For overseas readers who are not neurotically tuned to the British News Cycle, we have a problem in these islands. A great big, money swallowing, attention devouring, cluster of a problem called RAAC. And it will be coming to you soon.
RAAC (Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) was a cheap building material which achieved a cult status among construction firms and accountants(especially accountants) from the 1940s until the 1980s. Suddenly, over a hundred English schools have had to be wholly or partially closed in case the stuff suddenly fails, depositing tonnes of rubble on the heads of children and teachers alike. [1] It’s early days here; but people are very reasonably asking questions like: How many other schools? What about hospitals, car parks, garages, shopping malls and other public spaces, large and small? Which is where you come in, gentle overseas reader-because we bet your country was not immune to this shoddy plague either.
As our link shows, public and media alike are preparing to give a most humongous kicking to our hapless Prime Minister, Mr Sunak. But before they do, they should remember one thing. We have created a culture, no an entire civilization, based entirely on the cost price. Where keeping it as cheap as possible is fetishised to the exclusion of all other values. Not aesthetic, not long term, not even utility. A myopic set of values where the buy/sell price is the sole determinant of any transaction. Traders buy and sell; they create nothing, by definition. So when their values become hegemonic, investment must always suffer. Sunak rose in this system, and so must take some of the blame. But we created it, bit by bit, in thousands of newspaper articles, think tank reports and populist soundbites. It will take decades to find a more balanced set of values. And they’ll still be clearing up the RAAC.
#RAAC #Rishi Sunak #concrete #construction #education
Learning, Science and Society 