Monday, 2 November 2015

Gramsci & George: More Heavy Political Reading

We all enjoyed the original essay on Osborne's Gramscian strategising - and here's more in the same vein, reviewing the first but also benefitting from the passage of events (dear boy), to wit the monoshambles:
The current furore over the clinical removal of the tax credits on which so many lower paid workers depend – the same workers to whom the Tories are trying to reach – illustrates vividly the susceptibility of even a brilliant strategist like Osborne to the blithe expectation that ‘the market will provide’ when state support is withdrawn
'Brilliant strategist', eh?  Just like the original, this second chappie does rather seem to credit Osborne with more than do most of us around this parish.  Or perhaps it's sarcasm, who can tell with lefties?

Can it really be less than a month ago when all seemed so rosy?

We will be keeping half an eye out for Momentum though: a rather ambiguous phenomenon with a curious blend of piss-artistry but at least a soupçon of the sinister.
... Corbynism as a Gramscian ‘primitive political bloc’ that has mobilised several constituencies whose support will be critical to any progressive electoral coalition, including newly energised younger voters, left radicals, the environmentally conscious, and anti-austerians. But Labour urgently needs to extend its appeal beyond that bloc. The new leadership’s Momentum initiative indicates an appreciation to reach out to a wider audience. It is simply too early to say whether Corbyn’s Labour has the ideological flexibility to build on its core base. At best, a long, difficult road lies ahead as the party seeks to follow the example set by the Tories in 2005
ND

3 comments:

Dick the Prick said...

Nope - lefty drivel. 2 things which instantly come to mind are i) that the Tories didn't go mental after our election loses and knew it was a problem / function of shoddy leadership (!), dodgy campaigning and a rather rampant Labour Party that would at some point implode and ii) that the Tories didn't force any moderates out of the party and call them socialists (well, not in public so much).

When John Cruddas went public about a month ago, it appeared at the time that 'reform' or 'initiative' was totally irrelevant.

The Tories didn't win, Labour lost. 2 million of their voters stayed at home - this naval gazing, insular interpretation of what went wrong for them in the election is based upon a hill of beans.

James Higham said...

Just wondering this Corbyn thing can be sustained.

andrew said...

just wait
first they came for people on tax credits

we know about junior docs being balloted for strike action.

now they are coming for the more experienced doctors. my OH got an email from the bma lunchtime today. turns out that the new contract will take away her points (basically if you do good things you get points) and this is 10% of her salary (and pension - and the bma says the govt position is that as the awards are discretionary they are not contractual and so they can), the pay scale will be 'simplified' meaning no more 5y increments etc.

The plan is also to limit the hourly rates for agency and locums to 50% over full time permanent.

just wait until experienced doctors retire early / go private and agency staff just arent available at that price.
and there is a cold snap.

perhaps the cunning plan is to upset everyone.