I bought this in the story thinking it was a Swedish translation but it turns out its a retelling of the classic tale by Robert Nye. Really enjoyed itI bought this in the story thinking it was a Swedish translation but it turns out its a retelling of the classic tale by Robert Nye. Really enjoyed it although I do not know how close it stuck to to the original story. Will perhaps return to it some day. It basically tells the archetypical heros journey; a very sprititual one at that! ...more
Could be my favorite autobiography by an entpreneur/inventor. There are so many insights into as to how to best create a thriving longterm business, hCould be my favorite autobiography by an entpreneur/inventor. There are so many insights into as to how to best create a thriving longterm business, how to live a creative life and how to go against the grain. James Dyson invented the cyclonic vacuum cleaner and went onto create a company worth 6.5 billion pounds (in 2022).
I couldn't help but think of how closely Dyson aligns in the key personality traits needed for a entrepreneur: high in openness, high in conscientiousness, low in neuroticicsm, high in extroversion and disagreeable. I can't imagine starting a business in the middle of a recession but Dyson did it. Dyson perpetually values people who are willing to test new ideas over experienced careerists, going against the grain and long-term thinking which is made possible by owning your company. I just love his perspective and wish I could be able to live like that as well. Dyson also believes that if you build a product than is better than your competitors, the consumer will notice it. He doesn't believe in focus groups: he believes in testing your ideas directly on the market.
The book is also a portrait of the period in which he lived which is interesting. Growing up after the second world war without a father, you had to be able to care of yourself and not rely on other people. His mother, it would seem, was relentlessly resourceful. She managed to raise three kids and eventually get a diploma from Oxford. I suppose the book espouses traditional middle class values (i.e. those found in Benjamin Franklings autobiography).
The only downside was perhaps all the information on all his inventions. That did not really interest me (as I am not an engineer, quite the opposite!), being instead more interested in business, creativity and how to live your values....more
This is a speculative biography of William Shakespeare which was quite enjoyable to read (especially since the Greenblatts sketch of the Shakespeares This is a speculative biography of William Shakespeare which was quite enjoyable to read (especially since the Greenblatts sketch of the Shakespeares contemporary world is quite detailed and rich). Shakespeare found himself in a very volatile environment which had only recently been turned protestant and where many still practiced Catholicism in secret. London was perpetually ravaged by various diseases and plagues. There was no police force and the citys administration had a tough time keeping up with the pace at which the city was growing. Greenblatt paints quite a colorful picture of the period and one can see how a mind as fertile as Shakespeare managed to find material for his plays.
But what was riveting was how Greenblatt hypothesized Shakespeares writing process. One of Greenblatts main thesis is that Shakespeare perfected a certain style of writing which enabled him to explore the inner life of his characters. Shakespeare, in his later plays, to cut out the generic explanation for a characters actions. Why does Iago betray Othello? Why does Hamlet wait to so long to avenge his father? Shakespeare often found a story which he then turned into an interesting play by changing the motivation of the main characters.
All in a all an interesting book but a bit too tendentious to really be believable....more
Jacob Rees-Mogg is a Member of Parliament for North East Somerset whose witty comebacks first drew my attention to him. This book has a somewhat nostaJacob Rees-Mogg is a Member of Parliament for North East Somerset whose witty comebacks first drew my attention to him. This book has a somewhat nostalgic and elegiac tone as mr. Rees-Mogg paints a vivid pictures of 12 famous Victorians (among these are Palmerston, Queen Victoria, Gladstone, Disraeli and sir Robert Peel).
The book is obviously meant for a more general reader and therefore often describes the individuals accomplishments in broad strokes. His intention is to write a plaidoyer so that our picture of this period stops stemming from Lytton Stratcheys 1918 book "Eminent Victorians" (which paints a largely negative portrait of the period). What I found to be most interesting was how British society handled the coming of modernity. How do you ensure stability given the implications of the industrial and the french revolution? You do it by gradually implementing political change and therefore giving society a chance to adapt slowly.
Mr. Rees-Mogg also presents the reader with a few not quite as remembered Victorians such as W. G. Grace, William Sleeman, Albert Dicey, and Augustus Pugin. I found the biograpy of Pugin interesting as it shed some light on how Victorians attempted to retain their religiosity and sense of meaning in the wake of the scientific revolution. Pugin was an architet who redesigned the interior of the palace in Westminister after it burnt down. His work was an attempt to articulate and show the power of God through Gothic architecture. He was a Catholic who seemed to have a deep longing for a simpler time and his churches were his attempt at imbibing his contemporaries with this same longing.
One gets a sense when reading this book of the Victorian values, that is mainly duty, as well as the sense of progress which seemed imbued in these individuals from an early age. There is no problem which cannot be fixed (which the author shows through the story of an bureaucrat (William Sleeman) who brought a gang of vicious criminals (Thugee) working all over India to justice). But duty is in here very closely aligned to personal responsibility and that one should deliver on what one promises.
I would recommend it to anyone interested in knowing more about the period provided one is aware of the downsides of the work - that is to say his generalizations and the panegyric quality of the writing. Other than that I would agree with the historian Andrew Roberts that the book is a "a full-throated, clear-sighted, well-researched and extremely well-written exposition of the Victorians and their values".[7] Well... except for the "extremely well-written" part....more
This book will probably only interest those who are extremely curious about politics of England during the 19th century as it is often focused on specThis book will probably only interest those who are extremely curious about politics of England during the 19th century as it is often focused on specific questions of the day. The editor comments on each of the articles and thereby provides a context for Salisburys writing. Lord Salisbury was a deep and original thinker who managed to hide this fact from the world. His writings show a clear understand of history and what conservatism means in the English context. They focus on the role of parliament in society as well as the role of the church. Salisbury is unique in that he provides the perspective of an insider (his family has been in politics at least since Elisabeths days) who uses utilitarian arguments to provide a firmer ground for traditional values (much Roger Scruton). I have gained a deeper understanding of how the world (and politics) works by studying him. He was a powerful force and managed to stay prime minister for 13 years. I sometimes bring this book out when I am feeling down and want to feel inspired as Salisbury's writing is often very witty. If this sounds interesting then I would recommend reading Andrew Roberts wonderful biography of the man....more
“The use of conservatism is to delay changes until they become harmless”
Lord Salisbury is one of Britain's lesser known prime ministers (which by its“The use of conservatism is to delay changes until they become harmless”
Lord Salisbury is one of Britain's lesser known prime ministers (which by itself might not be such a bad thing). He served as PM for a total of 13 years (although interrupted by Gladstone) beginning in 1885. Eric Midwinter has written this book as part of a series on the PMs of the 20th century and therefore it provides a sort of readers digest version of the late 3rd Marquess of Salisbury's life (and mostly) work. The book manages to present different aspects of Salisbury (despite the fact that it author is clearly left-leaning).
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil (1830-1903) was born into an old aristocratic family. His great grandfather Robert Cecil advised Elizabeth I and ever since then his family has been involved in politics. He spent 9 years working as an independent journalist before he became an MP and the rest is as they say history… or not.
To better understand Salisbury’s political heritage one should see the importance of two contemporary revolutions: the political and the industrial. 1789 had seen the French revolution which had ended in bloodshed and a large European war. Stability had been achieved by the Vienna conference of 1815 but revolution was still in the air in 1848 when another wave of revolutions spread across Europe. Realpolitik was the attempt to balance super powers against each other was in Kissinger’s words an attempt at a stable world order. Salisbury was very much a part of that diplomatic way of keeping checks and balances in society. He believed that the community of Europe was key to Britain’s safety and therefore shied away from entangling alliances in order to deftly maneuver the political stage.
By using diplomacy he sought to keep stability and sought to avoid war by demonstrating the will to prepare for one ostentatiously. He therefore managed to prolong the peace of 1815 for another 20 years (which ultimately ended in 1914). He was not a keen empire builder but “the flag followed the trade”. It is indeed paradoxical that the man who was to preside over the largest empire in the world was of the opinion that British ‘greatness’ was largely an illusion that could only be preserved by clever diplomacy. Midwinter uses the analogy of the snooker player to explain the Lords skills as a diplomat: having played a diplomatic shot [he] knows exactly where the balls will halt and particularly the white ball, that is to say England.
The industrial revolution (which began in Britain) heralded rapid change, the reverberations of which we are still feeling today. When Salisbury was born more than half of the population lived on the countryside and when he died 77 percent lived in towns; the massive change from people having self-sustaining farms to becoming factory workers and 1880’s saw the first use of the word contraception. How is one supposed to cope with that? One way is to issue rapid social reforms and thereby create new political powers to soothe citizens. Another is to try sustaining the very institutions which form the basis of communal life, that is church and traditional order.
Salisbury was a religious man and believed that Anglicanism was ‘not only a religion but a civic pact with pervious generations’. It also provided a bulwark against class warfare. Religion was a way for people to relate to each other by sharing a common historical identity. Democracy by its very nature focuses on the values of the living whereas for Salisbury (as for Burke) society was a contract between the dead, the living and the yet unborn. Duty and honor are two concepts which seem very important to Lord Salisbury. He “preferred to see himself as a policeman, maybe a stolid village bobby, faced with what he called workers of mischief” (p. 91). This image seems in itself an archetypical English one: one should not interfere with other people’s business unless its absolutely necessary. The policeman should not be seen as some authority figure who commands others to behave in a certain way by force but rather like a zoo keeper who is trying to preserve ecosystems by carefully balancing each part so that the equilibrium is maintained.
The marquess “was a stout contender that men acted always and narrowly out of self-interest” which was one of the reasons he opposed parliamentary suffrage. “He forever anticipated that unalloyed democracy would be a steamroller, demolishing all traditional order.” There was therefore a risk that ‘mere anarchy [would be] loosed upon the world’. People can be charmed by charismatic politicians (Hitler was democratically elected) and because the election runs in cycle one could lose the long term perspective. Salisbury therefore tried to find pragmatic solutions which would keep benefit society both in the long- and short term. One example of this was his ennoblement of successful businessmen which had the effect of maintaining a certain social value to being noble. Perhaps most of all held up the right of the individual: government should not infringe upon the right of contract and “the feebleness of our government is our security” as he himself put it. An effective and powerful government can wreak havoc upon its citizens (and the rest of the world).
Then there is the character of Salisbury; the specifically English character. He seems to epitomize the English being in many ways. When one reads his writing one meets a careful sceptic who often uses waspish humor to say something quite drastic and it is here where his true character shines through (even though “[he] was a man of unremitting reticence in private matters and who regarded the expression of private emotions as being indecent.” (p. 19). The fact that he wrote 1.5 million words from 1864 to 1865 hints at the kind of work ethic which Salisbury evidently had. A world without twitter (nor TV for that matter) allowed for a different kind of politician to emerge: one lacked charisma but instead had the political acumen to avoid the major catastrophes. One who can bide his time and carefully plan his next move.
In hindsight he was correct in predicting the slow death of his cherished order – the divorce rate being extremely high in Europe, the church having lost all influence and the notion of a deeper sense of loyalty to one’s country seeming patently absurd. One wonders if a politician of Salisbury’s caliber would have managed to avoid the first world was (as there were many crises during his reign which were solved by Salisbury keeping cool and sober). Worth noting is that historian Niall Ferguson blames World War 1 on British politicians in his book “The pity of war”.
I will end on a note which seems to summarize Salisbury’s views: “No lesson seems to be so deeply inculcated by the experience of life as that you should never trust experts [...] They all require to have strong wine diluted by a very large admixture of insipid common sense.” (p. 121) A quote which gently shows an important aspect of what it means to be a conservative. ...more
"No man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of standing in any way, nor will w"No man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of standing in any way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land." (article 39)
Can I get an amen? These words are among the most famous ever written in English and are a part of that great written famous political document - Magna Carta. Or was it really that great? Was it the liberal ideal which formed the basis for the liberties which Englishmen were to experience later on? Roland Poirier Martinsson is a Swedish writer and doctor of theoretical philosophy who deals mainly with history. This is his account of the Magna Carta and how one of the worlds most famous political documents came to into being.
Martinsson writes with a lucid yet philosophical prose. "I have never believed in history. It is written by the victors - or losers" (p. 92). This essay is Martinssons attempt to come to terms with the myth of Magna Carta and what actually transpired. Magna Carta came as a consequence of the tyranny of the King John and his continued transgressions of the rights of the nobility. After years of tough famines, struggles with the church and heavy taxes a group of barons gathered to declare war on king John (who happens to be the same King which the mythical Robin Hood faught against). After incurring heavy losses king John was forced to try to appease the barons and the Magna Carta was the result of this appeasement. The document was not an intellectual accomplishment in the same league as the declaration of independence (according to Martinsson) as it is centers more on the rights of the nobility, rather than laypeople. It was however one of the first times in history that a people have decided to set down in writing actual rights of citizens. A political emergency as well as several coincidences made this document possible.
Martinsson is also of the opinion that it would not be possible for a group of barons to negotiate with a king had it not been for changes in the political scene of Europe at the time. The old world order was slowly changing (perhaps not always consciously) and the barons did their best to make sure that their quality of life was not subsumed by taxes imposed by king John in order to pay for distant wars. It is because the King wasn't considered holy or a God that this was possible. In other parts of the world this was certainly not possible. What matters is not always the what, how or the why, but rather the consequences of this document. It was rewritten several times after 1215 as later Kings also had to subscribe to those same rights praised in this wonderful document. A myth or a story can therefore become fertile ground for a political discourse which in turn can turn colonies into Countries.
All in all I found it to be a nice and easy read. I always admire the way English fight for their rights and I am quite enthralled by their history. I would recommend this to anyone interested in liberty (the only drawback being that it is in Swedish). I will leave you with this great quote (one that almost make me wanna cry):
"All these customs and liberties that we have granted shall be observed in our kingdom in so far as concerns our own relations with our subjects. Let all men of our kingdom, whether clergy or laymen, observe them similarly in their relations with their own men." (article 60)...more
Its gonna take a while to take in everything that I have read. Douglas Murray is a journalist who does a good job at analysing the current malaise EurIts gonna take a while to take in everything that I have read. Douglas Murray is a journalist who does a good job at analysing the current malaise Europe is going through. I will write a review shortly. ...more
It is with a certain sadness that I leave this momentous biography of a tory politician, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. It has been a joy to read about thIt is with a certain sadness that I leave this momentous biography of a tory politician, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. It has been a joy to read about the life of this long forgotten victorian titan.
He was the 4th longest serving PM in English history, serving for nearly 14 years at the end of the 19th century. He was chiefly responsible for British non-alignment foreign policy which has been crudely described as 'splendid isolation' from European great power politics.
Salisburys main foreign policy objective was to balance the power between the great nations and thereby preserve the order created by lord Castlereagh, Metternich and Talleyrand at the Congress of Vienna (1815). This order was fragile and required skilfull diplomacy (which Salisbury was a certainly a master of). Had his health been that of Gladstone perhaps WW1 could have been averted (who knows).
The older Salisbury strikes me as someone who has just the right balance between principled libertarianism and pragmatic conservatism. (I will write a longer review once I have let this biography sink in more)....more
A 'gentle' (to use one of Scrutons own favorite phrases) and thoughtful (albeit long-winded) book on what it means to be English. Roger Scruton is perA 'gentle' (to use one of Scrutons own favorite phrases) and thoughtful (albeit long-winded) book on what it means to be English. Roger Scruton is perhaps the worlds most famous conservative philosopher and also quite a good writer. This is his pastoral elegy for that country, which - in his opinion - is gradually losing its very character. This review will focus on the three things I found most interesting - English character, English law (or more like Law) and English government (not with a capital G).
Character. Scrutons main basic thesis is that the English are strangers to one another and that is why their society has managed to be so stable to several centuries. A certain respect for tradition and form while at the same time seeing ceremonies for what they are - norms, nothing more. The English could therefore joke at people who took certain positions too seriously. Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll are examples of authors who used nonsense to ridicule people of power. Thus satire and dissident became an integral part of the culture. How are you supposed to be free if you aren't free to criticize and discuss ideas openly?
Scrutons view is that because the English were strangers to each other and connected together only by various weird corporate identities (like sports) they could remain eccentric. Your home was your castle and one could indeed say that private property is the foundation upon which the English built their culture. The English are eccentric because... well because they can. Because nobody can tell them how to live. "Such eccentricity is not the functionless by-product of leisure, but a crucial ingredient in a free and risk-taking society. [...] For Mill eccentricity was both the expression of freedom and its ultimate guarantee, the character-building force which resists coercion and turns the world to human uses" (p. 53)
In another passage Scruton writes about the English ideal: "If we were to look for an adjective with which to summarize the English as they aspired to be [...] it would be 'gentle' - a word of Latin origin, to which the English gave their own particular and multi-faceted meaning. The gentleman emulated those of 'gentle' birth; and in doing so he became gentle in another sense. In the midst of social failure he retained the ability to deal kindly, distantly and humorously with others, and if he nonetheless insisted on his high social merits, he would only become ridiculous - in other words, not gentle, but mere 'genteel'" (p. 66) Eccentricity doesn't mean that one lives alone and doesn't cooperate with other people. Indeed, Scrutons point is that it is because the English are strangers to each other that they can cooperate more easily. Toleration comes as a consequence of not having to always be intimate with other people; of not having to conform to the exact wishes of the 'clan'.
Law. The English system of law quite unique and is something that the anglo-saxons provided. Basically the rights of contract are central and the norms with which individuals deal with each other are largely regulated by custom (that is to say case law). Lower courts can argue against higher courts because the basis for a law is a continual arguing for the pros and cons of decision making. I found the nature of 'ratio decidendi' to be quite interesting. Lawyers and judges have to provide reasons for their decisions and law can therefore not see as a rules laid down by the Sovereign (as with code napoleon or the corpus juris civilis). What is the just is not always obvious and therefore a lot of factors have to be taken account for. The fact that common law is based on case law and not some grand system makes it irrational, not unreasonable. Tradition develops slowly and over time which allows for corrections over time. Cases are also closer to what individuals actually experience in reality and it is up to the lawmaker to 'uncover' the general principle underlying the just outcome of that case.
Government. The English government is not entirely democratic either but should be viewed as similar to a court. The politicians represent the citizens but are also responsible to the institutions themselves. Society is not something that is only decided by the living but a contract between the dead, the living and the yet unborn (to take the Burkean view). This I found to be an interesting point and one which is rarely voiced in today's politics. I lean more toward direct democracy than Scruton does and therefore I find his case for a politicians loyalty to the system to be... a bit idealistic (even though one naturally prefers political amateurs like lord Salisbury to power hungry politicians which make the daily news). For most of their history, English government was small. It was the job of private enterprise (rather than some official) to fix urgent problems. If you found something to be deeply problematic then the best way to solve it was to take care of it yourself.
I found Scrutons view of the English countryside to be a bit too romantic for my taste and I think I diverged from him on his view of 'duty'. I am siding with Ayn Rand on this one: does duty really exist? The fact that people like to work and live together does not mean that we need to construct an irrational concept like duty. I could be wrong however and I would be open to hearing more arguments for the other side. Perhaps I will find them in the Lord Salisbury biography I am reading at the moment.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in English history and in understanding how a culture gradually develops. It is quite a timely book given how consumed everyone seems to be by the mass culture produced by Netflix and HBO....more
Couldn't be bothered to finish it. This is more of a conservative rant about the decline of Britain. Unfortunately Hitchens fails to provide a more phCouldn't be bothered to finish it. This is more of a conservative rant about the decline of Britain. Unfortunately Hitchens fails to provide a more philosophical framework and explain his conservative principles clearly. The book therefore becomes more of an article that has been elongated in order to be published.
I was annoyed at the fact that everything he describes in the book had occurred in all other European countries with large welfare states. There is indeed little that is specifically British about it. If one wants to learn and understand English culture one should instead read Roger Scrutons book on England....more
Loved the first half of the book. The farsical nature of the novel makes its story less compelling and therefore I was glad when I finally finished itLoved the first half of the book. The farsical nature of the novel makes its story less compelling and therefore I was glad when I finally finished it. ...more
"Do not let me hear Of the wisdom of old men but rather their folly, Their fear of fear and frenzy, their fear of possession, Of belonging to anpother, "Do not let me hear Of the wisdom of old men but rather their folly, Their fear of fear and frenzy, their fear of possession, Of belonging to anpother, or to tohers, or to God. The only wisdom we can hope to acquire Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless."
A very spiritual poem. As a practising meditator I was very much reading into the poem a lot of Buddhist as well as Hindu thinking (although combined with some Anglican theology). Well worth reading and re-reading.
"And the wisdom of the age? Had they deceived us Or deceived themselves, the quiet-voiced elders, Bequething us merely a receipt for deceit? The serenity only a deliberate hebetude, The wisdom only the knowledge of dead secrets, Useless in the darkness into which they peered"
This made got me thinking of social media: "Emptying the sensual with deprivation Cleansing affection from the temporal, Neither plenitude nor vacancy. Only a flicker Over the strained time-ridden faces Distracted from distraction by distraction Filled with fancies and empty of meaning Tumid apathy with no concentration"
I'll end this review on a happy note: "For most of us, there is only the unattended Moment, the moment in and out of time, The distraction fit, lost in a shaft of sunlight, The wild thyme unseen, or winter lighting Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply That it is not heard at all, but you are the music While the music lasts"...more
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