Contemporary British Politics

Summary: the speaker reviewed the recent history in British politics going back to the days of Margaret Thatcher, focusing on Tony Blair, the national optimism in the early days of his time in office, and the transition to Gordon Brown. The question section covered political topics like term length restrictions, party discipline, law making, and representation.

Interesting: at least twice the speaker expressed that he wished the British government was more like the U.S. government, particularly in the separation of power. I guess it is not unexpected, as he described small government to be a tenant of the conservative party. Personally, I have little experience in politics in most of its forms, but in a project for a political science class choose two parties to study closely and compare. I chose the Green and the Libertarian parties. Because these two parties have separate favorite issues, I had little to compare. Either party begins with very specific interests; the Libertarian party is interested first in a more even distribution of power, placing faith in the decision-making abilities of the average citizen, the Green party is interested in conservation of natural resources, and minimizing the impact of human activity on the planet. As major political parties, the British conservative and labor parties have to maintain a stance on a much more expansive range of issues, while being different from each other. It seems in times of great polarization or assimilation, I am disenchanted as a voter and tend to wax apathetic about participating in elections et c. as a means of making a positive impact on my society. This is where I get hypocritical. Assuming I were more motivated about social justice and activism, I would focus my energy first immediately around me, if I did not have a special issue I was concerned about that was centered in another geographic location (e.g. Darfur, Haiti, Tibet et c.). But I would focus on local because people are generally more concerned about problems if they are directly involved and believe that they can witness evidence of their own power. Being more active where I was would hopefully multiply my influence if I could make other people care, too. This is not to say I would not vote in general elections, but it would be a small part of my role as a citizen; secondary, if not purely symbolic.

Tie to Major: much ink is spilled in politics; there is always a need for somebody to write something. Ever since that bright person so long ago figured out a way to earn a living by sitting at a desk and writing things on paper instead of plowing a field or making a barrel, the bureaucrat has been a social fixture. On the humanities side, many of the most influential political texts in history are considered literature today (e.g. "Das Kapital," "Mein Kampf," "The Prince"). Novelists, poets, and other artists have changed the course of policy making and revolutions as much as politicians and activists. Other works are important for their commentary, such as Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain," forecasting the first world war, or T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land," expressing the incredible destruction that followed.