The photograph shows James Purnell gazing, wide eyed, with a fixed inane expression at his book collection. My reaction was, ‘blimey Purnell, call that a book collection…I mean, christ on a bike…. I have many many more books than that’! But then, it struck me, we have glimpsed possibly only a small fraction of his book collection.
Ok, it is not a pissing contest, and I confess I do not own a copy of the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (that actually me laugh the most reading that he slapped the above book on his expenses!) Nor do I own anything to do with market socialism. Though I do own a copy of Kapital (incidentally I own a couple of books written by Miliband snr….). Plus some excellent critiques of neoliberalism (David Harvey’s is a must!)
Demos is the next project that Mr Purnell is going to engage in. This chimes with the way that Compass tends to overly intellectualise about things. There does seem to be a political retreat of sorts going on. NL cannot put forward any credible policies so you go back to your ivory tower to talk about reconciling the irreconcilable while the Tories get on with attacking the working class.
Purnell states the importance of developing a new set of policies that are relevant today and not for 1994. Yet he is retreading old ground when he maintains that the ‘real prize for the next generation of Labour politicians is to weld together liberalism and social democracy’ because that’s what Blair spouted circa 1997. So much for out with the old in with the new…..
Finally, I wonder which books by Zola he owns….Germinal…perchance??
I could’ve guessed you were more Miliband Snr. than Jnrs. I bet you own ‘The state in Capitalist society’ – just the sort of book that would blow anything on market socialism out the water.
“I bet you own ‘The state in Capitalist society’ – just the sort of book that would blow anything on market socialism out the water.”
Indeed I own the bk. And indeed it does!!
Purnell was talking about egalitarian capitalism only a few months ago – so market socialism is a step forward, no?
Unfortunate for his constituents that he’s going to be swanning around think-tank land. Perhaps he can dole out fridge magnets come the general election…
I lent out my copy of Parliamentary Socialism years ago and never got it back… what is it about the sons of famous Marxist intellectuals? Is it some kind of recessive gene?
Yeah Charlie, he’ll always be Mr Fridge Magnet to me.
Mr Fridge Magnet…sounds like something out of a porn movie….
Thanks for that image…
“Thanks for that image”…
I aim to please…. (Ooo that could be Purnell’s latest catch phrase)
Or, I’ll bend over backwards to accommodate you…
Ooo er missus, what a carry on….
Oh dear…. is this the level we are at…
Yes, I’m afraid it’s just my inner Frankie Howerd struggling to get out.
So he’s off to Demos, the lineal descendant of Marxism Today. Doesn’t bode well for any thinking about New Times he’s going to be doing. Where once Hobsbawm was doing the intellectualising, now it’s Purnell and Cruddas. Lord help us. If only Cruddas would relate some of the great things he says to his actual practice, there might be grounds for some positivity… but what are the odds of that?
Frankie Howerd? Ah, much more Charles Hawtrey me…
Yes, it will be the Cruddas/Purnell show, intellectualising their Big Ideas….
But my favourite is this welding social democracy together with liberalism….
Lord help us!!
“welding social democracy together with liberalism”
Sounds like this is code for a pact with the Liberals to keep the Tories out.
[...] along with his new intellectual friend, James Purnell. They have ventured forthwith out of the ivory towers they had retreated to and have come to spout th…. [...]