We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

Like ferrets in a sack

Fanatical ideologies contain within them the seeds of their own destruction for the members of the vanguard must continually prove their own purity of thought and fidelity to the cause. In doing so, they end up turning on each other:

London’s mayor has accused the head of the UK’s race watchdog of “pandering to the right” so much that “soon he’ll be joining the BNP”.

Ken Livingstone said Trevor Phillips had “an absolutely disgraceful record” at the Commission for Racial Equality.

He accused Mr Philips of trying to “move the race agenda away from a celebration of multiculturalism”.

The CRE said Mr Phillips’ views on multiculturalism had been “well-documented” and “well-supported”.

Revolutions eat their own children and ruling classes feast on themselves.

Postmodern statism is eating itself

10 comments to Like ferrets in a sack

  • Brad Dexter

    And yet their causes continue apace.

  • tebbitt

    He accused Mr Philips of trying to “move the race agenda away from a celebration of multiculturalism”.

    *throws up*

  • Chris Harper

    He accused Mr Philips of trying to “move the race agenda away from a celebration of multiculturalism”.

    Well, given the obvious that race has nothing to do with culture……

    Livingstone, as usual, is just pushing a personal ideology unrelated to reality.

    Trevor Phillips, over the last few years, has been adopting a position that actually makes a bit of sense. Or at least as much sense as his position allows.

    Or is that just me?

  • guy herbert

    Trevor Phillips, the journalist and TV producer – as he was before being coopted to The Project – was a rational voice on the libertarian edge of the left. The things he did for Diverse Productions in the 80s were always interesting. The decent man is peeping through, perhaps. – Which of course is intolerable to Citizen Ken who needs to keep his coalition of rabbles roused.

  • guy herbert

    You’ll gather I don’t think Ken has an ideology, personal or otherwise. He’s a transactional leader, posturing as a spokesman for everyman.

  • Johnathan Pearce

    guy, good points and thanks for reminding me of Diverse Reports. DR did of course enable the late Chris R. Tame and others to put the programme together called the New Enlightenment, which, to the horror no doubt of right-thinking people, celebrated the revival of classical liberalism and the likes of Milton Friedman, Hayek etc.

    Ken Livingstone is a crook, is violent when drunk and is also charmed by men of violence. He shares platforms with Irish terror groups, fanatical Islamics who have advocated killing of homosexuals and the like. How this sack of corrupt shit feels able to criticise a basically decent man like Philips takes the breath away.

    I personally hope that Philips, who has talked a lot of sense on the multicultural issue, prevails and tells Livingstone to take a jump in the Thames. Philips would actually make a decent Mayor. He could hardly be any worse.

  • “I personally hope that Philips, who has talked a lot of sense on the multicultural issue, prevails and tells Livingstone to take a jump in the Thames.”

    Not a good idea,taking into account how much it has cost to get the Thames cleaner.

  • Dubois

    This has been building for a long time now, and links in with Ken not being happy about the fact Trevor didn’t roll over and worship King Ken of London in the early days of the GLA. More recently, the Mayor has accued the Trevor Phillip’s chaired Equalities Review (Link), saying it “would undermine equality policy and fail to tackle discrimination” (Mayor’s Report No. 62, June 2006 (Link)).

    All this because Trevor is actually thinking deeply about the issues rather than adopting some pre-packed ideological worldview spewed out by Ken.

    In the meantime, the solution seems simple – Trevor Phillips as Conservative candidate for Mayor.

  • Paul Marks

    In case there are any nonBritish people reading this thread – Mr Phillips is black.

    Saying that he would be joining the British National Party was like saying that a black man (with a long record of working for civil rights) was about to join the K.K.K.

    Actually “Red Ken” does have a philosophy of sorts.

    It comes (via various sources) from Herbert Marcuse.

    In this mutated form of Marxism, various minority groups (and, in the case of women, a majority group) are to be worked with in a rainbow coalition in an effort to destroy “capitalist” society. Or rather activists from these various groups are to be worked with.

    Differences between the groups (say between Islamic activists and homosexual activists) are to be papered over (and Red Ken manages this – as he has worked with both).

    I do not find people like Red Ken particularly interesting (every country has scumbags) – what I find interesting is that the voters of London elected him mayor (twice).

    Whatever the excuses, this still gives me a low opinion of the voters of our nation’s capital.

  • gordon

    guy, good points and thanks for reminding me of Diverse Reports. DR did of course enable the late Chris R. Tame and others to put the programme together called the New Enlightenment, which, to the horror no doubt of right-thinking people, celebrated the revival of classical liberalism and the likes of Milton Friedman, Hayek etc.

    i remeber that prog – i even have one of the episodes on vhs. does anyone know where or how i might be able to get the complete series? i’ve done a few searches for it in the past and all i’ve managed to find is copies of it at us libraries.