Mark Pack reviews the new book (edited by Kevin Hickson) The Political Thought of the Liberals and Liberal Democrats Since 1945 on Liberal Democrat Voice. No matter that the contributors sound a little like the usual suspects, it is always good to see volumes like this appearing. The sad thing is that the price (£60 for a hardback) may mean that it finds few buyers outside academic libraries.Certainly, Hickson's book will have a long way to go to rank with what may be the two most most iinfluential Liberal pamphlets of the 20th century, as discussed by Birkdale Focus. They are We Can Conquer Unemployment (1929) and Ownership for All (1938).
Niles's Blog reports that its writer, Alex Foster, that he will be a competitor in next week's Come Dine With Me, cooking his meal on Tuesday. We wish him well. (Snide voice: Ye-es.)
Back to books. Professor Paul Kelly reviews The Big Society: the Anatomy of the New Politics by Jesse Norman, Conservative MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, on the British Politics and Policy at LSE blog. He describes it as "an attempt to reorientate conservative thinking and as an attempt to replace Hayek with Oakeshott as the conservative guru of choice".
More than 30 years ago I heard a young American academic called Daniel Dennett address the Philiosophy Society at the University of York. Now he is world famous and, according to a profile by Arminta Wallace in the Irish Times ("Bright star of the atheist universe"), "with his flowing white beard and his twinkling demeanour he looks ever so slightly like Santa Claus". More than ever so slightly, judging by the photograph.
Joe Moran's Blog ponders "The crisp at the crossroads".
More than just a "little" like the usual suspects contributing to the book, but even those I'm well familiar with had interesting stuff to say. It's also interesting see the views of how people like Richard Grayson and Vince Cable have evolved in response to events since they wrote their pieces.
ReplyDeleteBut agree about the price - it's a real shame it is so high.