SNIPPETS

It’s been 18 months since I’ve done this sort of post – selecting some of the links I’ve collected from internet surfing and I devote it mainly to 2 books which have grabbed my recent attention.

The first is Edgar Schein’s last book – written with his son and published shortly 

before he died early last year at the glorious age of 95. Schein was one of the 

most thoughtful and accessible of organisational writers. And the book is 

Humble Inquiry – the gentle art of asking instead of telling Edgar and Peter 

Schein (2021) which he presented in this quite brilliant interview. Another of 

his books was “Humble Consulting” (2016) which was nicely reviewed here – and 

here 
 
The second book is Fiona Hills’s There is nothing for you here – finding opportunity 

in the 21st Century (2021) superbly reviewed here. Hill was a miner’s daughter 

from the North-east of England who, with the insights she had gained from 

her Russian studies, went on to become a foreign policy adviser to Trump but 

actually testified against him during his impeachment. 
She has great interviews about her book – on the New Local site here, with 

her tutor, Geoff Parks, here and with the “UK in a Changing Europe” site here 

which pay tribute to the great support she got from local people and agencies.
There was a great discussion about US politics and the impact of the transfer 

of power to Harris in this episode of The Rest is Politics which also gave us 

this discussion about the politics of the Coalition government from 2010-2015

Making Sense of the UK’s 2024 General Election

The airwaves have crackled since 5 July with commentaries of various people trying to make sense of the UK General Election – whether political commentators such as Andrew Rawnsley (here and here), Polly Toynbee or my fellow blogger Boffy. All have drawn attention to the low turnout of the electorate and the role this played in the Labour vote being much less than anticipated. These days we are increasingly aware of the dangers of confirmation bias ie looking for views and information which simply confirm our existing opinions

But the best analysis of the results was probably Change Pending – the path 

to the 2024 General Election and beyond (More in Common 2024)

More in Common and the UCL Policy Lab conducted polling of more than 10,000 people in the week after polls closed and held focus groups in constituencies that reflected some of the most striking electoral trends. This builds on focus group conversations of more than 500 people and polling of tens of thousands of people during the campaign. The findings illustrate a more complex picture than last week’s headline results would suggest and offer clear pointers about how to meet the public’s expectations for the next five years.a government that embodies service and respect. Making those words in that first speech a reality is, undoubtedly, the central task of this Parliament

But the fact Labour took just a third of the vote, against a Government which by any measure had lost public confidence, suggests voters remained unsure about the alternative.

Ultimately, the electorate granted Labour the majority they needed to get things done, but with many individual MPs now sitting on majorities small enough that they could be voted out with the slightest change in the public mood.

The challenge then for Labour - and indeed for the Conservative Party as it thinks about how to rebuild - is to define what change the country is looking for, what public opinion can coalesce behind, and how that change can be delivered. Keir Starmer seems keenly alive to this challenge - having pledged in his speech on the steps of Downing Street to focus on the two thirds of the country who did not vote Labour, and to do so through understand this challenge.

Breaking the Spell Economics has put on us

As someone who had the audacity to try to teach Economics in the 1970s, I try, every now and then, to make amends by listing a few books which do a rather better explanatory job. This is my latest effort

Economics is known as "the dismal science" – but is most decidedly NOT a science!

It has indeed become the new religion worshipped by policy-makers throughout 

the world. Its fallacies have such a grip on our minds that we need to throw 

aside our distaste for the subject and have the patience to read a few at least 

of the newer exposes. So I've prepared two lists – 

• some good introductions to the subject

• some well-written critiques of the discipline

Good Introductory Texts
- Almost Everyone’s Guide to Economics; JK Galbraith and N Salinger (1978) quite inspiring 

from one of the world's best writers and economists quizzed by a young French woman. 

I discovered it thanks to a great biography of the man by Stephen Dunn.
- Short Circuit – strengthening local economies in an unstable world” - Ronald Douthwaite 

(1996). Very practical – but also inspirational….almost 30 years on, it hasn’t really been 

bettered. Full text available at the link
- Debunking Economics – the naked emperor dethroned; Steve Keen (2001 and 2011) Written 

before the crash by an Australian, it might be called the first alternative textbook 

(except it’s much greater fun to read!). Can be read in full.
- Economics for Everyone – a short guide to the economics of capitalism”; Jim Stanford (2006), 

a Canadian economist, is a very user-friendly book and has an excellent “further reading” 

list which was probably the best there was at that time….
- 23 Things they didn’t tell you about capitalism; Ha Joon-Chang (2010) superbly-written 

demolition job on the myths perpetrated on us by economists
- The Economics Book – big ideas simply explained ed Kishtany, Meadway et al (2012) 

Superbly presented graphically and chronogically, with short chapters on every imaginable topic
- Economics – the user’s guide Ha-Joon Chang (2014) Probably my favourite not least because 

it understands our repugnance about the subject and offers a way of reading the book. 

And because it accepts that it is not a science; recognises that there are various 

(very different) perspectives on the subject; and explains each 
- Economics for the Common Good; Jean Tirole (2017) A French Nobel-prizewinner offers 

a highly readable text – written in short chunks
- Good Economics for Hard Times Banerjee and Duflo (2019) common sense from a 

French/Belgian Nobel-prize winning couple
- How Economics can save the World Eric Angner 2022 a Swedish economist whose 

“further reading” highly recommends the introductory course “The Economy” 

https://www.core-econ.org/the-economy/ whose first draft came out a decade ago


CRITIQUES
- For the Common Good; Herman Daly and John Cobb (1989). The book which inspired a 

different approach to economics – written by a theologian (Cobb) and Herman Daley who 

for 6 years was the principal economist of the World Bank. But, by virtue of being a train 

blazer, not the easiest of reads
- Zombie Economics - how dead ideas still walk among us; by John Quiggin (2010) is a great 

read – with a self-explanatory title. He is an Australian author currently completing a book 

called Economics in Two Lessons…

- The Delusions of Economics – the misguided certainties of a hazardous science Gilbert Rist 2011. A Swiss anthropologist dares to critique the discipline!

- The Economics of Enough – how to run the economy as if the future matters; Diane Coyle 

(2011) A UK economist sets out a convincing alternative vision for developed European societies.
- Austerity – the history of a dangerous ides; Mark Blyth (2013) written by a political 

scientist/political economist, it shows how old theories still affect the contemporary world profoundly
- Economics of the 1% - how mainstream economics serves the rich, obscures reality and 

distorts policy; John F Weeks (2014) More of a critique but a text which is a must-read. 

One of the best introductions to the subject - which can't be faulted for being over-diplomatic!
- Credo – economic beliefs in a world of crisis; Brian Davey (2015) An alternative approach 

to economics which situates it in its cultural and historical context. It may be long (at 500 

pages) but is definitely worth persevering with.
- Vampire Capitalism – fractured societies and alternative futures; Paul Kennedy (2017) 

More of a sociological treatment which earns high points by stating in the very first sentence

 that it has “stood on the shoulders of so many giants that he is dizzy” and then proves the 

point by having an extensive bibliography with lots of hyperlinks…
- Doughnut economics – 7 ways to think like a 21st century economist; Kate Raworth (2017). 

This Oxford economist has made quite an impact with this book
- Economics in two lessons; John Quiggin (2019) Quiggin is another Australian economist 

which means a no-nonsense approach. Less introductory – more polemical
- What's Wrong with economics – a primer for the perplexed; Robert Skidelsky (2020) 

Skidelsky is the biographer of Keynes and as much an historian as economist. This is less 

an introductory text and more a polemic
- Cogs and Monsters – what economics is and what it should be Diane Coyle (2021)
An interesting overview of the debate which has been taking place in the last 

decade about the role of economics.

The US has destroyed its last claim to be a democracy

I have several times on this blog drawn attention to the falsity of claims that the US is a democracy. We now have final confirmation of that reality. 

In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States has ended the fundamental principle of democracy that no one is above the law. If you are one of the people who’ve argued for a long time, the US is not a real democracy, you have the final argument you need.

In a bid to save Trump from further prosecution, the Supreme Court opened a can of worms that could have all kinds of consequences going forwards. It ruled that Trump, and other US presidents, have absolute immunity for official acts and presumptive immunity for acts that extend to the outer perimeter of their office. However, the court ruled that any non-official act could still be considered criminal.

What this means is that any violation of the law carried out by a sitting US president in his official duties cannot be prosecuted. Say, for example, a president wants to supply the bombs to a genocide, or commit a genocide themselves, that would apparently be fine because they would be acting in their official capacity.