In the nineteenth century radicals looked to disseminate really useful knowledge to counter officially promoted useful knowledge. The latter often focused on orthodox market economics to create an impression that poverty and wealth were parts of a natural order unrelated to what people did or did not do.
The battle for really useful knowledge continues. The headline inflation figure announced today is 4.6%. This is partly due to a statistical blip, as the figure is compared year on year and partly because at the moment energy costs have fallen. Rishi Sunak was quick to claim credit for the drop in inflation, although he previously said it was caused by factors outside of the control of the Government.
The reality is rather different to the spin. As the TUC in a social media graphic pointed out today’s figure means that prices are still going up, just not as quickly. Food price inflation is at 10.1% and there seems little sign of it falling. Meanwhile many will wonder if the current reduction in energy costs will actually translate to lower bills this winter.
In all the media coverage of inflation there is little reference currently to the role that wage rises have had. Its quite difficult to spin a story that accounts for increased wages and falling inflation. In reality wages remain below the level they were at before the financial crash of 2008/9.
Really Useful Knowledge suggests the need to organise to get more wage rises
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