This will hurt me...

This is the moon. Have I mentioned how much I adore the zoom on my camera? It's Theme Thursday you see, and after last week's limp effort, I have been thinking about how I might redeem myself. Then I clicked on the topic and discover that it was BUTTON. We've been hearing a lot about the moon in the past couple of weeks. Apparently some fellas went up there and played golf and what-not forty-odd years ago. The desire to get to the moon, however, was not simply about enhancing opportunities for Meg and Mog titles and skirting local planning by-laws in the construction of new and innovative golf courses. No, all of your Sputniks , "One small steps" and freeze dried ice cream was about one thing , and one thing only : MAD Now, I don't mean mad in terms of "bloke breaks record for number of scorpions he can get up his bum", no I mean MAD as in Mutual assured destruction . When I was a young man you see, there was a lot of talk about the type of m...

Here is Henry zealously approaching the slide down at Bicentennial Park for the umpteenth time. Oh how I long for those blissful, carefree and innocent days of youth. A time when one's greatest concern tended towards whether one would be able to squeeze in one more go of the slide before dusk set in. [Such a memory must have been before the public housing estate really kicked off, and one's concern tended towards "is that a human poo/broken glass/a used condom/syringe on the slide?"] Where was I? Ah,the heady days of youth! A time far away from the realisation of the crushing reality of bills, mortgages and the soul destroying banality of a job you now struggle to remember even getting. Alienated from the ends of my production? Check. Uh oh. Somehow I've been denied my capacity to transform the world and it turns out that Marx was right! In having to work , rather than slide , I've become alienated from my very own nature. It is a spiritual, rather than mate...

Here is Ezra's reaction to the news that eminent political theorist Bernard Crick had died . Although he was a good age, Ez couldn’t help but be saddened by the news. You see, unlike Henry – naturally attracted to the political firebrands like Robespierre or Trotsky – Ezra is a conciliator, thus naturally Crick was his kind of guy. Essentially a moderniser rather than a radical, Crick’s notion of political reform appeals to Ezra’s astute sense of balance and responsibility. Like myself, Ezra was attracted to Crick primary through his masterful In Defence of Politics (1962). At a time of ideological tumult, the book reasserted the importance of politics and the nobility of the political vocation to an age that seemed either apolitical or anti-political in character. For Crick, the ideologically driven leader – think Castro, Mugabe or Chavez – practises a form of anti-politics , in which the goal is the mobilisation of the populace towards a common end – even if it means killing som...

The no bill posters building that I featured yesterday also seems to be a favourite of the anti-New World Order crowd (remember them?) I quite like their stencil work (it’s better than the “dick” written on our fence), even if you get a little tired of being told how horrid Americans are (and, consequently, how horrid anyone is that might take issue with lumping 400 million-odd into one vile basket). You see, there is something inherently offensive about people that are seemingly driven to lecture high-minded principles about the way one should or should not live (and indeed the way that one should or should not think ; yet at the same time exhibit a kind of hypocrisy that is as extreme as their political and cultural viewpoints. Of course, this tendency towards extremism does not limit itself to a particular set of pre-conditions (other than ideological certainty). I have seen it in libertarians and communists; Christians, Muslims and atheists; left and right. On one score, I can’t he...

Another day, another building. For whatever reason, being back at work prompts me to post images of the conformity of cities; to reflect on the monotony and lack of individuality inherent in modern, bureaucratised times. I’m not a wholesale subscriber to Weber’s notion of an ‘iron cage’ of rationality (I prefer it to irrationality, at least), but when you’re looking from the inside, occasionally you do very much catch his drift. By golly I need some sleep.

Politics can be an exciting, boring, uplifting, depressing and downright nasty business. It always has been. For these reasons I have made it the focus of my study for an awfully long time, but also for these reasons I more often than not try to avoid following it at all costs. I was going to do this whole positive bit on 'politics' being essentially about the conciliation and compromise of innumerable issues in the pursuit of maintaining peace, harmony and (hopefully) prosperity that is (roughly) 'just/fair', but my heart just isn't in it. Against my better judgment, I decided have a look around at some of the reaction to Sarah Palin being chosen as McCain's Vice-President nomination, but the discussion is just so split along partisan lines that I just can't be bothered. There are an awful lot of hateful people out there who seem to confuse 'righteous anger' with 'coherent argument'. My free time at the moment is WAY too valuable to waste ti...

A two for one deal today. I couldn't resist posting this one. I have mused quite a bit on young Henry's dictatorial tendencies, and this image today gave rise to thought that perhaps Ezra will join the totalitarian tot in his approach. Look at that stern gaze, that stiff arm salute. He could be anything. Even the scantest knowledge of recent history will tell you that it is a worrying sign . People ask me what it is like to have a couple of little potential Übermenschen here, and I reply that it is best to always be on my guard. As one of the ruling elite in the household, I am always on the lookout for potential coups, and the evidence thus far indicates that it seems to be in both of these fellow's blood. Power-sharing agreements might buy me some time, but how long?

A number of days ago I spoke about a concept often used in teaching political science called The Tragedy of the Commons . To illustrate, I used one of my stock examples, that of whaling. Today, I could not help but photograph another of my hoard of examples to demonstrate public policy problems, which may be more readily apparent to people the world over. The building in which my office is located houses a number of businesses. Each floor of the converted warehouse has a small kitchenette, shared between offices. There are just three offices on the top floor, ours; a barrister/solicitor office; and an IT crowd who seems to do some sort of animation. As one might expect, the barrister and staff are all very neat and tidy, and for the most part our lot buy their lunch and don’t really use the kitchenette. I do, however, enjoy an instant coffee on a cold morning, so regularly use the kettle. That is generally the extent of my usage. The IT crowd, predictably, consists of a group of young,...

No, we’re not talking witches today; we’re talking about one of the prime industries that Tasmania (or Van Diemen’s Land , as it was then) has ever seen, albeit fleetingly. The years 1836 to 1841 marked the peak of the Tasmanian whaling industry , in 1836 there were nine stations in and about Hobart. By 1841, thirty-five bay whaling stations in Tasmania were manned by more than 1000 men, but by then they had managed to kill the goose that lay the golden eggs. I have always found the rise and fall of the Tasmanian whaling industry a really useful example of what Stephen Lukes calls ‘ the Tragedy of the Commons ’. Putting on the political science hat for a moment, the tragedy of the commons is best understood as a kind of social trap that involves a conflict over finite resources between individual interests and the common good. Hardin concluded that free and unregulated access and unrestricted demand for a finite resource ultimately - through its very structure - dooms the resource thro...

When? This afternoon at around four o'clock. Where? Salamanca Place. Silos end. Why? Waiting for inspiration. All of this reading about Hitler has forced me back to the German Idealist philosophers. I have mentioned my interest in the Idealist School on this blog previously , and retain the admiration developed for them a few years ago now. As an aside, I will admit to having a particular fondness for Fichte, and am forcefully making the case for the present bump to be called Johann or Gottlieb should it turn out to be a boy. I do not expect to be victorious. But back to Hitler and the idealists. It seems tragic to me that to many, Hitler was in many respects the culmination of Hegelian thought. Yet, as in many aspects of his life, Hitler was just a tad off course on his interpretation. And thinking about this, I was reminded of Hegel's last words, which I have heard to have been: "Only one man ever understood me... And he didn't understand me." Some say that ...

Someone e-mailed me a page of ersatz figurines/dollies yesterday and it gave me a chuckle. It essentially imagines a range of action toys dedicated to Western philosophers. The logic is that now – with the help of modern technology – the "greatest minds of all time now have great bodies to match". However, I couldn't help but notice some notable omissions. As a great fan of the German Idealists , I wouldn't mind seeing a " Fighting" Fichte (my own personal favourite), or "Stunning" Schelling . More obviously, no "Magnificent" Marx OR "Exacting" Engels ? That's just plain wrong! [As an aside, anyone who wants to fund my draft film script envisioning The Young Hegelians as a sexy group of private eyes who fight crime by day and make love all night, give me a call!] And even if I've gone off them a bit over the last few years, there clearly has to be scope for a whole set dedicated to the Frankfurt School . I mean really...