Blogpost looking at how ‘no deal’ Brexit is driven by a coalition of asset-owners, without any interest in production or the future. (Reposted at The New Statesman)
England’s new rentier alliance
Boris Johnson as PR offensive
Blogpost for PERC, looking at the propaganda and enforced optimism, which are central to the new Conservative Brexit strategy.
‘Reasons to be cheerful’
My piece in London Review of Books, on the Tory leadership contest and the lies that it generates.
‘A fanatical sect has hijacked British politics’
Op-ed published in The New York Times, on the Conservative leadership election.
‘Britain’s Nervous Breakdown’ – seminar recording
I joined Jeremy Gilbert for the Culture, Power and Politics open seminar, to discuss Brexit, Boris Johnson and the broader crisis of liberal democracy. Listen to an audio recording of the seminar here.
Review and interview with The Economist
I discussed Nervous States with Richard Cockett from The Economist, and the possible routes forward for an evidence-based politics.
‘They don’t even need ideas’
Essay on Brexit and the crisis of representative democracy, published in London Review of Books.
Interview with FT Alphaville
This podcast interview with Jamie Powell and Thomas Hale explores central themes from Nervous States, especially in relation to economics and economic policy.
‘The funny side of politics’
Article published in openDemocracy on the convergence of comedy and politics.
‘Calm Down Dear’ – how angry should politics get
I too part in this discussion with Fern Riddell, Kehinde Andrews and Jo Ann Nadler at the Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival, recorded at the Sage Gateshead, now available from Radio 3
Essay: Populism & the Limits of Neoliberalism
The surge in so-called ‘populism’ over the past year, largely of a right-wing variety, has provoked an ongoing debate as to how we should characterise its central driver. To put this somewhat crudely (though not much more crudely than some of the debate’s protagonists), the choice comes down to a simple binary: economics or culture? Class or identity? An awkward new category of ‘the left behind’ has emerged in political discourse to capture the unexpected supporters of Donald Trump, Brexit, Marine Le Pen and other nationalist movements. Continue reading “Essay: Populism & the Limits of Neoliberalism”
Writings on Brexit
Since the Brexit referendum result on 23rd June, I’ve written a series of blogposts and articles trying to make sense of this crisis for the UK, both its antecedents and implications. I’ve collected these below, and will continue to add to this post as more appear.
- The Protective State – PERCblog, 6th October
- Interview on Brexit, Trump and ‘post-truth’ – Wisconsin Public Radio, 21st September
- The Age of Post-truth Politics – The New York Times, 24th August
- Brexit: Views from Wales – BBC documentary I participated in, 19th July
- Liberalism after Brexit – PERCblog, 13th July
- Brexit will make things worse: is that why people voted for it? – Washington Post 1st July
- What sort of crisis is this? – PERCblog, 29th June
- Thoughts on the Sociology of Brexit – PERCblog, 24th June (generously translated by readers into Greek, Italian and Spanish )
Long Read on statistics
‘How statistics lost their power – and why we should fear what comes next’, published in The Guardian, February 2017.
This is also available as a podcast.
William Davies 