IS A PICTURE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS?

Here's a photo of Winter becoming Spring whilst this blog pauses from written posts.

PS:  An interesting article from Turkey about Croci - http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/a-bunch-of-crocus-for-puduhepa.aspx?PageID=238&NID=96093&NewsCatID=473

THE ESSENTIAL NAIVETY OF NEW LABOUR

A few years ago I purchased a new edition of Peter Mandelson's memoir "The Third Man" for the princely sum of £1. Sub-titled  "Life at the heart of New Labour", I thought the book very well written and a good Summer read. However, although Lord Mandelson held a number of senior UK government positions and was later Britain's European Union trade representative, "The Third Man" is really a book about political party management, as it seems was "life at the heart of New Labour". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Man:_Life_at_the_Heart_of_New_Labour

It is hardly surprising, therefore, that most people now regard New Labour's years in office as a period of weak governance, whether in relation to the UK government's decision to participate in the invasion of Iraq, or poor regulation of the banking system. Party politics aside, the so-called New Labour Project was primarily an exercise in brand management and this has probably been its greatest success and most enduring legacy, with Conservative prime minister David Cameron later becoming the self-styled "Heir to Blair". http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2015/05/who-won-the-election-was-it-cameron-heir-to-blair-cameron-voice-of-lynton-or-was-it.html

Now is seems that an increasing number of Labour Party supporters are fed-up with politics as brand management and want something more ideological, possibly even a return to socialism. The veteran MP Jeremy Corbyn has become the surprise leader of this movement, and - perhaps even more surprising -  the wider electorate seem to relate to Mr Corbyn's brand of politics too. Not only is he now the apparent front runner in the Labour Party leadership contest, but also apparently the most popular candidate amongst voters from all parties http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/14/jeremy-corbyn-labour-leadership-most-popular-candidate-voters-all-parties?CMP=share_btn_gp

Needless to say, New Labour's old political spin machine has led a ferocious assault on Mr Corbyn, who has in turn suggested that former prime minister Blair could face a possible war crimes trial over the illegal Iraq invasion.  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-tony-blair-could-face-war-crimes-trial-over-illegal-iraq-invasion-10439020.html  However, the role of New Labour in this debacle is more likely to be remembered in these famous words: "It was worse than a crime; it was a blunder." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Antoine,_Duke_of_Enghien

In short, the invasion of Iraq points to the essential naivety not just at the heart of the New Labour Project but in the type of political management that it has come to represent and which has since been espoused by the Conservative Party. This can be seen at every level of government, whether in the incompetent patronage of some organisations linked to David Cameron's "Big Society" campaign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Society or continuing incompetence in the management of Britain's economy -  http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2015/05/06/the-naivety-of-the-uk-economic-debate/

It seems rather rich, therefore, that the Financial Times should today publish a somewhat hysterical leader article on the prospect of Mr Corbyn's election as the new leader of the Labour Party - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/311c4e18-426e-11e5-b98b-87c7270955cf.html Had Britain enjoyed a period of robust and prudent governance in the 21st century, alarm bells at the prospect of a socialist interloper might be justified. As it is, most people beyond the well-heeled Westminster elite probably welcome a return to ideological politics in the hope that these might just lead to better government.

RUSSIANS LAUNCH COMPARE THE MARKETS MOOC

The Economics of Transition and Emerging Markets Mooc led by Professor Marek Dabrowski from Moscow's Higher School of Economics has just started on Coursera - https://www.coursera.org/course/etem and is summarised thus: "This course concentrates on challenges faced by transition and emerging-market economies, i.e. middle- and low-income countries. It starts from a brief history of communist economic system based on central planning in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe, its evolution and collapse at the end of 1980s/ early 1990s and subsequent transition to a market system in 1990s and 2000s. Then it analyzes experience of market reforms in China, India, other Asian countries, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America at the same period. Finally, it discusses the problems of contemporary global economy and global and regional economic governance with the special focus given to emerging-market economies and their role." I'm enrolled and it looks good! However, Professor Dabrowski's style may appear somewhat unreconstructed (or just a little old fashioned) for those accustomed to the razzmatazz of some academic rockstars, despite his "living legend" status in Russia.

Postscript 26.11.2014:  I have just discovered this very good article about Marek Dabrowski - http://www.hse.ru/en/news/edu/137622553.html - who, it turns out, was "co-author of the Polish economic reforms during their most difficult and intense stage in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1989-1990, he served as Poland’s Deputy Minister of Finance and was later an advisor to the Prime Minister, a Member of Poland’s Sejm and an advisor to the head of the National Bank of Poland. In addition to his position at HSE, he is currently a fellow under the 2014-2015 Fellowship Initiative of the European Commission, Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs. His academic research interests include, among others, monetary and fiscal policies, growth and poverty, currency crises, international financial architecture, and perspectives of European integration...."

Please Note: Above image is from "Compare the Meerkat" - http://www.comparethemeerkat.com - and not from "Compare the Markets" mooc.

MOOCS: NEW CHANNELS FOR BIG CONVERSATIONS

Mooc = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course

Like UKIP, the Mooc is a so-called "challenger brand" - http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1296571/ - of the kind described in a Campaign magazine article on the former. UKIP seems to be having a more real "Big Conservation" with the British public than New Labour achieved a decade ago. This is because the latter party and, indeed, the current political ruling coalition, treat a conversation with the electorate as a consultation. In many ways, UKIP has emerged as the antidote to managed politics of the kind most associated with the old New Labour brand.

The Massive Open Online Course model could now be used to facilitate a moderated big conversation around key issues facing individual countries, such as Britain, or geopolitical regions like Europe. Whilst I am a fan of Moocs and have completed a wide range of courses, one of their main shortcoming for me tends to be the dominance of a single viewpoint: ie the host instructor or institution has a particular narrative which is then supported or challenged in the discussion fora. Whilst some subjects lend themselves to this approach, where issues are clearly contested it would be preferable for two or more points of view to be represented by those running the course.

An obvious case is that of migration to the UK and within the European Union. Fact-based arguments for and against the present situation can be made. However, much of the big conversation is unsatisfactory, whatever your view on the issue. A good - or bad! - example of the poor quality of discourse is provided by the Secretary of State for Defence's comments of yesterday and the subsequent reaction to these - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29784486 Rather than such ad hoc outbursts and counter-blasts, far better to have a structured national debate on migration and population change hosted by a reputable institution. A mooc would provide a good starting-point.