Tag: politics

This blog reflects on why I enjoyed Geoff Andrews’ 2026 book ‘Radicals: The Working Classes and The Making of Modern Britain’, and why, perhaps it is a as deeply flawed a book as my enjoyment of it.

July 6, 2026

This blog reflects on why I enjoyed Geoff Andrews’ 2026 book Radicals: The Working Classes and The Making of Modern Britain, New Haven & London, Yale University Press, and why, perhaps it is a as deeply flawed a book as my enjoyment of it. I did, despite its portentous title, Radicals: The Working Classes and … More This blog reflects on why I enjoyed Geoff Andrews’ 2026 book ‘Radicals: The Working Classes and The Making of Modern Britain’, and why, perhaps it is a as deeply flawed a book as my enjoyment of it.

Did Thomas Carlyle ever say: ‘Tennyson was a man solitary and sad, dwelling in an element of gloom, carrying a bit of chaos about him’.

June 28, 2026

Alfred Tennyson and Thomas Carlyle in a good representayion of the walled garden to 5 Cheyne Road the home of Thomas and Jane Carlyle., now visitable as ‘Carlyles’s House’ Thomas Carlyle, so little read today, was thought a Sage by those of his own time, and whether the quotation given above (from the usual dodgy … More Did Thomas Carlyle ever say: ‘Tennyson was a man solitary and sad, dwelling in an element of gloom, carrying a bit of chaos about him’.

Look backwards to the history that you ought to make part of your own biography if you want to avoid political confusion.

June 10, 2026

I was just nearing 5 years of age when this magazine came out, still sold in pounds sterling at 4/- [4 shillings (20p now but what a large amount then)].This was the last edition of ‘Universities and Left Review’ (ULR) which became, together with ‘The New Reasoner’, the ‘New Left Review’ (NLR) in its next … More Look backwards to the history that you ought to make part of your own biography if you want to avoid political confusion.

Ilan Pappé (2024) ‘Ten Myths About Israel’, London, Verso Press.

May 27, 2026

Some books just must be read and Ilan Pappé (2024 – with new preface on Gaza as well as the original of 2017 – Ten Myths About Israel, London, Verso Press is one of them. The edition of 2024 gives a necessary set of words about Gaza that now requires updating again, for as Pappé … More Ilan Pappé (2024) ‘Ten Myths About Israel’, London, Verso Press.

The question should be why would or should you vote in political elections! ‘The Guardian’ today is predicting unprecedented losses for the Labour Party. Yet the current Labour Leader won power in his party by saying no party should promote any policy that would make it ‘unelectable’. It seems now that this ideology has created the least electable party of modern voting history. Is voting in political elections ever a matter of principle in politics?

May 2, 2026

The question should be why would or should you vote in political elections! The Guardian today, with the gloomy collage below, is predicting unprecedented losses for the Labour Party. Yet the current Labour Leader won power in his party by saying no party should promote any policy that would make it ‘unelectable’. It seems now … More The question should be why would or should you vote in political elections! ‘The Guardian’ today is predicting unprecedented losses for the Labour Party. Yet the current Labour Leader won power in his party by saying no party should promote any policy that would make it ‘unelectable’. It seems now that this ideology has created the least electable party of modern voting history. Is voting in political elections ever a matter of principle in politics?

Not to take action matters if you add to the ‘moral void’ around decisions about acknowledging atrocity or suffering. ‘Looking out for one’s personal advancement’ and the persistence of ‘the moral void’: this blog aims to look beyond, with the help of Stanley Cohen’s (2001) ‘States of Denial: Knowing About Atrocities and Suffering’, the conclusions of mid-twentieth century social science including those of Stanley Milgram and the studies of ‘passive bystanders’ prompted by the brutal murder of Kitty Genovese.

April 16, 2026

Not to take action matters if you add to the ‘moral void’ around decisions about acknowledging atrocity or suffering. ‘Looking out for one’s personal advancement’ and the persistence of ‘the moral void’: this blog aims to look beyond, with the help of Stanley Cohen’s (2001) States of Denial: Knowing About Atrocities and Suffering, the conclusions of … More Not to take action matters if you add to the ‘moral void’ around decisions about acknowledging atrocity or suffering. ‘Looking out for one’s personal advancement’ and the persistence of ‘the moral void’: this blog aims to look beyond, with the help of Stanley Cohen’s (2001) ‘States of Denial: Knowing About Atrocities and Suffering’, the conclusions of mid-twentieth century social science including those of Stanley Milgram and the studies of ‘passive bystanders’ prompted by the brutal murder of Kitty Genovese.

Most Britains do not understand the terrible responsibility of the UK for the setting up of Israel as an Apartheid state: Do films help us? A case study of the beautiful film ‘Palestine 36’, a dramatisation of the period of the Peel Commission Report published in 1937, by Annemarie Jacir.

March 27, 2026

Most Britons do not understand the terrible responsibility of the UK for the setting up of Israel as an Apartheid state: Do films help us? A case study of the beautiful film ‘Palestine 36‘, a dramatisation of the period of the Peel Commission Report published in 1937, by Annemarie Jacir. The British mandate for Palestine, a … More Most Britains do not understand the terrible responsibility of the UK for the setting up of Israel as an Apartheid state: Do films help us? A case study of the beautiful film ‘Palestine 36’, a dramatisation of the period of the Peel Commission Report published in 1937, by Annemarie Jacir.

How have your political views changed over time? Political views that change ‘over time’ are most often based on political interests. This blog is stimulated by Peter Oborne (2025) ‘Complicit: Britain’s Role in the Destruction of Gaza’.

December 23, 2025

Political views that change ‘over time’ are most often based on political interests. Free-standing, and relatively independent thought, feelings and action regarding politics – about how different kinds of power are distributed and used –  probably do change over time in reflection of learning, provided we allow ourselves to continue learning over our lives. However, … More How have your political views changed over time? Political views that change ‘over time’ are most often based on political interests. This blog is stimulated by Peter Oborne (2025) ‘Complicit: Britain’s Role in the Destruction of Gaza’.

‘Nothing so true as what you once let fall: / Keir Starmer has no Character at All’. A case study.

December 22, 2025

I ought to apologise to Alexander Pope for twisting his tritest lines – the opening of ‘Epistles to Several Persons: Epistle II: To a Lady on the Characters of Women. But the lines are indeed trite and bear nothing much beside the most rank misogyny – but pointed at political women. But it does have … More ‘Nothing so true as what you once let fall: / Keir Starmer has no Character at All’. A case study.

‘Political consumerism’ and food choice

December 19, 2025

‘Political consumerism’ and food choice WordPress often asks us to pretend that all our choices are mediated on a simple model of choice, that might, of course, still involve a number of factors regarding the item, such as cost and affordability, use value of the the product – the nutritional value of foods for instance, … More ‘Political consumerism’ and food choice

Malevich’s ‘Taking in the Rye’, looks like the dissection of a rainbow! Aim to be lazy!

October 10, 2025

I suppose the key word here – the one that should set warning bells ringing is ‘unproductive’, for as a word it has long differentiated from what seem to be a synonym, non-productive. Yet since the words are often confused the term ‘counter-productive’ has been invented to show that their scale of the unproduction from … More Malevich’s ‘Taking in the Rye’, looks like the dissection of a rainbow! Aim to be lazy!