Society

Saturday

Rowan Williams

Face it: Marx was partly right about capitalism

Readers of Anthony Trollope will remember how thoughtless and greedy young men in the Victorian professions can be lured into ruin by accepting ‘accommodation bills’ from their shifty acquaintances. They make themselves liable for the debts of others; and only too late do they discover that they are trapped in a web of financial mechanics that forces them to pay hugely inflated sums for obligations or services they have had nothing to do with. Their own individual credit-worthiness, their own circumstances, even their own personal choices are all irrelevant: the debt has acquired a life of its own, quite independent of any real transaction they are involved in. A prescient

Andrew Tyrie

How Dave and George can avoid a terrible rift

The Treasury will be the engine room of David Cameron’s government. It will have to be, given the ghastly economic inheritance. But the economy will be only one of the incoming Chancellor’s headaches — his department will be in no fit state to do the leading. The Treasury — once the citadel of high-quality policy advice and the driving force behind the economic and financial reforms which revived Britain in the 1980s — now lies prostrate. It is a casualty of Gordon Brown’s personality, ten years of trench warfare between him and Tony Blair and the appointment of a new Chancellor, broken backed on arrival. This financial crisis has brutally

Anthony King

The Tory lead is more solid than you might think

The Conservatives last won a general election in 1992. That was also the year when the opinion polls met their Waterloo. The results of 50 nationwide surveys were published during that campaign. All but six showed Labour ahead, and they all suggested that the outcome of the election would be a hung Parliament, with Labour probably the largest party. They were all wrong. The largest Tory lead reported by any poll during the campaign was only a single percentage point. In the event, the Conservatives’ lead over Labour approached eight points. To this day, no one knows why the polls came a cropper in 1992. Indeed, no one knows for

Deborah Ross

A cliché too far

Taken 15, Nationwide Taken is the latest film from the French film-maker Luc Besson and is about American, ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who turns Paris upside down — ‘I’ll tear down the Eiffel Tower if I have to!’ — in his search for his abducted, 17-year-old daughter, Kim, although, personally, I wouldn’t have bothered. Kim is so irritating. Kim is so excitable and such a pampered flouncer to boot. ‘Bryan,’ I’d have said to him if I could, ‘you’re better off without her; so excitable and such a pampered flouncer to boot. Now, let’s go eat.’ But doting dads are doting dads, I guess, and there is just

Friday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Karl Marx: Blogger

Norm has the details, of course: Why do you blog? > To lay bare the economic law of motion of modern society. (1) What has been your best blogging experience? > Have just finished correcting the last sheet (49th) of the book [Volume I of Capital]… So, this volume is finished. I owe it to you alone [Engels] that it was possible! Without your self-sacrifice for me I could not possibly have managed the immense labour demanded by the 3 volumes. I embrace you, full of thanks! (2) What has been your worst blogging experience? > Constant labour of one uniform kind disturbs the intensity and flow of a man’s

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Bailout Politics

So, no deal in Washington. NYT account here; WaPo here. Politico’s story contains this detail that, unsurprisingly, has been making waves: According to one GOP lawmaker, some House Republicans are saying privately that they’d rather “let the markets crash” than sign on to a massive bailout. “For the sake of the altar of the free market system, do you accept a Great Depression?” the member asked. Well. I hadn’t realised that was the choice. House Republicans are obviously being blamed for the impasse, but I rther think there are plenty of Democrats who will be content enough with the current state of play. They don’t like this either. Certainly they

James Forsyth James Forsyth

McCain must win tonight’s debate to get his campaign back on track

John McCain will attend tonight’s debate despite there not yet being a deal on the bailout. Realistically, McCain couldn’t afford to miss it. Obama’s biggest weakness is still the Commander in Chief test: McCain has to ram home the point that he is significantly better qualified for this role than Obama if he is to have a real chance of winning the election. McCain also has to better Obama tonight to regain momentum. The last week of presidential campaign coverage has been dominated by a string of stories that hurt McCain. First, there was the row over McCain’s campaign manager’s alleged ties to Freddie Mac. Second, there was the Sarah

James Forsyth James Forsyth

McNulty for Chief Whip?  

The Sun reports today that Tony McNulty is the new favourite to replace Geoff Hoon as Chief Whip. George Pascoe-Watson reveals that Brown was told by a Minister that if he appointed Nick Brown to the job, “All hell would break. It would destroy any Cabinet unity and people would feel very uncomfortable.” McNulty would be a savvy choice by Brown. As he showed during the 42 days debate he knows how to persuade Labour MPs to stay on side. He is a friendly and engaging presence on TV and is long overdue promotion to the Cabinet. Brown’s reshuffle dilemma is that he needs to be bold to show that

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Crashed Ferraris

A great stat about the financial crisis from the Daily Mail: “There were 734 second-hand Ferraris placed on the market last week.” Hat Tip: The Week

Peter Hoskin

One for the Presidential Debate junkies

It’s still doubtful whether Presidential Debate junkies will get their fix tonight.  But here’s something to tide them over: footage of the very first televised Presidential Debate – between Kennedy and Nixon – which took place 48 years ago today.  It lacks the two candidates’ opening and closing statements (for a full transcript, click here), but there’s still plenty to savour – from Nixon glowering to the Mad Men stylings.  Classic politics, and classic TV:

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Brown’s St Helena moment

Martin Kettle’s column this morning contains an absolutely astonishing example of how much of a control freak Brown is: “Four years ago, ministers decided that Britain’s South Atlantic island possession of St Helena needed to have an airport. If planes could land on the tiny island, more than 1,200 miles from the nearest continent, its economic and demographic decline could perhaps be turned around. Plans began to be made. The airport was scheduled to open in 2010. Earlier this year, the Foreign Office finally asked the Department for International Development to sign off on the airport. The file went up to the secretary of state, Douglas Alexander. But instead of

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The new capitalism

Most paradigm shifts in politics are recognisable only in retrospect, but it’s fairly clear we’re living through one now. When you have the US seeking to nationalise $700bn of dodgy assets and the average British household now liable for £3,020 of Northern Rock debt something has changed. But what? I’ve been struggling to find a proper analysis of this, so it was great to read Irwin Stelzer’s meaty lecture to the Centre for Policy Studies where he says that, though free marketeers may hate it, a New Capitalism is now upon us. Here’s his take:-  “You know that a revolution has succeeded when the opponents of change capitulate. Which is

Thursday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

“We just wanted to choose a really large number”

So, how’s the financial rescue plan coming along? Are you inspired with confidence? Not so much… In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy. “It’s not based on any particular data point,” a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. “We just wanted to choose a really large number.” Meanwhile, and for once, good news for Detroit! With Congress preoccupied with the massive, $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have finally secured Part One of their own federal rescue plan. A bill set to be passed by Congress and signed

Louisa Stoppard

Introducing ID cards

Today, Jacqui Smith unveiled the first ever ID card . These earliest cards are designed for foreign residents (and will be sent out in November to marriage visa holders and international students). Will this really improve security? Or is it just a way of ‘softening up’ the process of national implementation? Either way, expect fakes to appear on the streets in the next few weeks…

Matthew Dancona

Dr Rowan Williams’s red rag to the capitalist bulls

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s article in the new issue of the Spectator – featured on this morning’s Today programme – is already making waves. Dr Williams has form as a controversialist, of course: his remarks about sharia law caused a storm earlier this year, though he insisted that his argument had been distorted and misunderstood. This time I think he knew exactly what he was doing. To say that Marx was “right” about certain aspects of capitalism is self-evidently a red rag to a bull – as is the Archbishop’s claim that the way in which we talk about the market strays into “what the Jewish and Christian scriptures call idolatry.” Yet

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Bush’s bailout plea

President Bush’s dramatic statement to the nation last night was aimed at persuading recalcitrant House Republicans to support the bailout bill. His bald statement that without immediate action by Congress, “America could slip into a financial panic, and a distressing scenario would unfold” was meant to create the political pressure to bring them into line. Today, Obama and McCain will join key Congressional leaders at the White House to try and hammer out a deal. McCain in a bold but risky moved has pushed for postponing the first presidential debate on Friday until Congress reaches a deal. Obama has cleverly responded by saying the president should be able to multi-task.

Wednesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Who will be the new Chief Whip?

If Geoff Hoon is to be moved in the coming reshuffle, which seems almost certain, who to make the new Chief Whip will be a telling and tricky decision for the PM. Many Brown loyalists are furious about Hoon’s light-touch approach to the rebels. His comments about the rebellion have been ambivalent—“I simply don’t think at this stage it’s appropriate” is hardly a ringing endorsement—and they fume that Chief Whips are meant to put the thumb-screws on rebels rather than treating them with kid gloves. Brown must be tempted to move a loyalist into the slot. But if someone did start putting the rebels on the rack, that could push

Jon Cruddas

Jon Cruddas’s conference diary: part 6

Well that it is for another year, on the train back to London. Brown is in a stronger position than when he started and the right of the party is split – i.e. a good conference. The moderate, pragmatic centre left around Compass are on the move. Today was ‘women’s day’. Didn’t start too well. Apparently at 3am Ruth Kelly resigned- in the bar of the Radisson! Well I was in the bar at 3am and I’m sure Ruth was not there. Although I do remember the whole of the press gallery running into the Hotel lobby after some familiar looking guy. Harriet made a barnstorming speech. Didn’t get in