Latest thinking

Progressive politics, intersubjectivity and collective action

Blog

12 Jan 2010

Saturday’s Guardian featured two very good pieces. The first was Ed Miliband’s talk of ‘the power of collective action’ and ‘vision of a society where self-interest and shared interest go hand in hand – one of the first pieces from a politician or government minister to have really excited me in a while. The second featured the historian Tony Judt’s argument that ‘we now have a second generation of people who can't imagine change except in their own lives, who have no sense of social collective public goods or services, who are just isolated individuals desperately striving to better themselves above everybody else’.

Britain thinks - or does it?

Blog

11 Jan 2010

Matthew Taylor

I’ll be fascinated to see what becomes of BritainThinks, a website for collecting public opinions, which was launched last week and is the subject of an extensive (and presumably expensive) poster advertising campaign.

Smile or Die

Video

11 Jan 2010

Acclaimed journalist, author and political activist Barbara Ehrenreich explores the darker side of positive thinking.

Welfare and work: the Community Allowance

Blog

11 Jan 2010

I came across the CREATE consortium's Community Allowance proposal recently. The idea is to make it easier for people who are dependent on benefits to carry out work that needs doing in the community, or to be able to declare and be recognised for work they already do. Examples of such work include: care for elderly friends, relatives and neighbours; childcare; odd jobs; cleaning up parks and streets; caretaker job;, lollipop ladies (and gents); and working for local charities. Community Allowance does several things:

Schools - back to basics

Blog

09 Jan 2010

Matthew Taylor

Sometimes a series of unconnected events conspire to turn a vague conviction into a firm opinion. Try these three:

Brief moments of wonder

Blog

06 Jan 2010

Matthew Taylor

There was an hour this afternoon when the snow outside my window was a blizzard and it looked like – for once – the monuments and by-ways of central London would be shrouded in white. At exactly the same time it seemed like something exciting (I’m not saying good or bad, just ‘exciting’) might be happening in politics. Hoon and Hewitt had called for a ballot and there was an eerie silence from the Cabinet. And at just that moment Strauss and Cook were charging into an unbroken century partnership chasing the improbable target of 466 in South Africa.

For good ideas - go local

Blog

05 Jan 2010

Matthew Taylor

The working new year started early yesterday. So that I could take part in a Today Programme item about the coming election campaign, and fulfil a speaking engagement, I had to get the 6.30 train to Bath. The radio discussion was fine, although the other two participants were much more partisan than I try to be (even when I am not appearing in my RSA guise). 

Living by Giving?

Blog

05 Jan 2010

There is a fascinating event coming up next week at the RSA called 'Living by Giving' (register here if you are interested). The event brings together two of the top organ donation experts in the country, Chris Rudge and Professor James Neuberger, with philosopher A.C. Grayling and the RSA's very own Matthew Taylor. The topic of discussion will be whether organ donation should be the default for UK citizens, and if so, upon what basis should we argue for such a sea-change? Are we all reciprocal altruists, who, expecting to be helped ourselves, should return the favour we implicitly expect from others? Or is altruism simply a moral good, so that organ donation should be promoted regardless of the expectation of reciprocation? Moreover, why don't people donate organs? Is it because they think organs might go to others who are undeserving such as alchoholics? Does altruism require us to give to others whatever their circumstances? Or are many people simply self-interested, 'free-riding' on other people's donations?

Final salary pensions: RIP

Blog

04 Jan 2010

Matthew Taylor

The news that final salary pensions schemes have virtually ceased to exist, at least to potential new entrants is a reminder of the importance of pensions policy.  It may be that the savings rate is now higher in the UK than for many years but most of us continue to save far too little to have any chance of the retirement income to which we aspire.