The Looking Glass

JACK SHUTE Having watched a TED talk by Guy Standing, co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network, I reflected on the emerging social class called the ‘Precariat’ and how they could, and to a certain extent have already, drastically altered the political landscape. Standing describes how we are in the painful construction of a globalised market economy and states that currently it is a delicate moment, with growing inequalities and insecurities starting to threaten long-nurtured enlightenment values. The supply side economic policies pursued since the Thatcher-Reagan days has resulted in a system of “rentier capitalism,” in which a rising share of income is going to those who own physical, financial and intellectual property. This effectively means that the income distribution system of the 20th century has broken down, and will not come back. As a result, one could certainly argue that it has generated a new global class structure. At the top you have a plutocracy of multi-billionair...

CHRISTOPHER TANG A Locked Room My room, these four walls, a square that defines me. A shape that is drawn into memory, a calculation of uncertainty and sleep deprivation. And I’ll never leave. Draw the curtains, lock the door. I’m not coming out, even if the walls around me crumble. Because I’m locked in my own head anyway. A prison that confines me. By Christopher Tang

ARON FINKLESTEIN Recently, two pioneering companies have been pushing the boundaries of engineering and physics. They have both created jet powered, solo-driven vehicles capable of controlled flight. At this moment the vehicles have been used for demonstration purposes only; however as the companies begin to mass produce their products and hint at their introduction to public markets, one of the frequently asked questions is: "How long before the jet-packs become commercially available and wide-spread?" The prospect of entering a future of jet-pack lanes above cities and flying pizza-deliverers is very exciting. Gravity Industries Ltd, founded by British engineer Richard Browning, have successfully created what they have named ‘The Daedalus Mark 1 Suit’, a suit powered by 5 turbine jet engines that can reach speeds of over 60 kmph. Flyboard Air, created by Franky Zapata in 2016, is a jet suit with jet engines attached to a foot platform allowing the pilot to reach speeds of 1...