With a fractured sense of self, we come to depend on what people feed back to us - often mediated through social networks - not what we are. We have complex identities but may become less able to act as a subject - confident in what we really are.
L'Oreal's slogan 'because you're worth it' has come to epitomise banal narcissism of early 21st century capitalism; easy indulgence and effortless self-love all available at a flick of the credit card.
Spreading an idea is hard work.
Economies are complex beasts that need people to do an extraordinary range of tasks.
In Britain, polls show large majorities in favour of mansion taxes and higher taxes on the finance sector.
The wrongful arrest of tens of thousands of British Muslims after the September 11 attacks can be explained by the very poor intelligence the police had, and, just possibly, excused by the fact that a terrorist action in Britain linked to British Muslims would have been hugely damaging.
All real capitalisms are impure hybrids, mongrels mixed with other strains.
As with products on supermarket shelves, the public has a right to know where their financial products and services come from.
Young people who were relaxed about posting every detail of their life on Facebook become a lot less relaxed when they realise just how transparent their life has become to future employers.
Britain is rich in radicalism, and anyone who says that our society has drifted into fatalism and apathy should get out more.
Cities simply don't have the powers they need to radically innovate in cutting obesity or the number of disaffected teenagers.
Courses can, and should, incorporate the excitement and fun of programming games, apps or even real digital devices.
Adelaide is becoming a hub for higher education.
The longer you commute the less happy you're likely to be.
The central position of finance capital is going to come to an end, and it's going to steadily move to the sides, the margins of our society, transformed from being a master into a servant, a servant to the productive economy and of human needs.
I'm not saying [economic] growth is wrong, but throughout the years of growth, many things didn't get better. ... If you look at America, the proportion of Americans with no one to talk to about important things went up from a tenth to a quarter.
A lot of people in government don't really read books at all.
Deeper fulfilment is rather different from the happiness of seeing a good film or watching your team win at football, and it doesn't come at the push of a button.
One effect of an individualistic culture that's poor at instilling mutual respect is that people jump more quickly to anger or violence.
The City of London has never been known for understanding technology and has never matched Silicon Valley's tradition of knowledgeable investment in technology start-ups, just as the U.K. government has never matched the vast investment made by the U.S. government.
There is incredible potential for digital technology in and beyond the classroom, but it is vital to rethink how learning is organised if we are to reap the rewards.
The really interesting moment will be when you have a critical mass of people engaging through the networks, more than through the press and TV. When that happens, the culture of politics has to change, moving away from controlled one-way messages towards a political culture that is more questioning.
The once-science-fiction notion of hyper-connectivity - where we are all constantly connected to social networks and other bubbling streams of digital data - has rapidly become a widespread reality.
Learning isn't something you should only do solo.
I didn't much like being in Parliament physically. I found it a bit depressing. It's very dark and heavy. I like being out and about.
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