Margaret Thatcher, on a famous occasion, tapped an individual member in a group photo of Conservative MPs, and asked, “Is he one of us?” A vital question. Karl Marx took […]
Topic: ‘affiliation’
‘One of Us’ *
The country of the blind
There is an English proverb, “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” This is glib and ‘obvious’, and prompted H G Wells to write a memorable […]
The three economic classes
In Chaucer’s day, there were just two recognised classes: the nobility (which included the higher clergy) and the common people (who were simply defined by being not-noble). You will come […]
Political labels (‘left’ and ‘right’)
Since we are profoundly affiliative creatures, we are attracted to labels. Most are labels which would be rejected by the political group identified. It’s unlikely that a group of concerned […]
‘Sex’ and ‘gender’
I have included sex as a driving force in human life among my “demon drivers.” This is about ‘sex’ (and therefore ‘gender’) as a classification. President Trump recently declared, “there are […]
Tribes
In England, in late 2020, the former “Brexit” party re-branded itself as “Reform UK.” Because of its history as a Brexit party, it already had support, and the new party […]
Shoreham incident
In 1955, on a long summer holiday in England, my father rented a house in Shoreham, on the Sussex coast. This was when I met Brighton and Eastbourne, and fell […]
Back to the future?
(In 2025, landlords—and landladies—are lining up to support ‘Reform UK.’) Telephone Conversation Wole Soyinka (1962) The price seemed reasonable, location Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived Off premises. Nothing remained […]