I just can't be bothered to blog at the moment. The discipline required, such as it is, is shot to hell. More time is spent in the garden listening to music. Now if I had a laptop with a wireless card...Anyway, the brain hasn't entirely switched off. I'm reading two cracking books at the moment that mix political theory and the history of political thought in a very interesting way.
I'm almost finished Fear: The History of a Political Idea by Corey Robin. It's a startlingly original and lucid tome and it shows how the political dimensions of fear have shaped our institutions and culture even in liberal democracies. Corey Robin is a young American political scientist and he generates fresh insights in practically every page. Last weekend I picked up Setting the People Free: The Story of Democracy by John Dunn, Professor of Political Theory at the University of Cambridge. Given the obscure origins of democracy in ancient Athens two and a half thousand years ago, Dunn wants to discover how is it that it has become the "sole basis on which it is decent to claim political power" in any modern community? I'll return to this after I get more into the book.
I hear the weather will change at the weekend. If so a trip to the cinema will be in order. Any suggestions?
Haven't seen it, but given your interests, what about Election? http://www.ifi.ie/cinema/dispfilm.asp?filmID=5116
Posted by: Luke Mc | July 28, 2006 at 12:24 PM
Little Fish
Posted by: copernicus | August 01, 2006 at 05:26 AM