Orwell, Priestley and the politics of the ordinary
The politics of technocracy and ideology have left Britain badly broken
THE PAST quarter century has witnessed two contrasting approaches to politics. In the Blair-Cameron years an intertwined caste of professional politicians and experts governed from on high: this was the politics of technocracy. In the Corbyn-Johnson era a motley crew of insurgents and opportunists shook up the status quo by appealing to raw political passions: this was the politics of ideology. The status quo is now thoroughly shaken up but there is little appetite for putting the technocrats back in power. The big question hovering over British politics is what comes next.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Think small”
Britain January 23rd 2021
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- Orwell, Priestley and the politics of the ordinary
From the January 23rd 2021 edition
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