Politics
Religion vs Science, the relevance to the gender politics confrontation
The main difference between religion and science is the nature of the response to our curiosity drive. I have pointed out (Stokoe 2020) that the animal nature in us, called by Freud, the pleasure principle, is very powerful because it is primary (in evolutionary terms) and it always threatens to undermine the structure of thinking Read More
Read MoreHow can ‘Remainers’ talk to ‘Brexiters’?
It is very heartening that so many people marched on Saturday to demonstrate for a second referendum but it merely highlights the immediate problem. Andrew Rawnsely (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/21/only-when-mps-stare-into-the-abyss-will-they-agree-to-a-peoples-vote) points out that MPs are frightened to back a new referendum for various reasons but two are particularly significant, “Some are fearful that another referendum would turn Britain Read More
Read MoreNationalisation, Corbyn’s reason for Brexit, is a false belief.
I’m extremely privileged to be accompanying my daughter on her A level politics course. Not only does it help me to understand the language of politicians, it has reinforced my instinct that what is missing from economic and political debate is any understanding of the minds of individuals alone and in groups. I discovered a Read More
Read MoreBrexit, the plight of the Remainers
Isn’t it often the way that one ends up accumulating too much to say and so keeps putting off saying it, as if there will come a moment when everything will collapse into sensible paragraphs and write itself. I find myself continually confronted by some very clear facts but no sense that they can be Read More
Read MoreBrexit, Democracy and the Role of Opposition
Democracy: ours is a representative democracy. That means that we elect people to make decisions on our behalf to run our sovereign nation. This allows me to make a direct analogy with a healthy organisation. The Chief Executive is appointed by the Board to make decisions about the best running of the organisation. If a Read More
Read MoreUniversal Credit, some thoughts
No doubt you will have heard about the way in which the government’s appalling organisation of their universal credit arrangements will leave families without money this Christmas. I have signed a petition to require them to make exceptional payments to avoid the cruel impact of their incompetence and I’d encourage you to sign it too, Read More
Read MoreWelfare and Dignity
Posted by: Philip Stokoe at 14:34, January 9 2016. When Margaret Thatcher claimed that there was no such thing as a society, she began the ruthless attack continued by governments of both political parties on those who are needy in our country. Dave Bell in his excellent paper, “Primitive Mind of State”, describes the way Read More
Read MoreWhy was Nelson Mandela great?
Posted by: Philip Stokoe at 12:34, January 3 2014. In his article criticising the uncritical coverage of Nelson Mandela’s death, Simon Jenkins (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/10/mandela-coverage-banality-of-goodness) described his presidency as indifferent. According to Jenkins, “he was a worse than ordinary president. He did little to resist the drift to cronyism and corruption, was a poor executive, and never Read More
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