says Guardian columnist John Harris
Jul 5, 2026, 09:59 UTCen
Michael Halila 🏳️‍⚧️@mhalila@mastodontti.fi

Replying to @mhalila@mastodontti.fi

For those of you, like me, interested in the oftentimes bizarre gendering of the economy, clock Harris's sneer at the service industries:

"The result was the grimly circular economy – since fatally weakened by the internet – in which people worked in shops to spend money and keep jobs afloat in other shops."

Because real production is when men make things. 💪🏭⛏️

Michael Halila 🏳️‍⚧️@mhalila@mastodontti.fi

Replying to @mhalila@mastodontti.fi

But most of all, it's so depressing that even the Guardian obeys one of the most ironclad rules of Western journalism: when the men put their big boy suits on and start talking about The Economy, there's no climate crisis, no global eradication of biodiversity, there is nothing except economic growth and how we get more of it.

This is the mentality that's literally destroying our only planet.