The Golden Strawberry

Hello there,

Here’s just a little more information about this blog. As you may have guessed by now, its inspiration is the Euston manifesto. The manifesto is the starting point for a debate over where the “progressive left” can go from here. The Golden Strawberry is intended to be part of the debate about the issues not covered in the Euston Manifesto (like health, education and crime) as well as those covered (like foreign affairs, liberty and equality).

As Adam says, our political views are still evolving. I attended SWP and RESPECT meetings at university, before realising it’s possible to be a member of the left without opposing everything. I’m still very much a left-winger though. I believe in the nationalisation of key industries, and am unsure if you can reconcile private profit with the public interest on massive schemes like health and education. But don’t be surprised if our views change over the next few weeks, months, (years maybe…?) After all, Clement Atlee was a Tory at university, Harold Wilson a Liberal. So watch this space…

Now to the blog itself. I can’t quite remember where the expression, “Golden strawberry” came from, though it’s definitely an attempt to liven up dull history or economics lessons at college. Don’t ask. The quotation by Elvis Costello at the top is also my idea (I doubt whether Adam would be seen dead listening to an Elvis Costello album). One could say that the quotation represents the contradiction in the blog; with a quotation from one of the great anti-war songs on what you may call a “pro-war left” blog. But it’s only supposed to be a great quote from a great song by a great songwriter. It makes a change from all these George Orwell quotations on other blogs (!) though I have it on good authority Adam is finding a suitable Orwell saying for the top of our blog, to go alongside Elvis.

All that remains to be said is thanks for reading, and enjoy the blog…

Posted by Roy

Greetings

This blog is a joint project between myself and Roy and, as you can see from his first post, it will be mainly political in nature. We were inspired to set this thing up by the publication of the Euston Manifesto - an excellent summary of which is avaliable below.

I interpret the central thrust of the Manifestoes argument to be Universalism. The belief that values which happened to have grown and flowered in the West (Universal suffrage, womens rights, individual liberty, seperation of church and state to name a few) should be avaliable to everyone - not just people in Western Europe and North America. An Iranian woman has as much to gain from Western Liberalism as a Chinese coal miner, an American billionaire or someone suffering from AIDS in sub-saharan Africa. What I oppose is the form of soft-relativism that has been peddled in the comment pages of the Guardian for too long - that cultures which subjugate women, hang homosexuals or commit genocide deserve understanding or even respect when in fact these cultures should be critiscised as barbarous.

Cultural Imperialism? Perhaps, but I am firmly convinced that, if given a real choice between a Western Liberal society and the alternatives (Soviet Communism, Iranian Theocracy, Baathist fascism etc), its a no-brainer.

Me and Roy disagree on a number of issues - the extent to which can be used to spread Liberalism is one example, the balance between the public and private sectors in a modern economy another - but we agree that everyone should have the rights we in the West possess.

This blog represents a growing process. I can’t speak for Roy but my political opinions are certainly in a state of ongoing evolution. If you want a purely ideological blog, go and read Pat Robertson.

- Posted by Adam