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Published: April 24th 2008
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Ah, Great Britain. Free health care, affordable housing, cheap groceries, and easy transport- sounds great? Don't make love in the street just yet...
I feel like discussing this because I have been required to understand housing policy in Britain, among other things, as part of my programme. When I arrived in this country I was a left-leaning moderate. Now I am calling that into question. I wouldn't have guessed that would happen, but it is nonetheless a direct result of the ultra-liberalness of the LSE student body (and curriculum to some degree). Now, being a radical myself in some sense, this didn't bother me. However, I did come here to get an outstanding education. I believe I will have achieved that goal soon, but it will be partly as a result of my own branching-out from the assigned coursework. It seems that every required reading is laced with a gender-rights-save-the-poor-while-planting-a-tree attitude. I'll be trying to read about labour markets, soaking in every word trying to understand a complex system, and suddenly BAM, feminization, organic food...what the hell? While a few of these subjects are important to me (indeed I do care about the less advantaged, though I prefer my food
what?
Make love not taxes to be well processed and available at a competitive price), I find that it corrupts the science I'm trying to study. If nothing else, its a big distraction to me. Also, its sort of a two-fold slap in the face. One, I'm paying for this. Personally, I'm not falling for the guilt trip. Some of the academics in my subject need to get a grip.
Observations on Right and Left Among the people I knew in California and elsewhere in the United States, there were both liberals and conservative, Democrats and Republicans, (X and Y, or any nominal divisive term you can think of). However, it seemed that whichever camp someone said they belonged to, most people were pretty reasonable, and you couldn't really tell what someone thought unless you talked about it.
Most of the friends I've made here are very liberal. They go to marches, rallies and protests a couple times a month the way I would get my truck detailed. They are mostly either foreign-born or the children of immigrants. Several are English* (and tend to just enjoy drinking more than the rally stuff). I have made great friends from the many people I've met here. There were some fellow students I met at the beginning of the year who I now avoid. They represent the way I see much of the non-finance half of LSE- they have an obsession with other peoples' problems.I think many of these people, while they genuinely care, are just doing whats expected of them. Why not go to every single panel discussion by every student society** on religion and Starbucks-kills-Africans, followed by ethnic food and wine and a short film on Gaza? Thats what being at LSE is all about! Sounds like fun for them, I just don't want to hear about it- as I have to go home and read about how women in factories in China are oppressed because they're not allowed to flirt or something... Perhaps the give-give-give attitude is more the post-Thatcher British attitude in general. But just remember, the reflex to the giving is take-take-take. Government taking taxes. People taking government handouts like healthcare and cheap housing***.
I do have conservative and libertarian friends. They have just as much fun, but behave a bit differently than the others. They have met the queen, have flats in Chelsea, and tend to keep to themselves on matters of opinion. An easy distinction to make would be that these people have money, but that is not always the case. Besides, everyone on both 'sides' of this scenario goes to an 'elite' school in an 'elite' place, and arguably has just as much chance to to anything from this point on. They coming to understand that the free market, as one of the main principles contained in this version of conservativism, rather than social justice, is more to the greater good in the long run. Isn't that what the liberals want, the greater good? So what if someone makes a profit along the way, thats what drives innovation, they say. Okay, so some people (though its not a prerequisite) with this view seem callous, or cold-hearted. They don't, however, seem distracted in life. Perhaps that is the common denominator among the ultra-liberal friends: not family background or college major, rather not wanting to decide on life, to grow up. And I don't mean that in an insulting way. I suppose it makes sense, going to every single public lecture, feeling like they're fighting for a cause- it reflects a desire perhaps not to settle down, decide on a career just yet, become inward-focused.
But of these caricatures I've sketched, where am I to be found? I'd love to meet the queen, but I don't want to settle down yet either. Still in the middle, just pushed harder by both sides- and honestly the left is pushing me a bit too hard. I'll do my best to keep my balance.
*A note of clarity regarding the terms British, English, and United Kingdom, as this can get confusing. The UK is a country, and contained within are the semi-autonomous regions of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. While these are often thought of as countries as well, none has power over the other. I.e., Wales is not under rule by England, but rather its own sets of laws and those of the central UK government (though the central government is based in England). The term Britain refers both to the island itself (as in the British Isles), and the culture and people contain therein. One may be black, Muslim, an immigrant, etc. and be British. The people of Scotland are British (though I'm a bit uncertain about whether the Welsh identify with the term). It is often said that a certain behaviour is 'very British'. Further, the term English is more used to refer to the ethnic identity of British white Anglo descent, and includes its own culture set that is adopted to a large degree by British culture. Tea, the English breakfast- those are basically British tradition as well, not exclusive to the English. Do not, however, refer to a Welsh or Scottish or native-born Indian person as English, as you will offend basically everyone. Oh, and the Irish are just the Irish.
**There have been important lectures by the likes of Greenspan, the director of the FBI, etc., though these are generally arranged by either the school itself, not student societies, or by student groups related to finance or international relations, etc.
***A lot of people seem to be content in social housing, despite the peeling paint. I don't know how. Talk about depressing places to even walk past! Not even in South Central, or East LA (where creative land uses abound), or in the Appalachians, (where at least there is natural beauty) have I seen such bleak places to live. And people champion these things as the way out of the 'evil' private rented sector.
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Kev
Kevin Drain
Additionally
I should add that I do believe development studies are good, gender issues still need to be addressed better, charity can be righteous, etc. etc... It's just hard to understand the obsession with it.