Karl Marx urged students of society to look beyond the political superstructure to study the economic base underneath. He believed political positions could only really be fully understood by reference to underlying economic factors.
He was right.
Here’s prolific Harry’s Place comments box pest Benjamin Mackie on his moral high horse decrying the high salaries enjoyed by top Guardian journalists:
Last year, Alan Rusbridger, the editor of the Guardian, a leading left liberal UK national newspaper, received a 14.7% increase in his annual salary from £272,000 to £312,000 plus a £175,000 bonus.
Shocking old boy.
It’s time for Alan Rusbridger and the GMG board to live up to the progressive values they espouse every day in Guardian. Its time for Alan to provide a public explanation of his pay rise and bonus as it relates to the Guardian’s own public statements on boardroom pay, and I challenge him to return his bonus or distribute it amongst staff.
Sock it to the man Benjy.
But who’s this slicing through the superstructure and going straight to the economic bottom line? Why, it’s Comment is Free editor and Guardian insider Georgina Henry:
In the interests of democratic transparency, shouldn’t you have explained that you were involved in a long and extremely fractious dispute with the Guardian over an internship?
How interesting. Do tell us what the dispute was about Benjamin old bean. Were you not kept on at the paper after drafting articles describing every story the other interns were getting excited about as “storms in a teacup”? or was it using the phrase “minor flap in medialand” once too often that prematurely ended your journalistic career?
