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Revision as of 13:06, 25 August 2020
, 13:06, 25 August 2020no edit summary
None of this is exactly a revelation unless you've been asleep since 1998. But the question ''Us Vs Them'' seeks to answer is: are all these things just an unavoidable consequence of globalism? And if it isn't, who the hell should we blame for mucking things up so badly?
One instantly-apparent answer is the persistent failure of politics to adapt to rapidly-changing times. Politicians love nothing more than to boast about high employment; none of them like likes to admit that the proliferation of precarious, low-wage, and part-time employment has played a major role in this. Another oft-repeated soundbite is how trade creates jobs: none of them like likes to admit that it can kill them too. More and more, the old certainties are not standing up to new realities. When this is considered, the backlash against out-of-touch elites seems so inevitable it's almost not worth talking about. The question of what government is actually for is emphasised across the course of the book: should it enable change, or create change itself? Should it pursue a friendly and collaborative foreign policy, or aggressively defend its own national interest? Everyone agrees it should guarantee the security of its citizens, but how far should it go?
The ''us versus them'' narrative is hardly a new one – indeed, it's as old as human history – but the increasing ease with which populists are adopting and exploiting this is disturbing. Whether the ''them'' in question refers to immigrants, perceived scroungers, elites, people of another political persuasion, or even adjacent countries, one of the most pervasive effects of globalism seems to be how easy it is to convince people that they're missing out.
There's enough food for thought in ''Us vs Them'' to fill a heavyweight tome, but the book is a deceptively slim read. It's one of the most balanced and informed viewpoints I've read, touching on a whole host of ideas. And in a lot of ways, it's pretty damn depressing reading. But the conclusion is – broadly – a positive one. The times we live in might be challenging, but as a species, we've been through worse. Humans are adaptable and resourceful, and we will find a way to carry on.
You could shelve this book next to [[Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World by Ian Bremmer]]. Whether you're a PPE nerd or you're just getting into the topic, there's are lots I can recommend as your next read. I read Peter Hitchen's [[The Broken Compass: How British Politics lost its way by Peter Hitchens|The Broken Compass]] earlier this year, finding it to be a thoughtful – if occasionally tinny – reflection on how things have ended up the way they did. Further ruminations on the state of our society can be found in [[Capitalism and Human Values by Tony Wilkinson]].
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