recent articles
On the Death and Influence of Leszek Kolakowski
On the Death and Influence of Leszek Kolakowski We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are. Leszek Kolakowski, The Idolatry of Politics, 1986 Leszek Kolakowski died last week at the age of 81. Hardly a household name. A Polish ex-Communist thinker and philosopher who was expelled by the authorities in the purges of 1968 – as Zygmunt Bauman was. Kolakowski had enormous reach and influence as some of his obituaries recognised – Timothy Garton Ash in The Guardian (1), The Times and surely much more to
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Why Gordon Brown is Still Standing!
Why Gordon Brown is Still Standing! Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 21st 2009 Gordon Brown has been Prime Minister and Labour leader for two years. During this time, he has been battered, patronised, ridiculed and written off as useless, and not the telegenic type of politician required in the modern age – such as Tony Blair and David Cameron. (more…)
Glasgow North East Thoughts
Last nite on Newsnight Scotland with Lorraine Davidson talking about the forthcoming Glasgow North East by-election - or should we say to be promised some time in the distant future by-election. I love by-elections, and have done from an early age – when my formative experiences where the double excitement of the Liberal-SDP Alliance briefly sweeping all before it and the force of Vincent Hanna descending on campaigns like an elemental force. Both scared the two main Westminster parties, and Hanna gave the world his sidekick in Andrew Rawnsley (what a gain that was!). Continue Reading Glasgow North East Thoughts
What Gerry’s Reading
Sue Palmer, 21st Century Boys: How Modern Life is Driving Them Off The Rails and How We Can Get Them Back on Track Sue Palmer is the one-woman force that brought us ‘Toxic Childhood’, a powerful and wonderful polemic about how we relieve the modern pressures piling up on parents and children. 21st Century Boys sees her bring her mixture of good old-fashioned ‘commonsense’, impatience and radicalism to what has gone wrong with boys and how they are portrayed. Palmer believes in the power of play, but ‘free play’, not the ‘structured play’ of policy-makers and is damning of the
What Gerry is listening to
Lotte Lenya sings Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins and Berlin Theatre Songs This is a brilliant reissue and remastering of some of Lotte Lenya’s finest recordings recorded in 1955 and 1957 in Berlin. This is late or mature period Lenya covering Weill’s material with a rich, deep voice filled with the insights and nuances of a life of experience. She has a similarity to Billie Holiday’s voice changed utterly in the same period or Frank Sinatra in his twilight years had a hollowed out voice which carried with it magnificence. Continue Reading What Gerry is listening to
The Crisis of the Cameron Conservative Project
The Crisis of the Cameron Conservative Project: The Limits of Progressive Conservatism and 'Red Toryism' Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 10th 2009 David Cameron has promised a new kind of Conservative politics: compassionate, ‘voting blue, going green’, concerned about poverty and the ‘broken society’. Pivotal to this has been a ferment of ideas in Conservative circles and in particular debates about ‘Progressive Conservatism’ and ‘Red Toryism’. The two strands were brought together, the former a high profile project at Demos, the UK think tank, and the latter, an intellectual excursion by Phillip Blond, theologian and thinker, who headed the
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What Gerry is reading
The list below is some of the books I am currently reading, being provoked by, enjoying, being infuriated by, or have just finished. Andrew Gamble, The Spectre at the Feast: Capitalist Crisis and the Politics of Recession, Palgrave 2009 Gamble is one of Britain’s finest political writers and analysts explaining contemporary Britain and the global order. His latest book offers a fascinating take on the series of events which led to the global crunch of 2008-9. On the way he addresses the nature of the managed capitalism which sprang out of World War Two, how this unwound, the characteristics of
What Gerry is listening to
This week musically …. its my usual varied bag of eccentricity mixed with if one is being honest by repeated listens of some things too often, and even some things so beyond cheesy as to be beyond redemption. The Lovin’ Spoonful, Greatest Hits: Am a particular fan of some of their great, supposedly lesser hits, Coconut Grove, Darling Be Home Soon, Younger Generation ….. Nino Katamadse, White: An evocative electro-pop diva from Georgia (the nation, not the REM place) who has shades of Goldfrapp, Pet Shop Boys and Liza Minnelli. Finally available in the UK and US from a Russian
Holyrood and the Search for Scotland’s Soul
Holyrood and the Search for Scotland’s Soul BBC One Scotland, Sunday 10.20-11.20pm Reviewed in The Scotsman, June 30th 2009 Gerry Hassan ‘Holyrood and the Search for Scotland’s Soul’ was a BBC Scotland special to mark ten years of Scottish devolution and attempt to understand what happened, what it means and reflect on who the Scots are. It certainly had an A-list cast supporting Brian Taylor including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Alex Salmond, and a chorus line of Henry McLeish, Jack McConnell, Wendy Alexander, George Reid, Michael Forsyth and many more. The opening scenes had Brian Taylor declare
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What Happens When Labour Falls from Power
What Happens When Labour Falls from Power The Scotsman, June 9th 2009 Gerry Hassan Labour is in an historic crisis. It has been pummelled in the council and Euro elections. Gordon Brown’s Premiership hangs on a loose thread. A wider existential crisis now faces Labour about its purpose, who it represents and its future. Labour Government’s have faced huge crises before and faced into the abyss. They have experienced division and fratricide and ultimately been defeated at the polls. In post-war times three Labour Governments have fallen from power, 1951, 1970 and 1979, each of which offer lessons for today.
