Why 'Standing at the Periphery'?
Shamelessly drawing on Wallerstein's world systems theory and extending it somewhat to provide a theoretical model of UK society. Even this isn't my idea - I have an OU tutor to thank for that. Anyway, I much prefer to think of myself as 'standing on the periphery' rather than occupying that unenviable spot in a hierarchical model that would have me propping up the whole edifice as a member of the 'underclass'. At least I can keep going round and round the periphery rather than being trapped in one place...
Perhaps I am being hard on myself. Perhaps I am merely demonstrating some form of twisted inverted snobbery. Whatever the reason, I find myself in a position of abject powerlessness, a sense of being on the outside looking in. Not that this has to be a negative thing - I feel like an anthropologist playing the role of the privileged stranger. I also believe that it is a truism that it is harder for us to see what is right under our noses.
Power corrupts and all of that. We see evidence of this all of the time so no need to elaborate - I don't feel the need to justify that one. So, conversely, is powerlessness incapable of being corrupted? Er, no.
Monday, 28 May 2012
It's Monday morning and there is little to be cheerful about, apart from the weather, that is. Another scorcher but probably the last day of these high temperatures. As from tomorrow I'll have to stop pretending I'm on holiday somewhere in southern Europe and face the fact that I'm still here in the UK.
Top of my list of things to be grumpy about: the gut-churning images coming out of Syria. The weekend was surreal on many levels. Street party at Clegg's, Eurovision, the weather, senseless killings and a continuing sense of disbelief at the the appalling human rights record of ...the IMF. This says it all really: http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/staggers/2012/05/christine-lagardes-tough-love-insult-greece
Sadly, I think the majority of the public are blissfully unaware of the murky past of the IMF. This is an opinion based on nothing much but I am doubtful that your average person in the street has anything more than a vague notion of who they are and what they stand for let alone the havoc that follows in their wake wherever they 'intervene'. Hopefully the unguarded outburst from Christine Lagarde in the Guardian last week may alert a few astute members of the public of exactly where they are coming from.
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the concept of human rights. It's one of those things that are invoked or ignored according to the will/need of the situation. With the benefit of distance, the US provides a useful example. Do I need to elaborate? Well, a quick glance through the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights coupled with a brief analysis of the insitutionalised racism that continues to blight that country should be example enough.
I am also a little uneasy of the philosophical roots of 'human rights', steeped as it is in liberal philosophy and individualism. Too much to think about on that one, especially on a Monday morning.
Top of my list of things to be grumpy about: the gut-churning images coming out of Syria. The weekend was surreal on many levels. Street party at Clegg's, Eurovision, the weather, senseless killings and a continuing sense of disbelief at the the appalling human rights record of ...the IMF. This says it all really: http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/staggers/2012/05/christine-lagardes-tough-love-insult-greece
Sadly, I think the majority of the public are blissfully unaware of the murky past of the IMF. This is an opinion based on nothing much but I am doubtful that your average person in the street has anything more than a vague notion of who they are and what they stand for let alone the havoc that follows in their wake wherever they 'intervene'. Hopefully the unguarded outburst from Christine Lagarde in the Guardian last week may alert a few astute members of the public of exactly where they are coming from.
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the concept of human rights. It's one of those things that are invoked or ignored according to the will/need of the situation. With the benefit of distance, the US provides a useful example. Do I need to elaborate? Well, a quick glance through the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights coupled with a brief analysis of the insitutionalised racism that continues to blight that country should be example enough.
I am also a little uneasy of the philosophical roots of 'human rights', steeped as it is in liberal philosophy and individualism. Too much to think about on that one, especially on a Monday morning.
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Welcome to my blog.
I have created this space purely for my own amusement and in the knowledge that it is unlikely to be of interest to anyone but me. But hey-ho - who cares?
The older I get, the more irritated I am. Yes, it's grumpy old woman syndrome. I used to argue vehemently against those who espoused such negative views as 'this country is going to the dogs' or 'society is in terminal decline'. Stubbornly, I held on to my youthful optimism long after I should have gracefully allowed it to go quietly. Perhaps that is why grumpy old woman syndrome has hit me so hard. Who knows? However, after a great deal of pondering I have come to the conclusion that there is, in fact, much to be grumpy about. Day by day the feeling grows that we are indeed facing a seismic shift. Seismic shift in what exactly, I'm not sure. But this feeling wont go away. The winds of change are afoot, I can smell it, I can feel it. Sometimes I can hear it.
So this blog is a space for musings, ramblings, venting my spleen, superficial analysis and anything else that comes to mind. Please feel free to join in!
I have created this space purely for my own amusement and in the knowledge that it is unlikely to be of interest to anyone but me. But hey-ho - who cares?
The older I get, the more irritated I am. Yes, it's grumpy old woman syndrome. I used to argue vehemently against those who espoused such negative views as 'this country is going to the dogs' or 'society is in terminal decline'. Stubbornly, I held on to my youthful optimism long after I should have gracefully allowed it to go quietly. Perhaps that is why grumpy old woman syndrome has hit me so hard. Who knows? However, after a great deal of pondering I have come to the conclusion that there is, in fact, much to be grumpy about. Day by day the feeling grows that we are indeed facing a seismic shift. Seismic shift in what exactly, I'm not sure. But this feeling wont go away. The winds of change are afoot, I can smell it, I can feel it. Sometimes I can hear it.
So this blog is a space for musings, ramblings, venting my spleen, superficial analysis and anything else that comes to mind. Please feel free to join in!
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