Driverless waste
An excellent example of another product being marketed by the ‘Waste Makers’ is the driverless car (The Scotsman 200, 16 May).
A much needed vehicle, say marketing experts, as overflowing car lots suggest the ‘spectre of a glut’ of ordinary cars.
Packard ,50 years ago, opined we were supposed ‘to tingle’ at the possibility of a ‘remote control car.’
If someone doesn’t want to drive a car, they should get a bus which replaces 45-50 driverless cars.
Hasn’t a rich person always had a remote controlled car, known as chauffeur driven?
This kind of ‘conspicuous waste’ is typical of modern technological capitalism led by the ‘hidden persuaders’ - the marketing experts.
Shouldn’ t those pushing driver less cars think about their priorities? Waste production like the driverless car is just as much waste as the rubbish we conventionally think of.
ELLIS THORPE Old Chapel Walk, Inverurie of several countries trapped in the orbit of Germany’s dominant economy.
The bail-outs that we have already seen have been stopgap measures which have not cured the underlying malaise.
The remedy favoured by some EU zealots is total fiscal and political union, but the peoples of the member states are too proud of their distinct historical and cultural identities to submerge them in a Euro-pudding.
Amazingly, Edwards singles out J-C Juncker for praise as a European. Juncker was forced to resign as Prime Minister of Luxembourg for political misuse of the security services, but went onto become President of the european commission regardless.
There he preached solidarity among EU member states, but Luxleaks revealed the secret tax deals he had arranged, taking tax income from neighbouring states to fill the coffers of Luxembourg. What a hypocrite!
The UK has voted to extricate itself from the mess. It has recognised the deep flaws in the EU project. It now wishes to be an independent state on friendly terms with all its neighbours, engaging in trade to everyone ‘s benefit.
It is a reasonable and sensible plan and I wish that John Edwards and all our political leaders would recognise its merits.
After all, you can be friends with your neighbours without being married to them.
LES REID Morton Street, Edinburgh