Le Temps Perdu – part III

Why do I persist with this little conceit of mine – pointing back to “Posts Past” – like Marcel Proust’s A La Recherche du Temps Perdu? Not just posts of previous years’ (see top right-hand corner of blog for list of titles you can access) – but even those I’ve inflicted on you so far this year? 

The answer is simple – this blog posts on “perennial” issues which repay study even years later. Very few of the 1,500 posts have dealt with “current affairs” – and then it has to be a pretty major issue eg the two UK Referenda - the 2014 one on Scottish Independence and the 2016 one on Brexit 

“Current Affairs” is like a conjuring trick – our fixation on the action distracts our attention from the real levers of power. Indeed one of the French words for entertainment is “distraction” and, since the times of Celine and Guy Debord, the French have recognised the dangers posed by the “society of the spectacle”.

Americans have seen such disdain as elitist – with only Neil Postman’s “Amusing ourselves to Death” (1983), Jerry Mander’s “Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television” and Douglas Kellner’s various books daring to voice it 

This is the third in a series of this year’s posts I am listing this week in celebration of hitting the 1,500^th post earlier in the month. It’s a fairly typical selection…. Starting with scepticism, moving on to groupthink, John Berger, capitalism, Human nature, intellectual history, hyperlinks to the world’s best English-speaking journals, the learning process, the role of the state…to…extinction…

Each post with a brief summary to tempt you in…

What more could you ask for???

 

Post Title - just click to access the post	Inspired by	The basic message
Musical interlude	Gavin Bryers	To soothe our souls
Scepticism and moral panic	courageous posts from a fellow-blogger	Newspaper headlines about Covid19 need to factor in deaths from normal flu; economic lockdown could be counterproductive
Critical Masses, naked Emperors and freebies	a question left hanging in a previous post	What happens when groupthink takes over – a popular post this one
Visual and other Links I Liked	images and spectacle - the weekly roundup	John Berger, Guy Debord and George Galloway (and an amazing mag resource) all figure in this whimsical collection
Back in the saddle	PC issue causes blog silence for a few weeks	Some important Covid19 analyses
Links I liked	A book explores a century of foretelling the end of capitalism; Bregman’s “Humankind”; and intellectual history	We need to think more about what and why  we think
My Day	a (rare) video conference; and a tabular presentation of the structure of a book I’m drafting	How young and self-confident academics are these days
Learning to Learn	A video on the learning process takes me back to my memories of lecturing and training	A polyglot reveals her secrets
Journals worth reading updated	A desire to share goodies	Although newspapers are in deep trouble, small mags seem to be thriving
Links I liked	A richness of links	Podcasts and videos
A Challenge to Financial Thinking	Robert Skidelsky is pouring the books out!	Political economy is the only useful way to approach economics
Money Talks - why we need a new Vocabulary of social change	“Capital Rules OK” – why can’t we come up with an acceptable word for our condition – neoliberalism? The Beast? Minotaur?	Capitalism is undermining what’s left of democracy
revised blogroll	Recognising the few deep, consistent bloggers	It was a bit invidious to select only 6 blogs – all 50 are worth a look!
We need to talk about...the state	Long Pankaj Mishra article in LRB	Covid has demonstrated that only a few states are strategically governed
Who's having a good Covid19 War?	Some political scientists actually giving us useful assessments of government performance	Neoliberalism has stripped the state of its capacity
Covid19 as a warning shot	some Reflections/Lessons from the Future	We face extinction

Mapping the Common Ground

More in Common is an interesting Think Tank set up very recently with teams in France, Germany, the UK and the US. It's concerned to explore the 

“underlying drivers of fracturing and polarization - and to build more united, resilient and inclusive societies.  

 In its short life, it has commissioned a lot of survey work to try to understand what is going on in Europe and North America and issued a number of reports including, in April, this interim survey Hidden Tribes; Covid19, polarisation and the pandemic which, by September, produced these slides

This week, its British office produced a quite fascinating book-length report which I am still trying to read Britain’s Choice – common ground and divisions in 2020s Britain based on research it commissioned from the prime Yougov survey team.

The report suggests that Britain is not quite as polarised as we might think and can be divided into seven distinct groups - 

– Progressive Activists: A powerful and vocal group for whom politics is at the core of their identity, and who seek to correct the historic marginalisation of groups based on their race, gender, sexuality, wealth and other forms of privilege. They are politicallyengaged, critical, opinionated, frustrated, cosmopolitan and environmentally conscious (13%).

 – Civic Pragmatists: A group that cares about others, at home or abroad, and who are turned off by the divisiveness of politics. They are charitable, concerned, exhausted, community-minded, open to compromise, and socially liberal (13% of the total).

 – Disengaged Battlers: A group that feels that they are just keeping their heads above water, and who blame the system for its unfairness. They are tolerant, insecure, disillusioned, disconnected, overlooked, and socially liberal (12% of the total).

 – Established Liberals: A group that has done well and means well towards others, but also sees a lot of good in the status quo. They are comfortable, privileged, cosmopolitan, trusting, confident, and pro-market (12%).

 – Loyal Nationals: A group that is anxious about the threats facing Britain and facing themselves. They are proud, patriotic, tribal, protective, threatened, aggrieved, and frustrated about the gap between the haves and the have-nots (17% of the total).

– Disengaged Traditionalists: A group that values a well-ordered society and prides in hard work, and wants strong leadership that keeps people in line. They are self-reliant, ordered, patriotic, toughminded, suspicious, and disconnected (18%).

– Backbone Conservatives: A group who are proud of their country, optimistic about Britain’s future outside of Europe, and who keenly follow the news, mostly via traditional media sources. They are nostalgic, patriotic, stalwart, proud, secure, confident, and relatively engaged with politics (15%).

 The Britain we find in this study is not divided into two opposing camps. Britons come together in different formations depending on the issue at hand – 

much like the pieces of coloured glass in a kaleidoscope which cluster in different patterns as the instrument rotates.

This is a strength that may inoculate the UK against one of the most dangerous dimensions of polarisation, which experts describe as ‘conflict extension’ – when members of a group converge across a range of issues. Because the segments come together in different formations depending on the issue at hand, Britain is less likely to become divided as a society into two opposing camps.

– On issues of immigration and race, “Loyal Nationals”, “Disengaged Traditionalists”, and “Backbone Conservatives” come together, while “Progressive Activists”, “Civic Pragmatists”, “Disengaged Battlers”, and “Established Liberals” form another coalition.

 – On issues that involve social trust and institutions, we may see “Established Liberals”, “Civic Pragmatists” and “Backbone Conservatives” coming together on the one hand, while on the other hand “Disengaged Battlers”, “Disengaged Traditionalists” and “Progressive Activists” often align similarly because of their distrust of institutions.

– On issues of inequality and economic policy, Progressive Activists, Loyal Nationals, Civic Pragmatists, Disengaged Battlers, and to a lesser extent, Disengaged Traditionalists, are united.

 – There is widespread agreement on climate issues, led by a strong coalition of Progressive Activists, Civic Pragmatists, and Loyal Nationals.

I said, in the last post, that I was proud to be called a sceptic – but that is not the same as a “contrarian” of whom the sadly-missed Chris Hitchins was the most celebrated exemplar. I have, several times in this blog, bemoaned the failure of progressives to make common cause – or seek “common ground”. It remains an important concept for me

I need a separate post to explain the difference between these distinct aspects of strategic thinking….In the meantime, let me refer to another section of the report which pursues this theme …..

      We find common ground in Britain on many issues, with large majorities which:

– share a sense of national pride in many similar things – such as the NHS, our countryside, and our volunteer tradition

 – feel proud of Britain’s progress on gender equality and becoming a more tolerant and diverse nation – are committed to gender equality and racial equity

– believe that as a society we need to focus on responsibilities as much as rights

 – believe in closing the unfair gap between the haves and have-nots, and making sure that the hard work of key workers and others is better rewarded – want Britain to protect our countryside and lead on climate change

– believe we should strike a balance on difficult issues such as immigration

– feel decision making is too centralised in London

– want political leaders to compromise rather than just sticking to their positions and fighting. 

Perennials

This blog, says the masthead, has set its face against 

 “offering comments on current affairs. It rather uses incidents, books (old and new), links and papers to offer musings about our social endeavours. So old posts are as good as new!” 

But these are “Manichean” days – when people expect you to favour one of two sides; and, indeed, to nail your colours to the mast. And this I refuse to do – since I belong to the generation which grew up on Bertrand Russell - whose “Sceptical Essays” opens with an essay on “The Value of Scepticism” which puts in shade a lot of current discussions about “fake news”. And it was written almost a hundred years ago……. 

Although I was very active politically for some 25 years, my values were mainstream and I readily own up to being a bit of a “mugwump” who sees several sides to any story - and is open to new ideas. Just a few weeks ago, I found myself quoting this Russian proverb – 

“Don’t fear your friends - because they can only betray you.

Don’t fear your enemies – because they can only destroy you

But fear the indifferent – because it’s they who allow your friends to betray you and your enemies to destroy you” 

But under no circumstance should we confuse the “indifferent” with the sceptical!!

-      The indifferent are simply those who don’t care - they shrug their shoulders and “pass by on the other side”.

-      The sceptics, on the other hand, care deeply – they are passionate searchers after truth and, like Voltaire, will defend your right to your hallenge to what JK Galbraith called “the conventional wisdom” 

I would like to think my posts are as much “perennial” as open-minded and sceptical. Just click a title to access a post! 

 The 2020 posts - continued

Post title	What sparked it off	Its basic message
Explaining the blog’s title	Realising that I had never given a proper explanation of the changes in the blog’s name	Quite an important personal statement about the importance of trespassing – and how long I’ve felt this
No Man’s Land	This title was too warlike	why straddling boundaries gives insights
Should I buy this book?	Applying the test I have developed for non-fiction books to a book which caught my eye.	Authors and publishers really do need to understand we are fed up with the flood of books they inflict on us
In praise of the Outsider	Wondering if straddling different worlds, however uncomfortable, doesn’t help challenge groupthink	There are some very-well written books out there about the operation of our economic system – but you have to know how to find them
We are all Pirates now!	Updating my list of journals worth reading	Ditto for journals
Writing Again	Starting with a great find from 1983 about how to write well and a 1944 book on the same topic	I confess I have a hidden folder on the art of writing
Does being an outsider help original writing?	Trying to pursue this hypothesis	It helps open one’s eyes – but then sheer discipline needed
How to write well	Summary of a marvellous essay from a man who changed into a woman a couple of decades later -	Imagine a reader – ensure paras have points – check each word – reread, reread, tighten – be concrete and plain
Reading Tips on better writing	Gathering the best references in one place	Practice, practice – and use appropriate tools like this table
Breakdown and Crises	The first of 7 well-written books dealing with a sense of humanity at the crossroads	David Runciman’s book is a stunning example of good writing
Gods and the rest of us superfluous people	Harari’s “Homo Deus – a history of tomorrow”	He may be too much the techno-optimist
Links I Liked	Starting with Coronavirus, then painting and ending with a couple of new series	As always some great hyperlinks
Facing Extinction?	A post from a survivalist	The apocalypticists may have a point!
Coronavirus - who do we believe?	The urge to select and disseminate the clearest	The most helpful advice is not from government sources
Links I Liked	A model book review; Adam Curtis; survivalist blogs	The need for straight talking
Voice in the wilderness	Discovering a German pulmonological/.political sceptic	The importance of scepticism and peripheral vision
Music from my travels	Rediscovering CDs	I need to honour tonality more than textuality
Links which appealed in Ploiesti	Appalling TV programme selection; intellectual history; accounts of lockdowns	At times such as these we need sensitivity and honesty
Thought for the Day	A good quote from William Davies	This could be a paradigm change
On Perspective	About how mundane our prior passions now look	Useful to look back and see how we were dealing with the pandemic in its early stages

 Bach Cello Concertos - I'm sure Radio Muzical said the Cello Concerto I heard an hour or so ago was the "Seventh" - but there are apparently only 6 all of which you can view here