Over the last few weeks it's become clear that a number of the commentators on this blog are looking for ways in which they may become actively involved in creating a process of political change. I would like to do more, but know that my work, family, activism, blogging and other writing leave little time to do much else at present. That, however, has not stopped me thinking about some possibilities. Now it's time to float one.
What occurred to me is that most of those looking to make a contribution share a characteristic in common. They are able, willing and opinionated writers on issues that matter to a lot of people. I have on occasion used some of their material as blogs. But that is only occasional: I am well aware that, for better or worse, this blog gets its character from the fact that it is my own stream of conciousness. What, though, in that case if those who write here regularly were to create a parallel blog? I would promote it here, with links. I might even, if permitted, write for it on occasion. The aim would, though, be to give others a bigger voice.
What to call it? That's a detail to be sorted out, although I have some suggestions (well, one, actually).
It would need an editorial team and some people willing to moderate it.
It would require a modest budget to get it going, but I think a little crowd funding could sort that.
And it would, of course, require writers willing to work around a broadly connected theme, which would seem to be where a new socially concerned politics goes next.
It's very unlikely all writers would need to be editors. But it would be essential that editors undertake due diligence on writers: the chance that someone would try to infiltrate would be very high. That said, encouraging new writing might be important.
This might mean some tolerance in style terms might be appropriate whilst maintaining quality. Scholarliness would be best avoided though: it really does not fit easily with blogs.
And, I stress, the site would quite emphatically not be mine.
If any if the regulars here (you know who you are) want to pursue the idea email me and I will put a group together. There's no obligation, bar a bit of communication.
And if it's a bad idea, say so.
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On a related note, you mentioned earlier in the week that you blog most days because things you see and read make you angry. This is taken from an article by Patrick Collinson in The Guardian and summarises enough to make my blood boil. This is where neoliberalism has got us (amongst many other shite situations):
‘In parts of Croydon, south London, where developers have been given a free-for-all to convert old office towers into residential units however they like, some are just 15 sq m. The idea that you can fit a bedroom, kitchen, eating area and bathroom into 12ft by 14ft is frightening. I was told many years ago by a private developer in London to only buy a three-bed home with a garden, because that’s the one thing families want, and the one thing they were no longer building. Demand would soar because supply was non-existent. I took his advice, and he was right.
Today’s young adults are effectively being told that they must live in ever-smaller homes without gardens. Those in their 20s are already earning less than those in previous generations. They must put off starting a family until later in life. They cannot expect to buy their own home and must rent, instead. They must work until 70 to pick up a pension. And that pension will be less generous than their parents enjoyed.
A renaissance in council house building is now essential — from new towns to new towers, and yes, even on parts of the green belt. Because unless we fix the broken housing market we can’t fix the ongoing breakdown in the social contract between the generations.’
https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2017/feb/11/build-homes-property-market-shortage-broken
(I’ll email on the other matter but probably not until Monday)
Agree with all that Ivan
And I’m off out now: family time!
Hi Richard,
Great idea the sooner the better. There is a dearth of good conversational blogs especially from the left present company excluded. It would be very welcome.
Regards,
John Davies
Ivan, this is a letter I sent to FT a few weeks ago which they didn’t publish:
One might assume from the headline ’UK housing stock value soars to a record £6.8tn’ (https://www.ft.com/content/4906a246-dcb7-11e6-86ac-f253db7791c6) that we live in some of the finest houses in the world. In fact Britain has, arguably, the smallest homes in Europe. The average size is 85 sq metres, whilst new-builds average only 76 sq metres. Further, we have one of the worst proportions of dwellings in a poor state of repair. Over 10m British families live in a home with a leaking roof, damp walls or rotting windows.
What that mighty aggregate figure represents is actually the value of British land, especially in London and the South East. It is a largely untapped source of public revenue which could not only fund our crisis ridden public services but simultaneously curb house price inflation, reduce wealth inequality and rebalance the economy geographically.
Good idea! We once had Sunny Hundal’s Liberal Conspiracy, though the problem with that forum was that the comments policy was too liberal and constructive socialist debate was swamped by neoliberal trolls like Worstall.
I believe all left-wing blogs should censor neoliberal propaganda in their comments sections. Every day, we are deluged with right-wing propaganda, so we need some ‘safe spaces’ where the left can formulate policy and discuss strategy without interference from capitalist trolls, such as Worstall and his minions.
Of course, said trolls will squeal that this is censorship and — horror! – authoritarian. There is nothing wrong with using authority — the legitimate power of a state — to achieve noble and moral ends like equality and brotherhood and the elimination of poverty.
We too often are thrown on the defensive by malign neoliberal propaganda that presents Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea as far, far worse places than they actually are – and which, naturally, never mentions their positive achievements. Yes, serious mistakes have been made in all those countries, but we should never forget the nobility of the original intentions of their founders and their many achievements — such as Cuba’s health service.
Thanks
The comparison with Liberal Conspiracy is interesting – and you’re right that was swamped
You could consult Sunny…. Incidentally, he once described you – rightly – as “tax genius, Richard Murphy”.
I know where he is, as they say
And that was kind of him even if not necessarily justified
Yes,
Step i is to provide a forum for ideas
Step 2 is to synthesise these ideas into a coherent vision
Step 3 is to develop a movement for the vision
Step 4 is to promulgate the vision
Main problem will be the factionalism that always comes with revolution, where players see different priorities in the vision and would rather split than compromise.
I do not think I would count as a regular but I do think it is a good idea to widen the range of what you might call original writers. Here is one idea.
I find getting a considered response the most appealing aspect of contributing. One way to do this would be to have some kind of rota of people to write a longer piece , say every few days, with everyone else agreeing to comment on that piece in the first instance. Purely negative comments and the ensuing slanging matches so beloved of Twitter should be avoided. The aim should be to help people of a liberal/progressive frame of mind formulate political strategy and tactics.
I do not have your e-mail address but could probably send you a message on Facebook or Twitter if required, though I am not a regular user of either (I realise that this will shortly become a criminal offence.)
Keith Macdonald
Contact details on the Avpbiut page
Thanks
Absolutely great idea Richard, and I’d be happy to help. I think we need a blogging and discussion site which provides a forum for left-wing views including social democrats, socialists, environmentalists and other progressive voices. But with trolls outlawed. Liberal Conspiracy started out well IMHO but got worse as it went along. Sunny Hundal was a bit all over the place and decided to reverse his earlier opposition to austerity in 2011 (suspiciously, around the time Ed Balls said “we are going to have to keep all these Tory cuts”) – that was when it was all over for me, really. A sell-out is so heartbreaking to see.
Great news Howard
You were on my list of hoped for participants, I admit
An interesting idea: a sort of ‘Comment is Free’ section. Only without the tedious pre-screening challenge of knowing Grauniad staffers socially.
Indeed
Want to take part?
Indeed I would, and I have replied to your email!
Richard
Would you mind linking us to these blogs here? I’d be interested to check them out now. I suspect you may have linked to them before, but I missed it. It won’t stop me from coming back to your blog!
Best regards
N
There is no such blog yet
Sorry
Oh I see, I made the leap in my head that the contributors you spoke of already had blogs themselves, my mistake.
Richard – I would be happy to support you, in some way, with content.
Thanks
Hi Richard,
I read you blog every day but have only contributed once. I like the idea of a separate blog to share and air views. I would like to join but might only offer the occasional post
Geoff
Thanks Geoff
Noted
I would be interested in contributing. I feel totally disenfranchised at present; the country seems to be sleep walking towards disaster; some form of neo-fascist distopia made even more likely by the US under the current administration..
Parliament with a few honourable exceptions seems to be filled with spineless mediocrities.
I’m not sure if I was one to the people Richard had in mind; in truth my mathematics is much better than my writing ability.
I’m very much a broad tent person; a strong believer in progressive alliances and PR. The way Brexit is playing out is loathsome and so wrong on many levels.
The forum should have zero tolerance towards trolling and ad-hominem comments both from the left and right. Constructive criticism however would be very welcome and encouraged
I think you summarise it rather well Sean
I agree with you Sean about the nature and purpose of a new blog. I suggested in my post that someone (Richard?) should nominate a subject and author every few days and others would respond to that – constructive comments only. This should lead to a more focused discussion.
By the way Richard Google has not been able to help with Avpbiut.
Amused!
A new blog would need some copy editors
I too feel utterley disenfranchised and am struggling to know what to do about it. Though do something I must. I have today been mulling over Richard’s idea of another blog for like minded people to try to formulate some way forward. A number of things occurr to me:
Firstly I am an avid reader of this blog as for some years I have been astounded at the way the very idea of paying tax has been vilified, and I have never heard a politician of any complexion making positive arguments for itand pointing out just how we all benefit. It was a great relief to come across someone who could articulate this so clearly. I’m sure that I’m one amongst many who have a strong instinctive sense of how things should work to create a fairer society but do not have the specialist knowledge to make a powerful arguement. For this I have found your books invaluable along with many of the contributions here.
Regarding another blog, what would be it’s purpose? or maybe how would it promote political change? would there be a place for someone like me who is not an academic and privy to the kind of information that comes as a result of many years of research, but has much experience of working with the more vulnerable peolple in our communities?
It seems to me that one of the more urgent questions is how to widen the audience and put the arguments out where they can be most useful. To me, education is key, and whilst teaching I have been known to very forcefully address the issues around politics, voting and it’s importance, especially for students with learning disabilities on benfits who are most affected but largely shockingly unaware of it. ( No doubt a sackable offence)
It could be that there needs to be 2 stages, one being to formulate more clearly a number of ideas….would this need to be working towards a completely new political party or is there a possibility that it could bring some different political elements together?
Secondly do we need to be a campaigning group? finding ways to connect with sympathetic people in mainstream media who would help to make these ideas more available. One thing to campaign on might be the way language is used to manipulate the public…..for example not using the words tax and burden together as someone pointed out in a Guardian letter yesterday.
I’m also aware that this blog is rather intimidatingly populated by, dare I say, white male academics/professionals…..how might one draw in a wider demographic, women for a start!?
This may not happen at the formulation stage but it will be vital to connect with a much more varied audience to effect any significant change in future.
Your point on demography is especially important
But I like your whole contribution
Thanks
Think this idea has lots of appeal. If nothing else it has to be better to have tried and lost than never to have tried at all…
Actions speak louder, but words (blogs) are a necessary precurser. As long as the new blog had an intention to stimulate change as well as informed debate I would be very happy to contribute to its management and the occasional article. I am not a mathematician, not an economist, I am a qualified tax practitioner and I can see that the prevailing mind set of my profession needs to change. I am also bitterly opposed to austerity. The ideas shared on your blog, Richard, seem to offer a solution.
I still have a small practice, but I earn most of my crust editing and writing technical articles/newsletters for accountants, I have also published a novel.
If appropriate, count me in.
You are in…..
A great idea Richard. We may well differ in our opinions of how best to fix the problems that we all face, but we are united in the view that the neo-liberal status quo has proven itself a complete failure. There is no reason therefore to waste time in futile discussions with its cheerleaders.
I like your idea Richard.
How to cultivate a pluralist platform with ideas broader than your own, but nevertheless to keep it
progressive and fact based as opposed to an arguments yard swarming with ideologues of mainstream propaganda? I don’t know. I think Peter Dawe’s proposal above is a good one.
I hope it shapes up well.
Richard, I agree with all that people say here about a blog that isn’t open to being trashed by our enemies on the right. As long as we go down that route and we produce instead a collaborative endevour you can count me in. Incidentally, if you’d like me to participate I have an idea for a blog that I’d like to start my contributions with.
Just to pick up on something Sean mentions about his strength being in mathematics. For many of my years at the OU I was fortunate anough to work with a small team of people all of whom had a particular strength/specialism – one was an ex-programmer and maths genius, another in diagraming, another in risk assessment and project management – and so on. Over the course of a decade we produced a range of postgraduate modules all of which proved extremely popular, largely because of the contributions we were each able to make to an agreed collective endevour. I won’t say we didn’t have tensions, and acting as critical readers for each others work could sometimes result in painful feedback. But it paid off – though sadly is now at an end as the glory days of the OU rapidly fade. Nevertheless, perhaps your proposed blog might develop into something similar.
I’ll email you seperately
Thank Ivan
Another blog…………….?
Given the quality of yours (and others) I am uncertain that an additional one will help.
Also, I am flirting with the concept that good well argued blogs like this one end up helping those who abuse power, the tax system etc., by helping them to anticipate and keep one step ahead of the game somehow ensuring that they are able to ride out any changes. I could be wrong.
But it seems to me that the only way to change anything in this country (and in the USA) is to lie about it. Let’s face it – the Tories and Trump are doing that now as they change us for the worse. Those of us who wish to change it for the better may have to do the same?
When we speak of revolution, it is often from the perspective of the Left is it not? Well I don’t think so anymore. The Tories since 2010 (and now Trump) have been the revolutionaries and now I see myself as a counter-revolutionary to their aims and objectives. But for me, how is that to be expressed in a reasonable manner?
I still think that many of your ideas put out in your blog and your books Richard are sound and are in fact counter-revolutionary in nature (though of course not in implementation) and should be tried.
For me the friendships and relationships that I made when talking to people face to face when I stopped coming here for a while are where I am at now – being in the physical presence of others (even those with whom I disagree) is good discipline for someone like me who can get too hot-headed in the more impersonal, on-line environment to be honest. I also see the face to face stuff as a personal development goal for myself since I started to get into my local Green Party and even talking to other concerned individuals in a religious based group who meet to discuss issues at work of all places. So tapping into this sort of thing is where I am at.
I will still pop along here if I may as I use it as a refueling station really – new ideas, spot on critiques etc., and of course to let off steam or just share any insight that may have fallen into my lap. This is the only blog I have ever contributed on to be honest (sometimes on Jolyon’s too).
Thank you.
I’ll include you in mails for now, just in case, on a bcc basis
I am honoured. Thanks.
I’m not a contributor (save the occasional below the line job) but I welcome this proposal. I have written a few pieces for Huff Post and would gladly read, share and contribute.
I think this is a fantastic idea. I won’t contribute, but would very gladly follow and comment where appropriate. I agree the blog will stand or fall on moderation of the comments. Can a clear set of guidelines be developed and published with the blog to make moderation easier? I don’t think it matters if people howl about suppression of free speech. We all know the media is rigged anyway!
Thanks and that is critical
I would like to contribute, particularly if I am allowed to post the odd figure. Some of the figures here such as on the NHS data were great and I would be happy to help out with more of this type of analysis.
I’ll be mailing you…
Richard
Please count me in.
Ok
I’d be happy to help moderate comments and can provide advice on all things web related.
Excellent proposal. I read your blog every day and have been educated by it. Sadly I’m one of the almost innumerate ones so would have nothing to contribute, however as a below the line commentator I could contribute. As Judith noted above, pretty much all the response has been from clearly highly educated men. There must be women and women from BAME background who could contribute and who would have creative ideas about reaching those whose vote counts as much as anyone else, but who are alienated by both the source and the complexity of the language.
I accept that this issue will be a challenge: this type of social media is dominated by men because the abuse women get is even worse than that directed at men
This is a real problem and a reason for strong moderation