How to defeat fascism and the far-right in Britain and elsewhere
How to defeat fascism and the far-right in Britain and elsewhere Gerry Hassan Sunday National, 27 October 2024 Twenty-five years ago, at the height of Blair, Bill Clinton and “The Third Way”, many felt that the future direction and progress of the world was safe and secure. Widespread optimism and belief in globalisation and economic freedom leading to political liberty ran from Thomas Friedman in the New York Times and Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker to cliché-filled PowerPoints by public agencies such as Scottish Enterprise. This was a mixture of projection, groupthink and propaganda. Fast forward to the present
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The Death of Tory England and the Decline of The Spectator
The Death of Tory England and the Decline of The Spectator Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 15th 2019 For eighteen years I have subscribed to and enjoyed reading The Spectator magazine. But under Fraser Nelson’s editorship from 2009 the magazine has slowly and irrevocably gone downhill and into the gutter. Gone are the days when it was a civilised, gentle, iconoclastic read where an article could surprise and entertain from unusual angles. Good pieces still occasionally appear, but in the midst of a very different content. One that is often nasty, condemning, quick to judge people, and with a sense
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The Rise of an English Ideology and the Joys of Reading ‘The Spectator’
The Rise of an English Ideology and the Joys of Reading ‘The Spectator’ Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 8th 2016 I have long been an admirer of ‘The Spectator’. Well, why would I restrict myself to reading only that which confirms my world-view? It is good to be challenged, provoked - as well as entertained - plus the magazine gives an insight into another world (that of right-wing England) – which is influential and plays a role shaping ideas around the Tory Government. In the last few months I have been reading ‘Spectator’ back issues for a forthcoming book
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