Around the time of the last UK recession in the early 1990s, the then property correspondent of the Financial Times, Michael Brett, published a book entitled "Property and Money". Amongst other valuable advice, this recommended that one should only believe about 10% of what property developers said. Many individuals and organisations are now no doubt wishing that not only they but governments around the world, and not least our own, had followed this guidance.
Moving forward to the present day, I was surprised to see the contents of a press release from a consulting group concerned with "Nimbyism" published without, apparently, any journalistic comment in the main section of last weekend's FT. It should be clear by now that most people have adopted Michael Brett's view of property developers and extended this to a range of other development protagonists, not least our present government.
In this week's FT, much comment is given over to "The Future of Capitalism" series, which started with an article by Martin Wolf on Monday quoting former US President Ronald Reagan : (I paraphrase) Question : "What are the nine most frightening words in the English language ?" Answer : "I'm a government official and I'm here to help". Now this is advice the property development sector, and notably, house-builders should have heeded.
For, as yesterday's free paper the "Metro" stated, again based on a press release (this time from the National Housing Federation) : "The housebuilding industry is lurching towards bust - with a real possibility that the number of new homes built in 2009/10 could slump to the lowest level since the 1920s". Some may remember that our former Chancellor of the Exchequer and now Prime Minister only a few years ago proclaimed "No more boom and bust".
No comment !
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Lord Mandelson and the New Labour Market
The UK Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has recently made some disparaging comments on British companies (unable to run enterprises like the Royal Mail) and workers (unwilling to perform jobs which are done by foreign labour). Whilst there may be some grains of truth in these sentiments, the problems are ones in whose creation successive New Labour governments have played a pivotal role.
For instance, the cronyism for which New Labour is famous has become increasingly ingrained in British management culture, reducing the commercial and industrial gene-bank which Lord Mandelson has identified as deficient in the skills to run the Royal Mail. Cronyism has always been a significant feature of British business and public institutions, and the governments of Blair and Brown have re-inforced this structural problem, which has made no small contribution to the current UK banking crisis.
With regard to the apparently increasing reluctance of British workers to undertake certain types of employment, the fact is that the culture of New Labour (and of this country) stigmatises many essential jobs as unworthy for aspirational indigen(t/e)s. However, this is not the full story. Many employers prefer foreign workers for a host of reasons, including, in some cases, their inability to speak English, and, therefore, articulate health, safety and other genuine concerns.
Many of us would welcome a labour market based far more on genuine merit, however grand or, quite simply, essential the positions involved. Many of us believed that the election of a New Labour Government in 1997 would bring this much hoped for meritocracy. How wrong we were to expect the architects of New Labour like Lord Peter Mandelson to deliver this, or very much else of any real worth for that matter.
For instance, the cronyism for which New Labour is famous has become increasingly ingrained in British management culture, reducing the commercial and industrial gene-bank which Lord Mandelson has identified as deficient in the skills to run the Royal Mail. Cronyism has always been a significant feature of British business and public institutions, and the governments of Blair and Brown have re-inforced this structural problem, which has made no small contribution to the current UK banking crisis.
With regard to the apparently increasing reluctance of British workers to undertake certain types of employment, the fact is that the culture of New Labour (and of this country) stigmatises many essential jobs as unworthy for aspirational indigen(t/e)s. However, this is not the full story. Many employers prefer foreign workers for a host of reasons, including, in some cases, their inability to speak English, and, therefore, articulate health, safety and other genuine concerns.
Many of us would welcome a labour market based far more on genuine merit, however grand or, quite simply, essential the positions involved. Many of us believed that the election of a New Labour Government in 1997 would bring this much hoped for meritocracy. How wrong we were to expect the architects of New Labour like Lord Peter Mandelson to deliver this, or very much else of any real worth for that matter.
Please "Shut Up" the Upper Miserable Class
There's some people whose personal lives I'd very much like to hear less about, and, collectively, I'd label these the "Upper Miserable Class". A good example of this is the Myerson family (New Labour supporters and second home in the same seaside town as Gordon and Sarah Brown, if you get my drift). Personally, I don't much like Jonathan Myerson's writing, which has far too much air time on BBC Radio 4 for a start, and the mere mention of his name switches the programme off for me. Thankfully, I'd never been forced fed anything by his wife, Julie, until lately that is. Now the story of the couple's addict son and family life is all over the media, as Julie Myerson has written a book about her errant offspring. Said youth has responded by describing his mother to a newspaper journalist as "insane". For all I know, this description may - along with his father's tedious tinkerings with public life - hold the key to the family's obvious problems, so please, as far as I'm concerned, "shut up" the lot of them !
Friday, February 20, 2009
Amen in Full : The Second Coming of the Real Economy
The more I think about it, the more Tom Wolfe's 1990s novel "A Man in Full" seems to strike a cord with the real life dramas of our present times. There's the "man in full" himself in the person of fallen financier (and cricket sponsor) Sir Allen Stanford, US President Obama's invocations of the "American Dream", whose shadow side has always been a nightmare for a significant sector of American society, and - let us not forget - Prime Minister Brown's visit to the Pope (by whom I mean the real one and not Catholic convert Tony Blair). Herein lie all the main ingredients of Wolfe's brilliant novel - Mammon, Politics and Religion - albeit these are set in Atlanta, Georgia rather than on the world stage. I can't recommend a better read just now.
Returning to the setting for another of Wolfe's novels, his 1980s "The Bonfire of the Vanities", the news on Wall Street today is not good, as the following press report shows :
"'There's perceived disappointment from the lack of clarity from the Treasury (Department) for what it will do with the financial sector," said Wasif Latif, portfolio managerat USAA Investment Management Co. "That's hitting financials regularly."
Stocks have fallen steadily over the past two weeks as investors lost confidence in multiple Obama administration programs aimed at bolstering the economy. The market's inability to rally signals that investors don't have a sense of when the recession, already 14 months old, will end.
"We're going through a tug of war between optimism and pessimism," Latif said. "When there is a lack of clarity, it becomes more of an emotional or psychological environment. The mood can sway on any given day based on the flow of news coming out.'''
Now it has also to be said that the unfolding dramas of the global banking and finance sector - as well as the unfoldment of the so-called "Real Economy" - are also pretty engrossing, and will one day, I am sure, come in for some "creative treatment" themselves. However, for anyone seriously interested in what the Coming of the Real Economy might mean I would suggest they look not too much further back than the 1970s, which, unlike the 1960s, should be much easier to remember, for those of us who there anyway. The 1970s also saw a global recession, with whose bitter legacy of de-industrialisation* this country and the United States, in particular, still live. Perhaps the Second Coming of the Real Economy will enable us to overcome this.
* An excellent book on this subject is "The Geography of De-Industrialisation", Martin & Rowthorn, Macmillan 1986
Returning to the setting for another of Wolfe's novels, his 1980s "The Bonfire of the Vanities", the news on Wall Street today is not good, as the following press report shows :
"'There's perceived disappointment from the lack of clarity from the Treasury (Department) for what it will do with the financial sector," said Wasif Latif, portfolio managerat USAA Investment Management Co. "That's hitting financials regularly."
Stocks have fallen steadily over the past two weeks as investors lost confidence in multiple Obama administration programs aimed at bolstering the economy. The market's inability to rally signals that investors don't have a sense of when the recession, already 14 months old, will end.
"We're going through a tug of war between optimism and pessimism," Latif said. "When there is a lack of clarity, it becomes more of an emotional or psychological environment. The mood can sway on any given day based on the flow of news coming out.'''
Now it has also to be said that the unfolding dramas of the global banking and finance sector - as well as the unfoldment of the so-called "Real Economy" - are also pretty engrossing, and will one day, I am sure, come in for some "creative treatment" themselves. However, for anyone seriously interested in what the Coming of the Real Economy might mean I would suggest they look not too much further back than the 1970s, which, unlike the 1960s, should be much easier to remember, for those of us who there anyway. The 1970s also saw a global recession, with whose bitter legacy of de-industrialisation* this country and the United States, in particular, still live. Perhaps the Second Coming of the Real Economy will enable us to overcome this.
* An excellent book on this subject is "The Geography of De-Industrialisation", Martin & Rowthorn, Macmillan 1986
Monday, February 16, 2009
What's behind all this "Banker Bashing" ?
Along with big bonuses for the relatively few, the UK banking sector has created many average and, indeed, low-paid jobs. Thus we learn that the majority of Lloyds staff earn between £17-18 000 per year, which suggests that some earn rather less than this, as well as those who earn rather more. We also learn that the average bonus this time around is £1 000. Frankly, if Lloyds staff on the average and lower wages have a bonus, I really don't mind.
Besides, the present frenzy of "Banker Bashing" is, in my view, a useful distraction from the much wider spectrum of responsibility for the present economic crisis. After all, precisely what was the Treasury Select Committee doing several years ago, when there was already plenty of evidence of the "bubble" ? Not a lot, I suggest.
The fact is that a sort of collective delusion - some might say mass hysteria - had gripped (and, in some case, continues to hold) the consciousness, or lack of it, of vast sections of the public, private and, dare I say, voluntary sectors. This collective delusion brought with it the conviction that the boom of recent years could go on, and on, and on, and the belief - bordering on a religious fervour - that the economic bubble was, in fact, not just for real, but for ever.
It was not just the banking and wider financial sector but this Government - and its friends (until recently) in the media, construction/house-building and other "favoured" industries, that "sold" the economic bubble on; and, in particular, political apparats like former government economic adviser (and now doom merchant) Ed Balls, who, incidentally, is not going to apologise.
Besides, the present frenzy of "Banker Bashing" is, in my view, a useful distraction from the much wider spectrum of responsibility for the present economic crisis. After all, precisely what was the Treasury Select Committee doing several years ago, when there was already plenty of evidence of the "bubble" ? Not a lot, I suggest.
The fact is that a sort of collective delusion - some might say mass hysteria - had gripped (and, in some case, continues to hold) the consciousness, or lack of it, of vast sections of the public, private and, dare I say, voluntary sectors. This collective delusion brought with it the conviction that the boom of recent years could go on, and on, and on, and the belief - bordering on a religious fervour - that the economic bubble was, in fact, not just for real, but for ever.
It was not just the banking and wider financial sector but this Government - and its friends (until recently) in the media, construction/house-building and other "favoured" industries, that "sold" the economic bubble on; and, in particular, political apparats like former government economic adviser (and now doom merchant) Ed Balls, who, incidentally, is not going to apologise.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Blog from 2007 on Snow & Transport
There are some things in life that you can always rely on ! Please also see "Modal Shift is Key issue for West Midlands @ http://witchofworcester.wordpress.com/
Saturday, February 10, 2007 Have Car, Can't Travel : Have Feet, Can
The "snow storms" which have hit the West Midlands, and Worcestershire in particular, in the last couple of days highlight one the core areas of the region's unsustainability : the fact that people's mean travel to work (and other destinations) distances by car are the highest (or amongst the highest) in the country. One reason - probably the main one - for this is that the West Midlands was the last region in the country to encourage a policy of population dispersal from the major urban areas, like Birmingham and its hinterland conurbation. The consequent dispersed pattern of settlement, and associated mobility (travel rather than social !) patterns leads to excessive car dependency. This problem needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency by planners involved in the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy, which is currently subject to public consultation*. So, please, let's "walk the talk" for a change, and also put some real investment into the railways.
*Examination-in Public of Proposed Phase 2 Revision now underway (January-June 2009)
The following thoughtful comment was also received in February 2007 :
Julian Dobson said...
I agree that planners have a lot to answer for, but I think the issue runs deeper than that. You need to look at housing markets and why some areas - often the ones that are least accessible by public transport - command higher values than others; and why even when perfectly adequate public transport is available, people would rather swan around in 4x4s than demean themselves by getting on a bus.Having said that, living in Sheffield, which was once Bus City, I found four buses stranded on the hill outside my house last Friday night. Meanwhile the 4x4s were whizzing past. I, of course, was walking.More investment in railways? Absolutely. But that won't change a culture that identifies wellbeing with the car you drive (and that isn't just a male thing any more).
Saturday, February 10, 2007 Have Car, Can't Travel : Have Feet, Can
The "snow storms" which have hit the West Midlands, and Worcestershire in particular, in the last couple of days highlight one the core areas of the region's unsustainability : the fact that people's mean travel to work (and other destinations) distances by car are the highest (or amongst the highest) in the country. One reason - probably the main one - for this is that the West Midlands was the last region in the country to encourage a policy of population dispersal from the major urban areas, like Birmingham and its hinterland conurbation. The consequent dispersed pattern of settlement, and associated mobility (travel rather than social !) patterns leads to excessive car dependency. This problem needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency by planners involved in the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy, which is currently subject to public consultation*. So, please, let's "walk the talk" for a change, and also put some real investment into the railways.
*Examination-in Public of Proposed Phase 2 Revision now underway (January-June 2009)
The following thoughtful comment was also received in February 2007 :
Julian Dobson said...
I agree that planners have a lot to answer for, but I think the issue runs deeper than that. You need to look at housing markets and why some areas - often the ones that are least accessible by public transport - command higher values than others; and why even when perfectly adequate public transport is available, people would rather swan around in 4x4s than demean themselves by getting on a bus.Having said that, living in Sheffield, which was once Bus City, I found four buses stranded on the hill outside my house last Friday night. Meanwhile the 4x4s were whizzing past. I, of course, was walking.More investment in railways? Absolutely. But that won't change a culture that identifies wellbeing with the car you drive (and that isn't just a male thing any more).
Friday, February 06, 2009
The Best & Worst of BBC Radio
Over the past couple of week's I've heard some excellent, even groundbreaking, programmes on BBC Radio 4. Last week's "Crossing Continents" broadcast recordings made by a former member of the Mexican Mafia from various US penitentiaries. This was not the sort of programme I would normally listen to, but I found the content totally engrossing. On Tuesday of this week, was the final installment of Claudia Hammond's series on mental health services in Britain : State of Mind. I've listened on and off to this series which has been very good indeed. Similarly, both "The Investigation" of last week (on piracy off the coast of Somalia) and yesterday's programme on waste management (the "rubbish" rather than "The Sopranos" kind !) in the UK was extremely interesting. This is BBC Radio at its best.
So why, oh why has the quality of broadcasting on Radio 4's flagship "Today Programme" so deteriorated recently ? Admittedly, it's not all bad, but the tendency to descend into tittle-tattle about fellow members of the media "profession" is ever present. More and more, it is the BBC itself which is the subject of "The News", breaking the first rule of journalism - or so I was led to believe - that journalists (and other media types) themselves should never become the "Main Story". What's gone wrong, I wonder ?
So why, oh why has the quality of broadcasting on Radio 4's flagship "Today Programme" so deteriorated recently ? Admittedly, it's not all bad, but the tendency to descend into tittle-tattle about fellow members of the media "profession" is ever present. More and more, it is the BBC itself which is the subject of "The News", breaking the first rule of journalism - or so I was led to believe - that journalists (and other media types) themselves should never become the "Main Story". What's gone wrong, I wonder ?
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
The Problem of Social Pedagogy
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a "pedagogue" is "a dull, formal, or pedantic teacher".
It should come as no surprise, therefore, that a current pet project of the Department for Children, Schools and Families, headed by Ed Balls (in case anyone should forget !) is the creation of a cadre of "high status social pedagogues", a "new" professional group somewhere between that of social worker and teacher.
That's funny because I thought this was precisely the social position (or should I say class) occupied by New Labour itself !
I shall be exploring the subject of "Social Pedagogy" further at my "De-Constructing the New Labour Project blog : http://limits-2-growth.blogspot.com/
It might be remembered that Mr Ball's wife, Yvette Cooper, - still Financial Secretary to the Treasury ? - was until recently Minister for Housing, and the important subject of social housing for rent is dealt with @ http://witchofworcester.wordpress.com/ where I too engage in some social instruction, this time for policy makers.
It should come as no surprise, therefore, that a current pet project of the Department for Children, Schools and Families, headed by Ed Balls (in case anyone should forget !) is the creation of a cadre of "high status social pedagogues", a "new" professional group somewhere between that of social worker and teacher.
That's funny because I thought this was precisely the social position (or should I say class) occupied by New Labour itself !
I shall be exploring the subject of "Social Pedagogy" further at my "De-Constructing the New Labour Project blog : http://limits-2-growth.blogspot.com/
It might be remembered that Mr Ball's wife, Yvette Cooper, - still Financial Secretary to the Treasury ? - was until recently Minister for Housing, and the important subject of social housing for rent is dealt with @ http://witchofworcester.wordpress.com/ where I too engage in some social instruction, this time for policy makers.
Friday, January 30, 2009
New EPONA Website
My area regeneration business, EPONA, is currently undergoing some re-development and a new website for epona-land.co.uk will be launched toward the end of March. In the meantime, please send emails to consult@crookbarrow.com. Other contact details remain the same.
Updates on EPONA's work can be found @ http://eponaland.wordpress.com/
Updates on EPONA's work can be found @ http://eponaland.wordpress.com/
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Sound Advice from World War 1 German General
Update 12 February
This post may now be read in the context of the story of Sir James Crosby, the former Deputy Chairman of the FSA, who resigned yesterday. I would define a stupid person as someone who disregards potential risks :
Speaking today of the current banking crisis, Lord Adair Turner of the UK Financial Services Authority referred on BBC Radio 4 to : "An intellectual failure to understand that we were building a system which had huge systemic failures..."
Might I suggest that he and other business and political "generals" reflect on this apocryphal story from World War 1.
The German army was apparently becoming short of officer recruits. Meeting to to discuss this problem, one general described 4 categories of potential recruits as follows :
This post may now be read in the context of the story of Sir James Crosby, the former Deputy Chairman of the FSA, who resigned yesterday. I would define a stupid person as someone who disregards potential risks :
Speaking today of the current banking crisis, Lord Adair Turner of the UK Financial Services Authority referred on BBC Radio 4 to : "An intellectual failure to understand that we were building a system which had huge systemic failures..."
Might I suggest that he and other business and political "generals" reflect on this apocryphal story from World War 1.
The German army was apparently becoming short of officer recruits. Meeting to to discuss this problem, one general described 4 categories of potential recruits as follows :
- Intelligent and energetic
- Intelligent and lazy
- Stupid and lazy
- Stupid and energetic
He added that the first 2 categories had been exhausted, and category 3 was also depleted. Nevertheless, his advice was still that, on no account, should the army recruit officers from category 4. What happened next I do not know.
However, herein, I warrant, lies something of the answer to the cause of much of our present day economic woes. I strongly suspect that I am not alone in encountering a fair proportion of "stupid and energetic" people in positions of authority.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Moscow School of Management
Like most professionals, I imagine, past the first flush of youth - and I'm well past mine ! - I contemplate from time to time the prospect of embarking upon a major personal education or training project. However, this prospect soon recedes as I could never be persuaded to take out a large loan for this purpose, and now it is very unlikely that such a loan would available anyway.
Nevertheless, spotting an advertisement in The Financial Times the other day for "The Moscow School of Management", my dream of an educational enterprise was momentarily revived when the thought crossed my mind that I might secure sponsorship from some wealthy Russian oligarch for this purpose. Although they to, I understand, are falling upon hard times.
I have, in the meantime, consoled myself by writing a post entitled "How too much 'Construction' led to "Meltdown'" at my Social Limits to Growth/De-constructing the New Labour Project Blog : http://limits-2-growth.blogspot.com/ in an attempt to expand not only my own intellectual horizons, but those of a few other people too !
Nevertheless, spotting an advertisement in The Financial Times the other day for "The Moscow School of Management", my dream of an educational enterprise was momentarily revived when the thought crossed my mind that I might secure sponsorship from some wealthy Russian oligarch for this purpose. Although they to, I understand, are falling upon hard times.
I have, in the meantime, consoled myself by writing a post entitled "How too much 'Construction' led to "Meltdown'" at my Social Limits to Growth/De-constructing the New Labour Project Blog : http://limits-2-growth.blogspot.com/ in an attempt to expand not only my own intellectual horizons, but those of a few other people too !
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Does Cameron have the "Ken" to run Britain ?
Some 9 months ago (in a post of 18 April 2008, to be precise), I asked myself : Does Boris have the "Ken" to run London ? I can now answer this question in the affirmative. Mayor of London Boris Johnson's actions (which count stronger than words in politics) on transport and police issues - always key matters for Londoners - demonstrate him to be the right man for the job.
The question now arises : Does David Cameron have the "Ken" to run Britain ? His appointment of Ken Clarke to the Conservative front benches, as Shadow Business Spokesman, yesterday is a positive development in national politics.
For my part - and with due respect to the inauguration of Barack Obama as United State President today - I want Britain to be more independent of America in the future. This inevitably raises questions about our relationship with Europe and the vexed question of UK membership of the Euro, about which, like, apparently, the majority of British citizens, I still feel some ambivalence.
PS In an earlier version of this post, I mistakenly used "election" instead of "inauguration" : a Freudian slip, perhaps anticipating a not-so-distant future event over here.
The question now arises : Does David Cameron have the "Ken" to run Britain ? His appointment of Ken Clarke to the Conservative front benches, as Shadow Business Spokesman, yesterday is a positive development in national politics.
For my part - and with due respect to the inauguration of Barack Obama as United State President today - I want Britain to be more independent of America in the future. This inevitably raises questions about our relationship with Europe and the vexed question of UK membership of the Euro, about which, like, apparently, the majority of British citizens, I still feel some ambivalence.
PS In an earlier version of this post, I mistakenly used "election" instead of "inauguration" : a Freudian slip, perhaps anticipating a not-so-distant future event over here.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Fewer Regional Development Agencies would be Better
The return of East Midlands MP, and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Ken Clarke to the Conservative front benches, to shadow Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, is welcome news.
To adapt some recent words of Mandelson : common sense is a quality lacking in the New Labour Government gene bank (and a few other sorts of banks beside !). Ken Clarke has plenty of common sense. Moreover, his namesake Ken Livingstone - when "Purple" in 2000 - once expressed the view to me that if Ken Clarke had been leader of the Conservative Party, things might have turned out very differently. Indeed !
One of the most important achievements of the last Conservative administration was to redress the balance of economic power between the regions and London. The new New Labour Government of the late 1990s looked as it they would build upon this success, with the creation of a Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, but soon relinquished this ambition in favour of policies - notably housing market-based growth - which have made the UK economy particularly vulnerable to the current banking crisis. Therefore, as Shadow Business Secretary, Ken Clarke must focus on the regeneration of the entire UK economy.
Reducing the number of English Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) outside London from 8 to 4 will, in my view, be an important part of any recovery programme, and I would suggest the following combined/existing RDAs are retained :
To adapt some recent words of Mandelson : common sense is a quality lacking in the New Labour Government gene bank (and a few other sorts of banks beside !). Ken Clarke has plenty of common sense. Moreover, his namesake Ken Livingstone - when "Purple" in 2000 - once expressed the view to me that if Ken Clarke had been leader of the Conservative Party, things might have turned out very differently. Indeed !
One of the most important achievements of the last Conservative administration was to redress the balance of economic power between the regions and London. The new New Labour Government of the late 1990s looked as it they would build upon this success, with the creation of a Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, but soon relinquished this ambition in favour of policies - notably housing market-based growth - which have made the UK economy particularly vulnerable to the current banking crisis. Therefore, as Shadow Business Secretary, Ken Clarke must focus on the regeneration of the entire UK economy.
Reducing the number of English Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) outside London from 8 to 4 will, in my view, be an important part of any recovery programme, and I would suggest the following combined/existing RDAs are retained :
- South and East of England (with an HQ in the Thames Gateway)
- Central England (based in Birmingham)
- North of England (based in Leeds, or Manchester)
- South West (current structure retained)
This new RDA configuration should focus on sustainable economic development and regeneration, with dedicated operating units focused on key regional issues, like Regen-WM in the West Midlands. Sub-regional assemblies (ie the present regional ones, which are currently being wound up) should be retained to oversee spatial planning, with a particular remit for environmental sustainability. There is also a need to rationalise government/public sector organisations/quangos etc at the County and local levels. Revitalising democracy outside London should be a core part of this process.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
"Change proves true on the day it finished"
Belated Greetings for 2009.
The old Chinese saying that "we live in changing times" certainly applies to the present, and I've been reflecting of late on the above quotation from The Book of Changes or I Ching. This advises us not to confuse the process of change with its outcomes, and also to observe closely the "Tao" (or wisdom) of events, particularly small ones in my experience. In short, it is what actually happens which is important : "Change proves true on the day it is finished".
It's fair to say that Britain's New Labour Government has not engaged with much "Small Thinking". Instead, there has, and continues to be, a strong tendency to confuse "Big Thinking" with intended, positive, and commensurate outcomes. More often than not, of course, the outcomes have been unintended, negative, small and, in some cases, non-existent. However, this being essentially non-reflective, such outcomes tend not to register on the New Labour psyche.
Therefore it behoves the rest of us to observe closely the process of change, particularly if we are engaged in our own small enterprises, whether for profit, social good, or some combination of these. For whilst the changes invoked by this Government have yet to prove true, it is also the case that some changes arising from present economic problems and uncertainties will create opportunities for entrepreneurs and, perhaps, positive social transformation.
The old Chinese saying that "we live in changing times" certainly applies to the present, and I've been reflecting of late on the above quotation from The Book of Changes or I Ching. This advises us not to confuse the process of change with its outcomes, and also to observe closely the "Tao" (or wisdom) of events, particularly small ones in my experience. In short, it is what actually happens which is important : "Change proves true on the day it is finished".
It's fair to say that Britain's New Labour Government has not engaged with much "Small Thinking". Instead, there has, and continues to be, a strong tendency to confuse "Big Thinking" with intended, positive, and commensurate outcomes. More often than not, of course, the outcomes have been unintended, negative, small and, in some cases, non-existent. However, this being essentially non-reflective, such outcomes tend not to register on the New Labour psyche.
Therefore it behoves the rest of us to observe closely the process of change, particularly if we are engaged in our own small enterprises, whether for profit, social good, or some combination of these. For whilst the changes invoked by this Government have yet to prove true, it is also the case that some changes arising from present economic problems and uncertainties will create opportunities for entrepreneurs and, perhaps, positive social transformation.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
My Christmas Message : Behold The Armies of One
If the Festive Spirit seemed lacking in my previous post, I hope that this one might make amends.
Just the other day, I came across an article by the US academic Harold Bloom in the New York Times (http:/www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/opinion/12bloom.html). In his NYT article, Bloom considers the relevance of Ralph Waldo Emerson's philosophy to our present day economic problems, and, in particular the concept of "self-reliance".
Now, for my money, if former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher felt that "there is no such thing as society", excluding her own (ie "one of us"), our present one, Gordon Brown, feels that there is no such thing as the individual, excluding himself and his cronies, of course.
This bring me to what seems a central message of "The Christ Story", the importance of individual conscience and action in the face of oppression (military, political, social, cultural, economic etc).
Sharing the same North American tradition as Harold Bloom, the management writer Tom Peters has drawn attention to the importance of the "Army of One" ie the self-reliant individual working within and without organisations , often overcoming the forces of oppression in the process, for some greater societal good.
Good Luck to Them and Seasons Greetings to All !
Just the other day, I came across an article by the US academic Harold Bloom in the New York Times (http:/www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/opinion/12bloom.html). In his NYT article, Bloom considers the relevance of Ralph Waldo Emerson's philosophy to our present day economic problems, and, in particular the concept of "self-reliance".
Now, for my money, if former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher felt that "there is no such thing as society", excluding her own (ie "one of us"), our present one, Gordon Brown, feels that there is no such thing as the individual, excluding himself and his cronies, of course.
This bring me to what seems a central message of "The Christ Story", the importance of individual conscience and action in the face of oppression (military, political, social, cultural, economic etc).
Sharing the same North American tradition as Harold Bloom, the management writer Tom Peters has drawn attention to the importance of the "Army of One" ie the self-reliant individual working within and without organisations , often overcoming the forces of oppression in the process, for some greater societal good.
Good Luck to Them and Seasons Greetings to All !
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven ?
The above quotation is taken from John Milton's epic poem, "Paradise Lost", which BBC Radio 3 is broadcasting every afternoon this week and next at 5pm. Now here's some real "fear and loathing", to use those well known words of Hunter S Thompson, from Satan's "crew" !
Earlier this year, as it happens, I briefly attended - being short of time and attention span - an exhibition entitled "Citizen Milton" at the Bodleian Library (one of my all time favourite places) in Oxford. Near the start of this exhibition, I was perplexed to find the following quotation from our Prime Minister :
"At the core of British history, the very British ideas of 'active citizenship,' 'good neighbour', civic pride and the public realm." — Gordon Brown, 2007
This may well be true, but what has it got to do with Milton ?, I asked myself : Oxford Establishment cosying up to the Government, perhaps. Then as I listened to "Paradise Lost" yesterday, another thought occurred.
What particularly strikes me about Gordon Brown and his Cabinet is the pride and arrogance of some (not all, admittedly) of its key members, including the Prime Minister, himself. I wonder what "Citizen Milton" would have made of them ?
Postscript 24.12.2008 : If anyone is wondering where God is in my "argument" (to use Milton's word), let them look to Citizen Williams, although the Poet would, I think (had he been alive today) looked more to Citizen Tutu for his inspiration.
Earlier this year, as it happens, I briefly attended - being short of time and attention span - an exhibition entitled "Citizen Milton" at the Bodleian Library (one of my all time favourite places) in Oxford. Near the start of this exhibition, I was perplexed to find the following quotation from our Prime Minister :
"At the core of British history, the very British ideas of 'active citizenship,' 'good neighbour', civic pride and the public realm." — Gordon Brown, 2007
This may well be true, but what has it got to do with Milton ?, I asked myself : Oxford Establishment cosying up to the Government, perhaps. Then as I listened to "Paradise Lost" yesterday, another thought occurred.
What particularly strikes me about Gordon Brown and his Cabinet is the pride and arrogance of some (not all, admittedly) of its key members, including the Prime Minister, himself. I wonder what "Citizen Milton" would have made of them ?
Postscript 24.12.2008 : If anyone is wondering where God is in my "argument" (to use Milton's word), let them look to Citizen Williams, although the Poet would, I think (had he been alive today) looked more to Citizen Tutu for his inspiration.
Friday, December 19, 2008
"The least accurate but most truthful account..."
So was the writing of Gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson once described : a description which might well provide food for thought over the festive period for those concerned with matters more or less evidence-based.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
More Cabaret & Less Strictly Come Dancing Please
Yes, I'm Back ! : Variously inspired by the German Finance Minister attack on Brownite Economics (if such a thing exists !), economist Tim Harford's BBC Radio 4 Programme "More or Less" (check out the website), and Lord Mandelson's aspirations to appear on BBC 1's "Celebrity Come Dancing". However, what I want is more "Welcome to Berlin"* style cabaret with Peter in a starring role, of course !
* The musical's original name
* The musical's original name
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Importance of keeping Leviathan under control
Last week's good news (The Guardian, 6 November) that Transport for London (TfL) is to scrap the ill-advised Thames Gateway Bridge Project - see http://janetmackinnon.wordpress.com/ - should be some consolation for Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, who is today fretting about the costs of London 2012 in the current economic climate.
TfL had originally hoped that the bridge would be in place for the opening of the Games, and it's demise should therefore be welcomed by Government on financial and well as environmental grounds.
Let us hope also that those involved in the promotion of this ill-fated scheme have learnt some lessons, and, namely, the importance of the options process in decision-making on major/mega projects and other enterprises.
This brings me back to "Shock Jocks" George Mathewson and Peter Burt, former chief executives of Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland respectively, who yesterday issued a further press regarding their proposal to take temporary management control of HBOS and consider alternative options for the bank :
"A properly recapitalised, properly run and independent HBOS appears to be in the interests of the shareholders, its employees, its customers and all stakeholders, avoiding the dangers of an anti-competitive over-mighty leviathan...".
Government, again, please take note ! Incidentally, I write as one who been involved in the sagas of East London river crossings and a customer of the Halifax (HBOS) for over 20 years.
TfL had originally hoped that the bridge would be in place for the opening of the Games, and it's demise should therefore be welcomed by Government on financial and well as environmental grounds.
Let us hope also that those involved in the promotion of this ill-fated scheme have learnt some lessons, and, namely, the importance of the options process in decision-making on major/mega projects and other enterprises.
This brings me back to "Shock Jocks" George Mathewson and Peter Burt, former chief executives of Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland respectively, who yesterday issued a further press regarding their proposal to take temporary management control of HBOS and consider alternative options for the bank :
"A properly recapitalised, properly run and independent HBOS appears to be in the interests of the shareholders, its employees, its customers and all stakeholders, avoiding the dangers of an anti-competitive over-mighty leviathan...".
Government, again, please take note ! Incidentally, I write as one who been involved in the sagas of East London river crossings and a customer of the Halifax (HBOS) for over 20 years.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
What did the Scottish Bankers say to the English Banker ?
Please see http://janetmackinnon.wordpress.com - I very much like this story from The Press Association. Here are some real "Shock Jocks" for you !
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