“Only war makes it possible to mobilize all of today’s technical resources while maintaining the property system.”

- Walter Benjamin, 1936

About Julian Sayarer

Julian Sayarer writes at (this is not for charity). The site and blog arose from his 2009 world record for a circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle, a protest against the corporatisation of sport and human endeavour. He is currently writing a book about the experience and is a cycle courier by day.

Articles by Julian Sayarer

Beauty, burgers and Wilde's blue china: on the power of aesthetics

Julian Sayarer 24 May 2013

Do the "consumers of radicalism" Jon Moses refers to in his recent essay actually exist? An exploration of beauty and rebellion, through the lens of our relationship to the aesthetic.

Socialism in one country... and English football's Premier League

Julian Sayarer 7 April 2013

The beautiful game is rotting because of its place in the global economy: meaningful participation and attachment is being commodified, a process which brings great whooshes of cash into football. Can the game be fixed for the better?

'The BNP lost their way' and other gems from the Midlands

Julian Sayarer 25 February 2013

A self-confessed member of the London bubble ventures home to pole dancing, burger van politics and the final arrival of organic yoghurt.

openDemocracy: The price of principles

Julian Sayarer 25 February 2013

Julian Sayarer's post at thisisnotforcharity.com in support of openDemocracy

Cycling through Reading or Kazakhstan: otherness is not what it seems

Julian Sayarer 11 January 2013

Rape in India, protest in China, manufacturing conferences in Manchester - we find it hard not to think in the categories of "first" and "third" worlds. But look elsewhere for the important differences

Generation Rent: stop blogging, start acting

Julian Sayarer 8 January 2013

When everyone wants to be the 'voice of the lost generation', who will do the finding?

Is the end of cheap food just an agricultural problem

Julian Sayarer 8 September 2012

Food is getting scarce - and expensive. This is no longer news. But can we really confine ourselves to thinking about the agricultural end of this problem?

Twicktivism: could the illusion of power be potent after all?

Julian Sayarer 24 May 2012

The criticism of clicktivism may be well founded - that it is a substitute for action, a feel-dummy that makes life easier for the perpetrators of injustice. The author reflects on his participation in recent bicycle activism to offer the optimistic twist that an illusion of power could give people a taste for the real thing.

Is inflation a good tax? Can we have an honest political discussion about it?

Julian Sayarer 30 December 2011

UK inflation at 5% is considered almost a victory by the economic managers of the nation. Yet it is a blunt instrument with strong redistributive effects. So what is a well-managed currency, and can we have an honest political discussion about it?

OurKingdom forum: The fall of Murdoch - What next?

James Curran, Nick Couldry, Ryan Gallagher, Suzanne Moore, and Julian Sayarer 15 July 2011

An ongoing forum in which OurKingdom authors consider why the fall of Rupert Murdoch has taken place, what it tells us about the state of Britain and what the key lesson are for the media and government.

Redistribution in property-constrained economy: raising the minimum wage or lowering effective rents?

Julian Sayarer 6 July 2011

Rising rents in the UK are making hardship harder, while low interest rates transfer wealth from the have-not's to the have's. Can we be doing something more sensible?

Why stop at England's forests? The land itself should belong to the people

Julian Sayarer 3 April 2011

The campaign against the privatisation of England's public forests succeeded due to a powerful sense that we, the people, own our woodlands. Yet why stop here? Isn't the land itself a common asset of the nation? Julian Sayarer argues for the imposition of a land value tax.

This week's editor

Niki Seth-Smith is a freelance journalist and co-editor of OurKingdom.

Europe from the bottom up

European Union stars in Paris. Flickr/notarim. Some rights reserved.

A new Europe can only come from the bottom up
Etienne Balibar

A social Europe must be a political Europe
Bo Stråth

As Europe is provincialized: a reply to Etienne Balibar
Sandro Mezzadra

European debate

A republican call for a basic income
Daniel Raventos and Julie Wark

Nuclear non-proliferation

oDRussia at journalismfestival .com

Mali - the plot thickens

Remote control war

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Conference coverage from 50.50

Conference. Moving beyond Militarism and War to a Nonviolent World: A Forum Devoted to Sharing Women-Driven Solutions

Articles exploring the themes of the fourth international Nobel Women's Initiative conference May 28-31. Jennifer Allsopp and Heather McRobie will be reporting for 5050

Cities in Conflict

Half-capacity Jordan: whose stories do we need?
Munir Atalla

Madeleine Rees

The incompetent many or the corrupt few?

Grigorii Golosov

"I protest": challenging the war policies of the United States

Ann Wright

Women and the language of peace protest

Ruth Rosen

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