Richard D North.

On culture, Nature, liberal issues, monasticism, spirituality

Page 9 of all posts

Poem: Suicide Boy, 1872

I came across this news story from a local paper about a suicide-by-train  and wanted to mark it in some way. I feel oddly scrupulous about opining too much, or seeming to assume any understanding of the events it describes. Read more...

Published

15 November 2016

Filed in

RDN's poems

Chris Martin on Trump (Or: Fascism, liberalism and karma)

Chris Martin of Cold Play was spot-on when he burst on to Graham Norton's set and described the karmic moment represented by Donald Trump's success in being elected President of the United States. Mr Martin said, in terms, that Trump expressed the feelings of millions of people, and that doing so is a refreshing and crucial part of democracy. Dead right. Read more...

Published

13 November 2016

Filed in

Handling protest, Mind & body, Politics & campaigns

“Mob-minorities”, democracy and Parliament

The British have been learning a lot about the different sorts of votes and voting that go on in a democracy. The oddest thing that has happened is the emergence into power of a small number of political activists. Both Conservative and Labour political parties - are, just now, at the mercy of their quite peculiar members. So are the vast majority of voters and politicians. Read more...

Published

10 July 2016

Filed in

Handling protest, Politics & campaigns

Adolescent brain, liminality and the Universe

There is an ocean of interesting material on the development of the adolescent brain. Most of it concentrates on why teenagers are gloomy, risk-taking, drug-prone, drug-susceptible and hard to teach. I want to ask whether anyone has spotted research or discussion on a more positive or at least very interesting aspect to adolescent liminality. Read more...

Published

27 June 2016

Filed in

Mind & body

Brexit and migration

There is a nasty - or tasty - little secret about migration, tax, and welfare which I have never heard mentioned in mainstream debate, but it needs to be. That is: single, young migrants in employment are probably an economic benefit, taking one thing with another, but when they go on to make families, most of them are almost certainly not. In short, freedom of movement for work is mostly good; freedom of settlement or citizenship, not so much.  Read more...

Published

27 June 2016

Filed in

Politics & campaigns

Brexit and Scotland

The EU referendum has had very odd implications for Scotland. I was no fan of Scottish independence, but I can't say the break-up of the UK struck me as very worrying from an English, let alone an English Tory, point of view. Now though, one can easily see a rational Scot of any political stripe thinking that if it came to leaving the EU or the UK, maybe it's the UK that Scots need less. Read more...

Published

27 June 2016

Filed in

Politics & campaigns

Unexpected upsides of Brexit

I didn't have the courage to vote for it, but Brexit will probably have marvellous upsides, and especially after a bumpy patch. Here are three "factions" who will probably have to re-adjust their thinking, in a good way, because of Brexit. Read more...

Published

27 June 2016

Filed in

Politics & campaigns

The Referendum meta-debate

The EU Referendum debate is widely thought to have been information-light and anger-heavy. This is true enough, but in ways which might surprise. Here is a sketch of how the argument might be analysed. I am afraid it is a little personal, at least in the first para or two. Read more...

Published

22 June 2016

Filed in

Mind & body, Politics & campaigns

Jo Cox’s legacy to democracy

Amongst all the things which Jo Cox achieved and represented in life, in death she may produce a further great service. It would be a fitting memorial or tribute to this remarkable person that we start to reverse the cynicism with which the electorate, media and entertainment industry regard politicians. Read more...

Published

18 June 2016

Filed in

Mind & body, Politics & campaigns

BHS and capitalism’s moral compass

The BHS and Sports Direct sagas have raised the question: is UK capitalism in a uniquely scuzzy phase? I am inclined to say that it isn't but that anyway capitalism has many forms ranging from the decent to the near-criminal; from the paternalist to the devil-may-care.  The problem for society is how to regulate the intolerably bad bits without killing the vigour some quite dodgy chancers (none of those invoved in the sagas in question have been proved to be so) bring to the economic table. Read more...

Published

15 June 2016

Filed in

On TV & Radio, RDN's media outings
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