I'm feeling a bit glum and negative about the political future of this country at the moment. Probably to do with reading the article I found linked in the below tweet (direct link to article in brackets). It's about the role of think tanks in the neoliberal society. It's from part of a book to be published called "The Routledge Handbook of Neoliberalism". It really puts its finger on what has been troubling me lately about politics. Our politicians don't have the ability, the power, to shape ideas and political vision anymore. Ed couldn't get anywhere with his "predatory versus productive capitalism" idea because it came from him, a mere politician, rather than a think tank. Even McDonnell's economics experts don't have the kind of clout to shape public opinion in the way the right wing think tanks do. It's still a good idea, it shows he grasps the problem at least, it's just so puny against the money and influence already locked in by the right. It goes back to Thatcher, of course, there's a great book, Jonathan Coe's "What a Carve Up!", that chillingly lays out through fiction the way in which Thatcher's contemporaries sought to corner every market from arms exports and intensive farming through to infiltrating the BBC and using newspaper columns to shape opinion and soften up the public for the first Gulf War. What's worrying is that we seem to have shifted from the obvious manipulative cynicism of the 80s that was easier to expose and condemn, into a world of genuine ideological zeal for neoliberalism where it's hard to see where the self-serving cynicism ends and genuine belief based on false facts and ignorance begins.
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http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/tslater/ ... Slater.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )
All of this links to something I wanted to say about Zac Goldsmith and the possibility of the Greens' promoting him as second preference for London mayor when it came up recently, but struggled to articulate. I still can't quite say what I want to say about the subject so thought I would link this article instead:
https://spinwatchwatch.wordpress.com/20 ... llo-world/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
HOW ZAC GOLDSMITH BOUGHT THE GREEN MOVEMENT
Posted on 28 April 2010 by willdeighton
Why is the Conservative candidate for Richmond upon Thames funding so many of the environmental groups that ought to be attacking the Tories, asks Will Deighton
