Last year, I suggested that Ed Miliband was developing a narrative that could be described as civil libertarian socialism.
This year, his conference speech built upon the 'socialist' element. He argued for a State that intervenes in the economy to encourage good behaviour.
The distinction between businesses that produce wealth and those that are predatory fits with a certain left of centre world view. Even conservatives have been known to be critical of the way some companies operate. It was Edward Heath who once described a businessman as "the unacceptable face of capitalism".
Miliband, and his advisers, are hoping that this will resonate with voters. But even if it does, the next challenge for the Labour leadership is to demonstrate that they have policies that can reshape the economy.
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Monday, 26 September 2011
Communications and the party conferences
CIPR TV is back in October with a political edition that looks at who won the communications battle at the party conferences.
I will be on the panel alongside Iain Anderson, Cicero Consulting, and John Lehal, Insight Public Affairs.
The live web broadcasts take place on Thursday 6 October at 5pm.
You can watch it via this link.
I will be on the panel alongside Iain Anderson, Cicero Consulting, and John Lehal, Insight Public Affairs.
The live web broadcasts take place on Thursday 6 October at 5pm.
You can watch it via this link.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Ed Miliband and the Labour party
The party political conference season is in full swing. We have had the Greens, UKIP and the Liberal Democrats. Next up is Labour.
Ed Miliband faces many challenges as leader of the Labour party but perhaps the biggest is that he rather likes his party.
If one thinks of recent political leaders who have been successful, they all seem to be a touch distanced from their parties. This was true to a large extent of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and David Cameron. Even Nick Clegg appears to be a few steps away from the beating heart of the Liberal Democrats.
It could be that this gives leaders some objectivity about the policies their party's support or maybe voters like a politician who isn't part of the machine. Whatever the reason, there does seem something in the theory.
Ed Miliband faces many challenges as leader of the Labour party but perhaps the biggest is that he rather likes his party.
If one thinks of recent political leaders who have been successful, they all seem to be a touch distanced from their parties. This was true to a large extent of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and David Cameron. Even Nick Clegg appears to be a few steps away from the beating heart of the Liberal Democrats.
It could be that this gives leaders some objectivity about the policies their party's support or maybe voters like a politician who isn't part of the machine. Whatever the reason, there does seem something in the theory.
Murray Rothbard's 'For a New Liberty'
Murray Rothbard wrote 'For a New Liberty' is the 1970s.
You can download it for free by clicking on this link.
Rothbard provides a critique of what he sees as a corporate capitalism and goes on to make the case for rejecting the State completely. His writing style is crisp and his descriptions of fractional reserve banking understandable, even for non-economists.
While Rothbard is a classical liberal, he believes that the attempt by the Founding Fathers, and others, to limit government was mistaken. In his view it is impossible to control the State. According to him, it would be far better if people ran their lives and voluntarily engaged with each other through the market.
He is passionate in his support for liberty. He makes it clear that in his view that only a society founded on the non-aggression principle can be one where there is peace and liberty.
Many people will disagree with his critique and even those who accepts some or all of it it is questionable how attainable a libertarian society is.
At the end of the book he says that the financial and political crisis of the 1970s makes it highly likely that libertarianism will flourish. In reality what happened was a Republican President was elected to office who was seen as having libertarian leanings but ended up growing the size of the State.
In the light of the 'Tea party' movement and all that is going on right now, Rothbard is well worth a read whether you are a classical liberal or not.
You can download it for free by clicking on this link.
Rothbard provides a critique of what he sees as a corporate capitalism and goes on to make the case for rejecting the State completely. His writing style is crisp and his descriptions of fractional reserve banking understandable, even for non-economists.
While Rothbard is a classical liberal, he believes that the attempt by the Founding Fathers, and others, to limit government was mistaken. In his view it is impossible to control the State. According to him, it would be far better if people ran their lives and voluntarily engaged with each other through the market.
He is passionate in his support for liberty. He makes it clear that in his view that only a society founded on the non-aggression principle can be one where there is peace and liberty.
Many people will disagree with his critique and even those who accepts some or all of it it is questionable how attainable a libertarian society is.
At the end of the book he says that the financial and political crisis of the 1970s makes it highly likely that libertarianism will flourish. In reality what happened was a Republican President was elected to office who was seen as having libertarian leanings but ended up growing the size of the State.
In the light of the 'Tea party' movement and all that is going on right now, Rothbard is well worth a read whether you are a classical liberal or not.
Results of the Total Politics Blog Awards
The full results of the Total Politics blog awards is now up on their site.
Well done to all the bloggers.
This year though I didn't make it. I am not sure if that means if I should post less, more or just continue.
Well done to all the bloggers.
This year though I didn't make it. I am not sure if that means if I should post less, more or just continue.
Monday, 12 September 2011
Total Politics Blog Awards 2011
Total Politics has begun to announce its annual blog awards for 2011. The winners will be revealed over the next ten days.
So far, we have the top ten green, non-aligned and media blogs.
You can see who is in, and who is out, by clicking this link.
The party conference season is upon us
So far the Greens and UKIP have met. The TUC is currently gathering and after that it is the Liberal Democrats. They will be followed by Labour and the Conservatives close proceedings.
For those people keen on politics it is all rather fascinating. Lobbyists normally get to go to all three party conferences and have the opportunity of seeing how the parties that run, and wish to run, the country function up close and personal.
Most people aren't interested at all.
Party membership is declining and for many the parties are a much of a much.
Does any of it matter?
Well it gives party members the chance to see each other and express frustration or approval to their leadership. Debates can be had in the main hall or on the fringe and sometimes public policy might be influenced.
The Liberals Democrats will argue over whether they are having enough influence over the Conservatives, Labour will attack the coalition and frame their arguments as being on the side of those who are struggling in the current economic climate while the Conservatives will be looking for a Tory message from David Cameron.
What we might begin to see during the next few weeks are the ideas that will be developed into policy proposals to put to voters for the next election. If that is what interests you, then keep an eye on the debates at the fringe meetings rather than the hear-and-now policy discussions in the main halls.
For those people keen on politics it is all rather fascinating. Lobbyists normally get to go to all three party conferences and have the opportunity of seeing how the parties that run, and wish to run, the country function up close and personal.
Most people aren't interested at all.
Party membership is declining and for many the parties are a much of a much.
Does any of it matter?
Well it gives party members the chance to see each other and express frustration or approval to their leadership. Debates can be had in the main hall or on the fringe and sometimes public policy might be influenced.
The Liberals Democrats will argue over whether they are having enough influence over the Conservatives, Labour will attack the coalition and frame their arguments as being on the side of those who are struggling in the current economic climate while the Conservatives will be looking for a Tory message from David Cameron.
What we might begin to see during the next few weeks are the ideas that will be developed into policy proposals to put to voters for the next election. If that is what interests you, then keep an eye on the debates at the fringe meetings rather than the hear-and-now policy discussions in the main halls.
Whig Watch: Julian Glover on Clegg
In the occasional series highlighting the Whig element of the coalition, here is a link to a piece on the Guardian's website by Julian Glover. Glover describes Clegg as a "Whig grandee".
You can read the piece in full by clicking here.
You can read the piece in full by clicking here.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Thursday, 8 September 2011
Portland Contacts
Portland Communications has launched an App that has the contact details of politicians and journalists.
For PR and public affairs professionals this is an incredibly handy tool. While most people subscribe to paid for databases, this is free and is mobile. There is an iPhone and iPad version.
You can download it by clicking this link.
For PR and public affairs professionals this is an incredibly handy tool. While most people subscribe to paid for databases, this is free and is mobile. There is an iPhone and iPad version.
You can download it by clicking this link.
Friday, 2 September 2011
Public policy and web technology
If you happen to agree that web technology, and the technology we use to access web, is changing how we live, then the next question is what is the best public policy framework to encourage this?
Should government's ensure everyone has access to broadband? Perhaps they should create seed funds for new companies or remove obstacles for start-ups?
But there is another aspect to all of this. It is not simply about public policy encouraging all of this. It is about how public policy interacts with what this new way of living.
I suspect that in the next few years the public policy conversation will focus more and more on these challenges.
Should government's ensure everyone has access to broadband? Perhaps they should create seed funds for new companies or remove obstacles for start-ups?
But there is another aspect to all of this. It is not simply about public policy encouraging all of this. It is about how public policy interacts with what this new way of living.
I suspect that in the next few years the public policy conversation will focus more and more on these challenges.
The impact of web technology on education
I have written before about how web technology will impact on how we live, organise our society and economy.
Listening to a David Boaz talk on the 'politics of freedom' I was struck by his remark about education. Boaz speculates that if the State did not provide education, and teaching was left to people we might see a very different form of schooling. In fact, he seemed to imply we might not seeing schooling at all. Instead we might have new methods of learning that harness web technology and crowd sourcing.
It might all seem a touch fanciful and is far removed from the day-to-day political arguments over how much involvement the private sector should have in providing education and whether schools should select or not.
In reality, web technology and technology in general is changing how we do things. The Henry Ford model of mass production has significantly moved on from what it was. How people work and are managed has changed.
The '1984' Apple Mackintosh commercial that I posted yesterday illustrates the point.
Things are already very different compared to ten years ago let along twenty. We access information and entertainment differently. All of this is bound to continue.
Of course, removing the State from education will horrify many people. But let's not forget that John Stuart Mill argued that the State should pay for education, and make it compulsory, but the private sector should provide it.
Our education system reflects how we worked and organised ourselves in the 19th and 20th centuries. Surely, the 21st century requires something different?
That doesn't mean there won't be arguments about access to learning, what should be taught and how it should be taught. The challenge though in the coming years for those who prefer the State to keep a firm hand on the tiller and for those who would rather people self-organised is how do you let education evolve and reflect the new ways of working. And how web technology is best utilised to do that.
Listening to a David Boaz talk on the 'politics of freedom' I was struck by his remark about education. Boaz speculates that if the State did not provide education, and teaching was left to people we might see a very different form of schooling. In fact, he seemed to imply we might not seeing schooling at all. Instead we might have new methods of learning that harness web technology and crowd sourcing.
It might all seem a touch fanciful and is far removed from the day-to-day political arguments over how much involvement the private sector should have in providing education and whether schools should select or not.
In reality, web technology and technology in general is changing how we do things. The Henry Ford model of mass production has significantly moved on from what it was. How people work and are managed has changed.
The '1984' Apple Mackintosh commercial that I posted yesterday illustrates the point.
Things are already very different compared to ten years ago let along twenty. We access information and entertainment differently. All of this is bound to continue.
Of course, removing the State from education will horrify many people. But let's not forget that John Stuart Mill argued that the State should pay for education, and make it compulsory, but the private sector should provide it.
Our education system reflects how we worked and organised ourselves in the 19th and 20th centuries. Surely, the 21st century requires something different?
That doesn't mean there won't be arguments about access to learning, what should be taught and how it should be taught. The challenge though in the coming years for those who prefer the State to keep a firm hand on the tiller and for those who would rather people self-organised is how do you let education evolve and reflect the new ways of working. And how web technology is best utilised to do that.
Thursday, 1 September 2011
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