The more I think about Pie Theory, the more questions emerge.
First, what's in the pie?
Second, who gets to choose?
Third, are vegetarian and vegan options available?
Fourth, what about the gluten-intolerant?
Fifth, does everyone, then, get the same pie? If not, why not?
And if, sixth, there are different pies, do some have more crust and less protein than others?
Seventh, is there gravy?
And, eighth, if there is nothing with this pie, is it actually a pasty? Getting descriptions right matters.
Ninth, from my experience, seasoning matters in a pie, but who gets to choose that?
And tenth, suppose pies are off? What else is on offer, or is pie all this government can do?
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
There are links to this blog's glossary in the above post that explain technical terms used in it. Follow them for more explanations.
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
Buy me a coffee!
I got an excellent quiche from a bakers in Dartmouth about a fortnight ago while middle son was very pleased with his pasty
I suggest handing the conundrum over to them, I am sure the result will be delicious
Don’t forget custard pies. They are always useful in politics, and ought to feature more in economics too.
“Who ate all the pies” is the first line of a football song that I cannot quote in full here. We can apply it to the wealthy. To the tune of “knees up mother brown”.
Cakes have often been used as an alternative to Pie Theory. Johnson and his ilk liked to think they could make one and then eat it all, there was never much thought given to sharing.
https://bsky.app/profile/martinhenson.bsky.social/post/3ludbkohn5e2h
Do most human beings require moral seasoning in the national and global pies?
I would argue in evolutionary terms the answer is yes. Here are just a few statements which suggest why:-
“All human beings seek to rule, but if they cannot rule they prefer to remain equal.”
“I want my factory worker to buy my cars. If they make enough money, they’ll buy my own product.”
Some human beings of course have no moral seasoning and you get:-
“History is best told as a story of organised crime. It is one group creating a monopoly on resources through the use of violence over a certain territory and population.”
Obviously such groups should be kept away from pie making but in evolutionary time terms this is a very slow process amongst human beings. We are after all not that far away from our alpha male primate cousins. Yet evolution clearly wants it no other way:-
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247759661_Evolution_of_Parental_Caregiving
Pastry cooks of the world unite! Make pies, not war. And spare the orangutans.
According wikipedia Sir William Petty came up with GDP pie theory to help him explain why landowners were “unfairly” treated (overtaxed). Analysis of pie leads you to this conclusion no matter what. It is designed to do so. That is its intended purpose. Logic of the pie says that to get more pie, cut taxes. Pie theory does not say where the first pie came from. It doesn’t want you to think about that.
All this stuff about pies is very simple.
It’s all ‘pie in the sky’ – something intended to be good, but most unlikely – which is Neo-liberalism in nutshell isn’t it?
Shall we move on?
Very good
It used to be said ‘pie in the sky when you die’…
But we want ‘meat on the plate while we wait’!
(But I note your comments about vegetarians, vegans and the gluten intolerant: alternatives ARE available.)
The pie analogy gets worse when you think of the fact that the pie is plenty big enough, but the government only wants the right people to get the best slices. If that’s the imagery they wish to use, it just makes them look all the more miserly. “No pie for you!”
I hope Lisa Nandy’s pie filling isn’t provided by McSweeney Todd.
🙂
Here’s a great recipe for pie fancies, that just grow and grow as if by magic.
(The swivel eyed, chef at the start of the video does a great line in lettuce pies. )
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/QsO-rImUdMA
The Pie thing is ridiculously simplistic – Nandy is still at primary school!
African political narratives are full of metaphor around food and eating. Michela Wrong’s 2009 book “It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower” about corruption in Kenya details events around the Kenyan elections of 2007 and the efforts of one party – group – to hog the feast.
David Kilcullen’s 2013 book “Out of the Mountains: the Coming of Age of the Urban Guerrilla” examines how cities and neighbourhoods in failed States are unable to metabolise their inputs, and how gangs compete to fill that role. It’s a really interesting analysis that is quantum in nature and worth looking into if you want to know what to keep tabs on as systems crumble and change…
Thanks
Talking of Pie.
One Year of Hard Labour.
Strong language as usual.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpJhyyhuJrY
🙂
Somebody had to:
“One Year of Hard Labour”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpJhyyhuJrY
I’ll get my coat …
😉
With your long-time professional/academic association with Sheffield, I hope there will at least be Henderson’s Relish with the pie?
Along with peas, of course.
I think the trouble is, it comes with HP (Houses of Parliament) sauce…
The analogy is clearly inadequate.
🙂
I like Henderson’s