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A sociological study of populism as a major influence in
undermining standards in many spheres of life, through false values
promoted either through or resulting from political activity, etc.,
or through corporate marketing forces. The book is of particular
relevance to educationalists with regard to its criticism of
relativism and post-modernism.
In this age of uncertainty, there is the need for ideas that
transcend the limitations of party political, or left/right
thinking, in resolving the unprecedented problems of our time.
Technological Civilisation is here presented as a focal point for a
fresh perspective of both national and international issues. The
tensions between America and China indicate the possibility of a
new Cold War, and this would be disastrous for the planet in
diverting attention away from the cooperation needed in attending
to climate change and other threats to the environment. In the
countries of the West, democracy as we know it is beginning to
disintegrate. This is made evident through the collapse of voting
figures and party memberships, as well as a spirit of disillusion.
There are some topics which politicians are loathed to address, and
in the sphere of the approaching environmental crisis, the
population explosion is the most prominent. Leading scientists have
clearly demonstrated, that even if all efforts are put towards
reversing climate change through maximising renewable energy
sources, unless population control is achieved on a sufficient
level, all will be in vain. The population question is probably
pushed ahead to a greater degree in this book than will be found
elsewhere as a topic for public debate. In concentrating on
Technological Civilisation, it is possible to discern the
inter-connection of problems, and this leads to constructive
proposals for the regeneration of democracy, the reform of the
financial-industrial system, and the emergence of an upwardly
mobile and free egalitarian society.
Described as a docu-drama rather than a novel because of the extent
of its fact-based storyline and material; in re-creating the milieu
of a city, James Furner has achieved for the Berlin of the post-War
period what Christopher Isherwood achieved for the Berlin of 30
years before. This is a realistic drama on an epic scale, set in
Berlin immediately prior to the building of the wall, which was to
divide the city for three decades. Packed with humorous
observations, it is a poignant story of true love intercepted by
the political conflict and intrigues of the East-West power blocs.
In retrospect it takes the form of a historical novel of the most
authentic type: i.e. not based on an imaginative reconstruction of
the past, but drawing on detailed diary entries, and the author's
immediate report of strongly felt personal events, resurrected for
publication after a period of almost 50 years. Few novels appear on
such a grand scale as this: what begins as an inauspicious chance
meeting in an East Berlin art shop leads to an adventure exploring
the many social and psychological aspects characterising the
division of a great European capital. It is an encyclopaedia of the
soul of a city; unlikely again to be described so comprehensively
or in such depth. It is as much a political novel as a love drama,
especially in so far as the former impacts so heavily on the
outcome of the latter. For all these reasons, the question has to
be asked: if the 10 greatest true love stories of the 20th century
were to be listed, then would this need to be included amongst
their number? Perhaps most striking is the immediacy of its style
in describing characters and events, for this contributes a
compassion and authenticity more reminiscent of a memoir than a
work of fiction. Is this book more correctly described as a novel
or reportage? Only the reader can decide. The fact remains that
this is a new and exciting literary genre, developed for most
vividly telling a story which has to be told.
Problems confronting the financial-industrial system, or the ills
of the casino economy, have never been more urgent than they are
today. This is because debt has reached unprecedented levels in
threatening the future of us all, and leading commentators have
concluded that it is not a question of if but when the next banking
crash occurs. Financial issues are compounded by the fact that the
left/right conflict through which democracy has long resolved
political issues is now failing as a medium in advancing progress.
This has more easily allowed raw financial power to neuter
democracy and take over party systems across the political
spectrum. Meanwhile, a new middle majority is emerging in
displacing the middle and working classes that once predominated in
society, and this has led to the collapse of old-established party
memberships and voting figures. A positive outcome of these social
changes is a more open society that is not prepared to tolerate the
secret world of the great corporations, or to accept the word of
their politicians in allaying fears for the future. This book
presents a critique of both Neoliberalism or so-called
privatisation or unconstrained free market forces, and left-leaning
ideas on the management of business. In repudiating the principles
of both left and right, the author, who is broadly experienced in
the spheres of both industry and politics, calls for a new approach
in building an economy that is fair and successful in creating a
dynamic business culture. This is to be achieved through
prioritising commercially viable productivity over the pull of
rentier or usurious tendencies that limit output. These principles,
based on the empirical evidence of our toughest industrial
competitors in the Post-War period, are designed to unify the
socio-economic interests of the emerging 90% majority. The phony
economy has had its day for too long. Now is the time to promote
the real economy.
This is not only a travel book but a thought-provoking documentary
on inter-cultural relationships between the different races and
nationalities comprising the huge expatriate population and native
Arab residents of the oil-rich peninsula. The many characters
portrayed, presented in a variety of authentic stories encountered
by the author on his travels, are centred around the horrific event
of a public stoning in Saudi Arabia. Some of the stories have a
humorous flavour, but all are concerned with the human problems -
many of them poignant - of expatriates and Arabs alike, living
cheek by jowl in a society of gaping contrasts. It would be
simplistic to interpret the book as merely a critique of the
harsher aspects of Arab life from a Western perspective, for in the
cause of future concord, the author calls for a dialogue between
the cultures of the Middle East and the West in the name of social
justice and modernisation. The present strains, in what has become
a multi-cultural society following the influx of millions, mostly
from the Third World, anticipates the possibility of trouble in the
future. The status of women is highlighted and discussed in several
dramatic episodes, and a compassionate view is taken of Asian guest
workers in the light of their widespread mistreatment in the Gulf.
The rigidity of tradition would seem not merely to prevent the
development of a modem mind-set, but in the perceived threat of
Westernisation, to trigger an even more regressive attitude, as is
shown clearly in this book. But note is also taken of the Arab
outlook on the Western world, together with their horror of Western
liberal values, and their passionate arguments for resisting change
are recorded in detail. An element of suspense and mystery is
maintained throughout the book as the execution of the condemned
victim progresses through the narrative, only interrupted by
recollections of other personalities and the stories surrounding
them. Is the condemned person male or female? And what was the
offence? No prior information is posted by the authorities on the
public punishment or execution of offenders. The attitude of many
readers to the horrific episode may change considerably as the tme
facts leading up to the execution are revealed towards the end of
the book.
Ron Evans was probably the most notorious Soviet spy of British
nationality working out of Scandinavia in the post-War era. Here,
for the first time, the full story of the Ron Evans spy case is
told in all its drama and excitement as it occurred in the
mid-1960s. Whilst on the one hand Ron Evans was a leading radio
engineer with a brilliant intellect, working on sensitive defence
contracts; on the other, he was a determined and deft conspirator,
manipulating a wide circle of oddly assorted people to achieve his
illicit ends. KGB and MI6 agents play a prominent part in this
account of seething conflict, an assassination attempt, and death;
and only now, in deference to the spirit of the Thirty Year rule
and its equivalent application on the international scale, is it
possible to reveal the true facts behind this Cold War drama. Many
nationalities and colourful individuals, including diplomats and an
eccentric Finnish aristocrat, were involved in the complex intrigue
surrounding Ron Evans' underhand activities. The author, who
unwittingly found himself in conflict with the Soviet agent, was by
a curious set of circumstances led into the role of spy-hunter,
which eventually led to the arrest and conviction of Ron Evans. But
that was not the end of the story. Worse was to follow. Due to an
unfortunate set of events, an MI6 agent who was implicated in a
counter-plot, found that his cover was blown, and following his
capture and arrest by the authorities of a neutral power, Britain's
entire Scandinavian intelligence network came crashing down.
Despite the seriousness of the subject matter the author's
observations are often filled with ironic comedy and ridicule.
The Islamic threat is possibly the most disturbing political issue
of our time, as it impacts on the fears of so many ordinary people.
The propagation of puritanical Wahabism, through the oil 'wealth of
the Gulf States, ensures that its ideology is spread worldwide as
the most influential force in the world today. The entire thinking
and life-style of Muslims is dictated by religious demands to the
exclusion of anything regarded as profane. Such a mind-set
established by the Prophet Mohammed and his followers, is long
enshrined in tradition, and remains to the present day. Hence God
is the single authority and his commands are interpreted through
holy text alone. It is the exclusion of a secular dimension, with
its appeal to independent reason that defines Islam as a
totalitarian movement. The problem in the non-Islamic world,
especially in Western Europe, is the penetration of nation states
by a proselytising religious totalitarianism on democratic
societies. The variety of means in attempting to achieve this, and
the subtlety of the methods, is the subject of this book. The main
objection of non-Muslims to the penetration of their culture is the
creation of pseudo-legal structures, or a state within the state,
e.g., their own parliament," or the announcement of no-go zones, or
the establishment of Sharia courts with no legal authority. The
resistance of Muslims to the idea of integration leaves them with
two alternatives only: either they must create their own
mini-states within the state, or else they must attempt by subtler
means to seize control of leading administrative institutions.
Muslims in Britain are engaged in both the above alternatives, as
witnessed by their numbers and close cooperation in both Houses of
Parliament, and their power in local government councils
nationwide. Through a sociological and objective approach that
appreciates the religious priorities of Islamic people, this book
attempts to find a harmonious middle path to ensure a lasting
concord between two contrasting civilisations.
Democracy understood as people power, which is the only proper
definition of the word, is put forward in this book as the panacea
for resolving the most pressing issues of our time. But democracy
as a practicable system hinges on many conditions which are seldom
appreciated by our world leaders, international institutions, or
relevant bodies of learning. The evolution of democracy as a system
of government and way of life, and the problems to which the former
gives rise is broadly discussed by the author. Of most significance
are those situations, in both East and West, when democracy is
ideologically used as a cover for ulterior purposes. It is
powerfully argued that the left/right divide which for 200 years
has served as the rationale for advancing social progress in
sustaining democracy is now destroying it, as partly witnessed
through the collapse of both party memberships and voting figures
in most advanced industrial economies. This has occurred through
the transformation of society and the world of work over the past
60 years, and has left our parliamentary representatives trapped in
a time-warp of the past in their inability to meet the actuality of
contemporary issues. It is clearly shown, through a variety of
reasons, that democracy as an all-inclusive system of government is
only workable within the nation state. This partly explains the
crises of the EU, and the shortcomings of the UN's Security
Council. The greatest threat to democracy, since it limits the
power of the nation state to carry through electoral promises, is
international finance and transnational corporations, which are
unaccountable to any responsible authority and liable to bring
economic catastrophe in their wake. This is a book which seeks to
empower our national politicians, irrespective of party, so they
may more effectively represent the interests of their electorates.
A way must be found for our politicians to resolve their
predicament, even though it may entail a shift in their attitudes
and ideals.
Few books evoke the private life of an era, as it was in England
between 1935 and 1954, with such clarity, as this autobiography.
And it is only through such an intimate memoir that the hidden
aspects of an age - so often lost to future generations - may be
revealed as social history. It comprises the "confession" of a
prolific author, with all his thoughts and feelings, and no attempt
to conceal his faults or failings. Whilst his happiest memories
were as an evacuee at his grandparents' home in Wiltshire, his
return to the dreaded London home brought brutal corporal
punishment and periods of misery in a rigidly religious
environment. But on being sent to a well-established boarding
school, he went unknowingly from the frying pan to the fire, where
he endured horrifying ritual torture and permanent physical
injuries. He subsequently went to a North London public school, and
although was never to be bullied again, was witness to, and partly
implicated in anti-Semitism as a pre-teenager at the time of the
British-Israeli conflict in Palestine. He was to complete his
formal education in a liberal co-educational school in Hampstead
under the inspiration and sound values of a brilliant teaching
staff. During his mid-teenage years, he was involved in a hopeless
and self-destructive love for a film star, eventually leading to
gestures - if not attempts - at suicide and murder, and this led
inevitably to the disruption of his formal academic achievement.
The psychological crisis led to a split between two sides of his
family as to his future direction at the end of full-time
education. The book could not have been written unless the author
had kept a detailed journal and diaries which were recovered from
an attic, and read for the first time after a period of 60 years.
The narrative which is filled with humour and ironic observations,
and a host of colourful characters, concludes with a description of
his life in an old-established solicitors' office. It is only in
these final chapters, prior to National Service, that he began to
regain his sanity.
This is a penetrating study of many aspects of life, thought, and
everyday existence in Scandinavia, as experienced through the
author's 9-year residence in the enlightened far north in the
1960s. Robert Corfe is primarily known as a thought-provoking
writer of books published in the 21st century, but this work
comprises a selection of his articles published in the Finnish
press, popular magazines, and learned journals in the 1960s. The
collected articles are put into context for a contemporary
readership by a lively introductory chapter entitled, Seeing The
Future Through The Past, which describes how Scandinavia was 50
years in advance of Britain in terms of political thinking and
social development. And now Britain has caught up and shares in the
benefits and also the dis-benefits of a modernised technological
society. Of considerable interest are the articles on British
society and its problems, as viewed through the eyes of a British
resident acclimatised to the cultural environment of Finnish
life.The articles reflect clearly the development of the author's
political ideas on the need for a classless society in more
effectively contributing to communal prosperity and internal
harmony. The Scandinavians' enviable policy of neutrality and
disengagement from the conflicts of the great power blocs in
achieving national security is highlighted as contributing to the
happiness of their people. In view of an impending new Cold War
between Russia and the West, the arguments developed are perhaps of
greater significance today than when they were formulated more than
40 years ago. Many of these ideas were to be given greater depth in
the author's major works published many years later in the 21st
century. Perhaps most entertaining in this collection is the
delicious satirical story, What The Watchdog Saw, a savage attack
on the absurdities of the British far left as well as those of the
far right. As a percipient introduction to the mindset of the
enlightened Scandinavian people, based on both scholarship and
personal experience, this book could hardly be bettered for such a
purpose.
Socialism and the mindset of the traditional left have outlived
their purpose. A new political philosophy is needed in the cause of
creating a fair and egalitarian society for the peoples of our
planet. This is a startling yet profound book which strikes at the
foundations of established politics in the West. The author's
conclusions are drawn from two directions: an analysis of the
consequences of the transformation of society over the past 60
years in industrialised economies; and personal experiences as an
activist, both locally and nationally, after 14 years within the
Labour party. It is demonstrated that both the Labour party, and
socialism in the wider world, is now counter-productive to its
given purpose: i.e. it hinders rather than promotes the progress of
the less fortunate people in our midst. The left is hampered by two
great faults in its thinking and policy: its idolatrous commitment
to collectivism, poisoning its good intentions; and its blind spot
to the psychological need for the productive business instinct,
described by the author as the missing "gene" of socialism.The
author describes his attempts to modernise the Labour party and
initiate free discussion, followed by the horrific experience of
his public denunciation by an old stalwart "for writing without the
authority of the party leadership. " This led to his resignation in
2008. Modern men and women are dependent on the promotion of a
healthy individualism for personal success -- and certainly in
maintaining a free society. It is shown how political ideas need to
follow in the wake of social and technological progress, and not
vice versa. When ideologies outgrow their purpose society
regresses. The future calls for a new progressive politics of
universal humanity; a repudiation of class conflict which compounds
rather than resolves substantive issues; the syncretising of
political interests of relevance to all humanity; and a return to
the Enlightenment values of a former age. This is a book with a
refreshing insight in brushing away the political cobwebs of the
past.
The left/right confrontational system is coming to an end, since it
is failing to further promote the interests of majorities
worldwide. For 200 years it has acted as the linchpin of democracy,
and politics is almost unthinkable without referring to the
concepts of the Left or the Right. This book describes how the old
confrontational system has fulfilled a vital function for the
progress of humanity, but how in advanced industrial economies
everywhere, it is now reaching the end of its useful purpose. This
is not only reflected in the collapse of party memberships
globally, but in the tendency of legislation and the executive to
compound rather than resolve the issues of our age. Meanwhile, a
new class is emerging in the advanced industrial world, which the
author describes as the middle-middle 90 per cent plus majority.
Because contemporary parties are trapped in a time-warp of the
past, they are unable to represent the interests of this new
majority. The most urgent political issue of our time - heightened
by the debt-fuelled financial crisis - is the need to make the
banking and corporate sectors socially responsible. This book
outlines a practical strategy towards this end. Only when that is
achieved will it be possible to address effectively such pressing
issues as climate change. Over the past 60 years society and the
world of work have been transformed out of all recognition. Whilst
the world of actuality has raced ahead, political thought has
lagged behind - unable to keep apace with the significance of real
events. In the light of this situation, the author points to the
necessity for a fresh approach to political thought in breaking the
existing mould. New and more effective democratic mechanisms are
needed to ensure a socially just and equitable society for a better
future. Hence the now malign left/right concepts of the past must
be repudiated forever.
In the world of the 90% heterogeneous middle-middle majority, which
we find throughout the advanced industrialised economies in both
East and West, all are equally affected by the major socio-economic
issues of our time. This has resulted inevitably in eroding
left/right (or class-based) politics as a relevant or useful tool
for the future in advancing the cause of justice and equity. In
this second volume of Robert Corfe's major work on Social
Capitalism, he turns to examining the financial-industrial system
and identifies issues, which are untouched by contemporary
politicians across the political spectrum. Whilst politicians live
in their own self-enclosed world of dated ideologies, the author
highlights urgent and major problems which are significant for us
all in the real world. Through a careful analysis of the underlying
forces which directly affect the majority, he formulates a new
political language, and in doing so, creates a fresh perspective
and vision for the future. No people can hope to be free without
capitalism, competition, and free consumer choice. But capitalism
is not a single or monistic system as traditionally projected by
the political establishment.As the author demonstrates, through
both empirical evidence and the development of ideas, capitalism
may be manifested as either a malign or benign influence on
society. In this book the concept of Productive capitalism is
promoted as the desirable path towards which peoples worldwide
should strive. It is socially self-destructive Rentier capitalism,
with its accumulation of wealth into ever fewer hands, and the
polarisation of society, which needs to be opposed. But the
political battles which lie ahead, in promoting a benign
financial-industrial system, will be very different from those in
the past, since it is an economic system which will need to be
confronted rather than an identifiable sector of the community.
The transformation of society and the world of work, in the
industrialised countries over the past 60 years, have overtaken
political systems in the democratic world. The old left/right
political divide, which has marked the pattern of socio-economic
struggle since 1789, has now ceased to be a useful tool in
advancing the progress of humanity. This book presents the new
realities in the spheres of social life, as an introduction to the
author's forthcoming 3-volume work on Social Capitalism, which
concentrates on the shattering economic and political changes in
the contemporary world. What is to be the future of society if it
is to advance in any meaningful sense? If society is to be
egalitarian and at the same time free, it will need to ditch the
ideologies of the past which so inspired our forebears. The book
opens with 6 chapters discussing the role of high culture in a
society where class associations have been minimised and elitism
takes on quite a different meaning. In an upwardly aspiring
society, and under a changed educational system, the best would be
available for all in the practical democracy of the future.There
then follow 11 chapters on the nature of property, which is
projected as an individual right in fulfilling psychological needs.
The political consequences are that property is presented as
something contradicting its concept as understood in the
traditional thinking of left or right wing politics. The practical
implications of property are considered in their different life
situations in separate chapters. Democracy, real or illusory, is
discussed in 7 chapters, and historical arguments are evoked in
exploring the erroneous beliefs and myths on the nature of freedom.
The book concludes with 12 important chapters analysing those
adverse intellectual influences in the 20th century responsible for
undermining constructive thought in enabling a better world.
The reform of the financial-industrial infrastructure cannot be
undertaken without considering fully the political culture in which
it exists. But such reforms can only best be initiated from within
the capitalist system itself by those most technically competent to
effect necessary change, and hence this book calls upon the
business community to take such an initiative. Whilst the first
volume of this work traced the development of the new majority and
its potential readiness to promote desired change; and whilst the
second volume laid out the theoretical basis for Social Capitalism
and a new political consciousness; the third and final volume is
concerned with the policies and practicalities of a Social
Capitalist world. Part I of the present volume is concerned with
the international dimension, and especially the Third world, and
the need for its internal capitalisation and redefining the
benefits of free trade, and the priority of environmental
questions.Parts II and III are concerned with strategies for
national prosperity on the macro-economic level in advanced
industrial economies, and Part IV considers the reforms of the
business enterprise in successfully integrating the common aims of
employers and employed. Part V is an exercise in the critique of
Rentier capitalism, comprising an expose of 43 leaders of major
corporations, and Part VI concludes the work with a summary and
analytical declaration of Social Capitalist values and aims. As
this book clearly demonstrates, a free and democratic world cannot
be achieved or maintained without the successful establishment of a
Social Capitalist society which seeks to maximise the individual
ownership and control of the means of production, distribution and
exchange. Under different pseudonyms, Robert Corfe is also the
author of 3 autobiographical works: Death In Riyadh (Geoff Carter)
describing his life as a businessman in the Middle East in the 80s;
My Conflict With A Soviet Spy (Eddie Miller) relating his
adventures in Finland in the mid-60s; and, The Girl From East
Berlin (James Furner) an epic novel relating his love affair in the
old German capital at the end of the 50s.
In democracies throughout the industrialised world, political
systems are everywhere beginning to unravel, and thinking people -
even amongst our leaders - are uncertain of the reason why. Whilst
most governments drive towards greater equity and justice, the
reality is towards an opposite direction, and the greater
polarisation of society. The author of this book points the blame
on the failure to politicise the significant issues of our time.
Party politics is ideologically trapped in the past, and is unable
to grasp the realities of the present. Worse still, political
systems throughout the democratic world are probably incapable of
addressing the real threats which confront us. In this major
3-volume work, Robert Corfe argues that we need to politicise those
issues raised by our financial-industrial system, and for this
purpose he creates a new political vocabulary, and identifies the
actual realities of politico-economic life today.The irrefutable
fact is that our financial-industrial system is undermining
democratic life and government, and our politicians (of all
parties) are deluding themselves and their electorates when they
helplessly put their trust in an optimistic outcome. Furthermore,
the ideological (or pragmatic) approach of the old parties is
unfitted to confront the crises of the future. This first volume
explains the reason why, and shows how the emergence of the new
majority, through the transformation of society, is sickened by the
pattern of the old class conflicts which today are meaningless as a
tool towards progress. Our leading statesmen- and women already
have an inkling of this truth. This opening volume describes the
new heterogeneous middle-middle majority, and how it comprises
those who have climbed from proletarian origins, as well as those
from the upper middle classes whose confidence and affluence have
been broken on the wheel of egalitarian forces. Whilst an economic
revolution has already been achieved, a new political consciousness
still awaits the dawn.
Religion in many parts of the world, in both politics and personal
life, for good or ill, is now exerting a greater influence than at
any time in living memory. There is now not merely a
cultural-religious confrontation between a worldwide Islam and what
it sees as an affluent agnostic West, but the worrying rise of
Christian fundamentalism in the most powerful nation on earth. And
the latter has its distinctive political agenda. Part of this
agenda entails a biased approach to the Israeli-Palestinian issue,
but the most significant aspect of all religiously-inspired
politics is self-righteousness, and the explosive mix which this
creates. These are situations which could never have been
anticipated a generation ago when it was assumed that secularism
had displaced the beliefs of the past as any longer of political
significance. The attitude of many thinking people, in Europe and
elsewhere, is to regard religion with askance whilst looking
towards the growth of a greater secularism in resolving difficult
issues. But such an approach is not an option. Religion is a
natural component of human nature and is unlikely to be eradicated
through modernism. Nonetheless, it is necessary to distinguish
between the benign and malign aspects of religion and those of the
different churches. Through surveying the traditions of the major
religions in today's world it is shown that those based on
revelation too often tend towards a tenacity of belief which leads
to irrationalism and then, in turn, to fanaticism. When this
mutates into political power it creates a dangerous cocktail which
may affect us all, as we have seen with 9/11, and later with the
bombings in London, Madrid, Bali, and elsewhere. Such threats can
only be met by reverting to the language of those who claim the
authority of God. And that means confronting religion with
religion. But such a challenge needs to come from an over-arching
religion without falsehood, or from the rational belief system of
deism which seeks to unify all those of goodwill under the umbrella
of an ethical religious consciousness. This book therefore presents
a vision for a regenerated deism for the 21st century in helping
resolve the most difficult conflicts of our time. The futility of
political confrontation, through a dualistic view of the world,
must be met by a new moral order amongst majorities everywhere in
bringing greater peace and security to our planet.
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