I am happy to plug my friend Ed West’s new book, which seems to be benefiting from the fact that Peter Hitchens called it “powerful” in his column on Sunday. It should of course be read alongside David Goodhart’s The British Dream. Postliberalism from Right to Left.
“Before Red Tory and Blue Labour there was David Lindsay. He was arguably the first to announce a postliberal politics of paradox, and to delve into the deep, unwritten British past in order to craft, theoretically, an alternative British and international future. It is high time that the singular and yet wholly pertinent writings of this County Durham Catholic Labour prophet receive a wider circulation.” Professor John Milbank, Professor in Religion, Politics and Ethics, University of Nottingham.
I agree with you about Goodhart-the poor man has come under tremendous fire from his former allies on the Left, for writing it.
ReplyDeleteBanned from the Hay Festival, smeared and slimed by Mehdi Hasan and Ken Livingstone throughout the Spectator immigration debate and attacked in the pages of the Guardian, New Statesman and Independent.
I appreciate his courage.
It doesn't take any guts for us on the Right to criticise mass immigration-that is expected of us (rather like the Pope declaring abortion is not a great idea).
But, for a Leftist, it takes real guts.
Nevertheless, listening to the audio of Goodhart's Spectator debate, I had to laugh at Peter Hitchens remarking, for us Right-wingers, watching a Leftist discover that immigration is not a great idea (and write a book on his discovery) is like the Iroquois being told that Christopher Columbus discovered America.
They called us racist for saying this for 20 years-now, suddenly, a few Leftists are waking up.
That never happened, and I doubt that Peter suggested that it did. There has never, ever been any taboo on discussing immigration in this country. Quite the reverse, in fact. I was already politically active 20 years ago, and I know that you could not be more wrong.
ReplyDeletePeter did indeed say that it happened-because he's experienced it.
ReplyDeleteThat is why Goodhart was banned from the Hay Festival (and explicitly for that reason).
That is why he came under such fire from his colleagues on the Left, for writing what Right-wingers have been saying ever since Enoch Powell.
You probably didn't have a TV at the time that William Hague was smeared as racist and accused of "playing the race card" (and "dog whistle politics") for attacking Labour's mass migration policy...or when the BBC's own 2007 internal inquiry found that it had been too "politically correct" to address "immigration and multiculturalism".
You probably haven't read the bile directed at anyone who attempts to criticise mass immigration in the Left-wing press.
I have-and I know you are talking through your hat.
I'll bet you anything you like that he did not say that there had ever been a taboo against discussing immigration, for the very good reason that there never has been.
ReplyDeleteThere have, however, been anything up to 50 years' worth of articles claiming that there was a taboo against discussing immigration. Articles that falsify and negate themselves. None of them by him.
In fact, he continues to defend trenchantly his own strong and active opposition to Enoch Powell's "Rivers of Blood" speech, which was not at all about what people over the last dozen years have imagined that it was, but which certainly gave the lie to any notion that immigration could not be mentioned.
(Nor did it end Powell's career, which was already pretty much over. He was making an unsuccessful attempt to revive it.)
You are as preposterous as the people who claim that there has ever been some kind of taboo against criticising the monarchy, the Royal Family, or both. When, exactly?