April 12, 2018
Posting…. (3) The Limits of Labour Party Electoralism and the Requirements of Hegemonic Politics
Across global capitalism as a whole, left-wing forces have become far too accustomed down the years to both impotence and failure. Through the long twentieth century, in country after country and decade after decade, power was invariably something that other political forces possessed and exercised, and that the Left did not. It was power […] read more »
April 12, 2018
Postings… (2) Standard Dilemmas of Centre-Left Politics
On a day-to-day basis, it is hard to break free of a mindset dominated in the UK by the details of the Brexit negotiations or in the United States by the tweeting of an emotionally volatile president. But in both political systems, the normal rhythm of elections fortunately persists – and because it does, […] read more »
April 12, 2018
Postings to Mark the Publication of ‘Flawed Capitalism’ (1) The Four Central theses of Flawed Capitalism
THE FOUR CENTRAL THESES OF FLAWED CAPITALISM To better grasp the nature of our contemporary condition, David Coates’s Flawed Capitalism offers the following four central theses – placing contemporary politics in the space between dominant social and economic settlements and arguing the case for the creation of a new settlement, more progressive and socially […] read more »
January 12, 2018
Beyond the Madness: Donald Trump and the Resetting of America’s Social Contract
The daily circus that is the visible face of contemporary American politics keeps our gaze firmly fixed on the character of the ring-master: but it does so to our long-term cost. Admittedly, it is quite a circus, and one heck of a circus master – certainly a circus and a show of a kind that […] read more »
November 1, 2017
Donald J. Trump and the Slow Arrival of Buyers’ Remorse
(co-authored with Lauren Tarde) You might be forgiven for thinking – given all that has happened since Donald J. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton for the US presidency in November 2016 – that buyers’ remorse would be rampant in contemporary America. But it is not. It is true that Donald J. Trump started his presidency capturing […] read more »
September 18, 2017
The Anglo-American Centre-Left and the Problem of Agency
(first posted on speri.comment) Re …. The primary problem faced by the Centre-Left in both the US and the UK is not ultimately one of programme. Adequate policy proposals abound. The problem lies rather in the lack of electoral support for such proposals, and in the internal weaknesses of the political parties available for their […] read more »
September 16, 2017
Taking Supper with Trump – The Need for a Very Long Spoon
The Democratic Party leadership in both the House and the Senate spent last week congratulating themselves on the deal they supposedly struck with the President on legislation to protect dreamers,1 and presumably took some pleasure too from the adverse impact of that supposed deal on Trump’s relationship with Congressional Republicans and his base. They should […] read more »
September 1, 2017
Trump and Afghanistan: Old Problems and New Dangers
Keeping track of important policy developments with Donald J. Trump as President is difficult and yet vital. There is so much noise and distraction surrounding everything that the current President does, and such a perplexing mixture of bombast and bigotry in so much of what he says, that the important things going on quietly behind […] read more »
July 10, 2017
Taking Comfort from the Success of Others
With the wisdom of hindsight, it is now clear that the sheer quality of the Obama intellect, and the solid integrity of his character, lulled many of those who twice voted for him into a false sense of security. It was as though we forgot, with too great an ease and for too long a […] read more »
