Somewhere or other – maybe in a publication, or more likely a blog – I referred to what I called the pendulum paradox. I chose to illustrate this by comparing the sociologist with the historian. Sociologists like me look for patterns in events, and at least some of us then move on to search for… Read More »
Blogs for me provide a way of thinking out loud. Basking in the sunshine of retirement, when CVs take a back seat, they allow for an experimenting of ideas and hypotheses. Ownership of text is no longer important, so the prospect of acting as a catalyst for others is exciting and affords a sense of… Read More »
Another quick explanation of the technical phrase ‘greedy bastards’ might be in order here: in my published writings and my blogs this denotes those transnational (Bauman calls them ‘nomads’) ‘capital monopolists’ (financiers, major shareholders, CEOs of multinational corporations etc) who buy power from leading national politicians to make policy in their own interests, namely, the… Read More »
It may or may not be related to the fact that I’ve just turned 73 that I’ve found myself more often reflecting – or introspecting – on what it is I do when I write. I think fatigue has something to do with it. I tend to write in bursts, most notably in cafes on… Read More »
This is my 400th blog, another milestone of sorts. In the past I’ve ruminated on the pluses and minuses of blogging, but I’ve little new to add, so here’s a quick one on the companion rewards of buying power by donating to the Conservative Party. You get cultural kudos as well as favourable policy shifts.… Read More »
Not In the Mood You can’t turn it on and off like a tap, you’re either grabbed by the throat, a rabbit cornered by a hungry stoat, or you’re totally lost without a map. This is the way when a pristine sheet of white paper stares back at you, daring you to commit… Read More »
I have always had concerns about the emergence and consolidation of the concept of ‘hate speech’ in the UK (and indeed elsewhere). It is obvious that it resists easy definition, so let’s start with the current guidelines proffered by the Crown Prosecution Service. ‘Hate crime’ is defined as ‘any criminal offence which is perceived by… Read More »
Reading Wolfgang Streeck’s recent collection, Critical Encounters, I was struck by his brief account of Darwin’s Origin of Species. Why? Because Darwin’s stance on science seems to me to bear a strong resemblance to that espoused by critical realists (like myself). Let me start with a quote from Streeck: ‘taking a fresh look at Origin… Read More »
I have repeatedly dug my heels in to retain the classic concept of ‘ideology’ for sociology. In the proverbial nutshell this refers to a view of the world that reflects the vested interests of – powerful capitalist or elite – members of a society. It does NOT refer to any view of the world held… Read More »