The Disraeli Room
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Obama's Petard and the resurgent Red Coats
Professor Marcia Pally of New York University on how the US President, like his predecessor, has become a sink for civil resentment
"...Not only anti-statism but fear of the handshake between elites runs through (the USA's) history, on the right and left. You’ll find echoes in the Shay’s and Whiskey rebellions of the late 18th century, when Americans were already rising up against the government they had just formed because it supported the rights of landlords or itself taxed booze.... Greater similarities are found among rightist populists since the 1970s, who feel that the increasingly elaborate global economy is beyond them. “America was once their country,” the populist politician Pat Buchanan wrote. “They sense they are losing it.” And they are..."
The Debunking of 'The Spirit Level'
Should science have the last word?
"... Evidence-for-the-obvious is a key weapon in the political arsenal, not least because it can open an Overton Window in the range of policies that the public, or a particular constituency, are willing to accept ..."
Cultivating Revolution
Havana’s lessons for food localism in the UK
"... The opportunities for reconnecting people to the process of food production are vast. But when considering the achievements of Havana there is one key ingredient that seems often absent in the UK: the infrastructure and state support, and a prominent initiative to provide services and resources to those who want to become involved in urban agriculture ..."
Changing coalitions in midstream
The tumultuous Canadian experience of minority government
"... What followed was a constitutional nightmare, wherein the Crown (represented in Canada by a former journalist chosen by the Prime Minister of the previous administration) suspended parliament in order to avoid a no confidence vote and the collapse of the Government. During that legislative recess, one of the principal options being considered (and debated by constitutional scholars) in the event of an eventual no confidence vote was for the Crown to invite opposition parties to form a new coalition government - without holding another election ..."
Raising the retirement age in line with life expectancy would be a first in the world
How the Government's plans to raise the retirement age in line with life expectancy stack up against international comparators
"... Although these pension formulae differ in the way they incorporate rising life expectancy they have one thing in common: it is always unisex and applies to all in the same way. Women live longer than men, higher educated people live longer than those with less education, and richer people live longer than poorer ones. These factors are not accounted for, would be difficult to implement and are likely to be contentious issues ..."
The Spirit Level debate continues...
As promised last week, ResPublica Research Assistant Florinda Pjetri reports on the RSA's Spirit Level debate
"... According to Saunders, there is something culturally and historically specific about the Anglo-American countries and the Scandinavian countries which has generated both their different wealth distributions and their differing social outcomes, as opposed to their differing income distribution generating these outcomes ... "
What does the Big Society value?
Will charities and social enterprises be on a level playing field with big private sector providers when competing for public service delivery contracts?
"... The UK Department for International Development wants more accountability (read “value demonstrated”) in international aid, but a paper by former USAID employee Andrew Natsios demonstrates that this approach tends to skew investment into programmes that can offer easily calculated benefits (in the international development context: health ones over justice and democracy-strengthening ones for example) ..."
We the People's Supermarket
David Barrie, advisor to and member of The People's Supermarket, on Camden's new form of co-operative enterprise
"... A key objective of the supermarket is to help families and low income groups in the community have access to food that is affordable and more locally sourced and it’s through volunteer time, expert sourcing of product and maximum use of recycled fixtures, fittings and waste that the enterprise can afford to match, if not undercut the prices of its for-profit competitors ..."
Big Society, Great Society?
ResPublica Fellow Jules Peck asks how progressive this Big Idea is?
"... Since first saying the idea was ‘hollow’, the Deputy PM now think's it's the perfect example of the ‘liberal society’. Let's hope it's more liberal on the social side than the economics as it's so far missing any real analysis of the clear failure of free-market neoliberalism. It's also missing the Oakeshottian concept of the role of the ‘ship of state’ in intervention to deal with economic ‘maladjustments’ ..."
William Hague's softer side
ResPublica Research Assistant Florinda Pjetri on the Foreign Secretary's new approach to foreign policy in a networked world
"... Against this global and historical backdrop, William Hague recently made his first major speech as Foreign Secretary, promising a new and strategic approach to foreign policy in order to increase British influence in the world. Hague argued that in an era of global information, soft power has become crucial for Britain to achieve its desired outcomes ..."
About the Disraeli Room
The Disraeli Room is ResPublica’s blog, dedicated to radical, progressive ideas and analysis. ResPublica’s experts, fellows and friends of all political stripes from the worlds of policy making, social innovation and entrepreneurship meet here to swap ideas, debate and provoke.
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Most read blog posts
- by Alan Riley 17
"...Too many Conservative commentators look back to the glory days of Baroness Thatcher and assume that all is required is a return to the eternal Thatcherite verities of sound money, low taxes, a strong defence, tough on Europe and tough on immigration to deliver a substantial Parliamentary majority.
This recipe did not work in 1997, 2001 and 2005, and only the more progressive message of David Cameron in 2010 delivered substantial gains, which despite being considerable left the Conservatives still short of an overall majority..." - by Asheem Singh 40
"...A small, social start up finds that its biggest competitor is the state it is trying to help. Not only that but the state attempts to crowd out its competitor by using the very same domain name. She would be entitled to ask: whose side are they on?..."
- by Phillip Blond 5
"...The existing First Past the Post (FPTP) system is creaking at the seams, it was defensible when the threshold for winning an election was around 45 per cent of the vote and the two parties that alternated in power could each rely on 40 per cent or more..."
