POST-TRUTH POLITICS AND THE WAR ON INTELLECT

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged american politics, american presidential election, austerity, brendan o'neill, Brexit, british politics, Cameron, class, cuts, david cameron, debt, deficit, Donald Trump, elitism, EU, EU referendum, european politics, european union, fedia buric, george osborne, grantra, intellectualism, international politics, inter|national, media, Michael Gove, politics, pomerantsev, post-truth, putin, SOAS, spiked magazine, the sun, Trump, US election, US president, US presidential election, USA, vladmir putin, vlandislav surkov, working class.

by Robyn Banks

“Does it follow that I reject all authority? Far from me such a thought. In the matter of boots, I refer to the authority of the bootmaker; concerning houses, canals, or railroads, I consult that of the architect or engineer.”- Mikhail Bakunin

There’s a new buzzword in the air. We are now living, it is claimed, in a post-factual or post-truth society, where facts no longer matter to the general public. At face value it seems like a bizarre claim. But while politicians and the media have always lied to the public, if you consider the audacity of the lies of the last decade in contrast to the sheer number of tools available to us to find out the truth, you begin to see the point.Continue Reading

THERE IS NO THIRD BOX TO TICK: ‘LEXIT’ IS NOT AN OPTION

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged Aaron Bastani, AV, ballot box, Boris Johnson, breaking point, Brexit, british politics, British society, Bush, Cameron, campaign, Clinton, corbyn, EU, EU ref, EU referendum, European Parliament, european politics, european union, general election, gore, Greece, homophobic, isolationism, Jacque Chirac, Labour, Leave.EU, left wing, Lexit, LGBT+, Marine Le Pen, Nigel Farage, PR, propaganda, racism, self interest, socialism, trade, Trump, uk, Vote Leave, Vote Remain, voting, xenophobia.

by Elliot Folan

So. The referendum is nearly upon us. And the reactionary Leave campaign rolls on, with Farage unveiling his latest piece of racist propaganda and Leave.EU exploiting the homophobic murder of 49 LGBT+ people for political gain. The leaflets that keep dropping through my door from the official Vote Leave campaign, meanwhile, tell me that we must take back ‘control of our borders’ and rid ourselves of EU regulations that protect workers’ rights. The campaign to leave the EU has had no left-wing voices in it, despite the hopes of lapsed Lexiter Aaron Bastani (who has flipped, and will now vote to Remain). Yet some activists, and a handful of Labour MPs, continue to push the narrative that an exit from the EU will be a triumph for progressive politics.

I understand this view. I don’t want to pretend that I find it incomprehensible, or that it’s without any rational basis. The European Union is an institution weighted towards transnational capital, its decisions are made in backroom committees far from public scrutiny or understanding, and the only directly elected institution — the European Parliament — lacks the formal powers of a proper Parliament. The left-wing critiques of the European Union are not without foundation.Continue Reading

UK FLOODING: THE NEW NORMAL IN A CHANGED CLIMATE

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged austerity, british politics, Cameron, climate, climate change, flooding, floods, global warming, international, politics.

By Natasha Senior

Storms have mercilessly battered Britain, one after the other over this festive period, bringing with them severe and unrelenting floods. The scale of damage and devastation was unprecedented, but it was not unpredictable. We’ve seen these storms growing with intensity every year. And, whilst a few might naively blame El Niño for this recent bout, we know that climate change is the driving factor. The government and general public appear to have accepted this, but even so, whenever a frank discussion about the consequences of climate change is put forward, it seems to be met with some underlying scepticism. This systematic dismissal of the difficult questions leaves us wholly unprepared for what’s to come and the recent floods have served as a sobering reminder of this.

THE POPPY IS A SYMBOL OF WAR

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged allied soldiers, armistice day, bnp, british politics, Cameron, EDL, FIFA, Jon Snow, patriotism, peace, peace poppies, political symbols, politics, poppy, poppy appeal, poppy symbol, RBL, red poppy, royal british legion, symbolism, war, white poppy, world war I, world war II.

by Robyn Banks

If I believe something, does that make it true? If you believe that the poppy is a symbol of peace and remembrance, does that mean you’re right and I’m wrong? Is the meaning of a cultural symbol decided by its creators, by the powers that be who would use it, or by the culture at large who see and understand the symbol? Or, is it simply enough to repeat something over again until it means what you want it to mean?

DIVIDE AND RULE: UKIP’S DAMAGE TO THE WORKING CLASS

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged arthur scargill, Cameron, class equality, ethnic minorities, general election, history, identity, immigration, miners, miners strike, Nigel Farage, politics, progress, Russell Brand, society, UKIP, workers, working class.

by Katherine Lucas

Since its formation in 1993, UKIP has prided itself on its anti-system rhetoric.

Under Nigel Farage’s wisdom, UKIP has latched onto fears about immigration, and in doing so, has done enormous damage to the working classes. Put simply, inciting racial tension is in no way beneficial to a social group that includes people who come from all over the world.

Perhaps it should be of little surprise that a party run by a former inner-city London stock broker do not have the interests of the working classes at heart, but that is certainly not in line with his promises. Through exercising ‘divide and rule’, Farage has injected tension among those who previously stood a better chance of securing change through collective action.

Cameron

POST-TRUTH POLITICS AND THE WAR ON INTELLECT

THERE IS NO THIRD BOX TO TICK: ‘LEXIT’ IS NOT AN OPTION

UK FLOODING: THE NEW NORMAL IN A CHANGED CLIMATE

THE POPPY IS A SYMBOL OF WAR

DIVIDE AND RULE: UKIP’S DAMAGE TO THE WORKING CLASS

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