Workspace

It may not be much but it’s mine. Particularly the new triangular shelf unit which I acquired today.


Yesterday was electrodes. Today was blood tests. My right arm may sue for divorce if I don’t give it a day off soon.

Work by contrast was like a malfunctioning roller coaster: things were upside down, back to front and hanging in the air at various times, but everything was slow. No spills but no thrills either.

I called into Useful Wood (our local timber co-op offering rehab employment) on the way home from the GP at lunchtime to get them to make up some shelves for the bike shed and garage for me. Super helpful and nice people. That’s where I got my triangular shelf from. I am going to paint and decorate it.

Just finished reading “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion” by Jonathan Haidt. It’s an informative book which argues essentially that human beings are by nature deeply conservative because their thinking is still governed by innate concerns such as security, tribe, hierarchy etc. More radical agendas such as care and equality are held dear only by relative minorities. There is a research base to this, which he goes into in some detail and with some interesting case studies and cross references to the world of anthropology, sociology and political theory. 

He is, in particular, a big fan of Durkheim and argues that most of us need solid structures and reference points or we (and society) will break down; religion and class structures once provided these but industrialisation led to a modern world where the edges (and in some cases the centre) started to fall away and this caused polarisation and disillusion. In this theory, Brexit can be explained by a majority wanting a return to the familiar with the minority being branded a metropolitan elite pursuing interests that don’t appeal to the majority. Similarly the Trump phenomenon and the rise of authoritarianism across the globe.

The book’s two central weaknesses are that it was published in 2013, since when we have seen a massive acceleration in the pernicious influence of social media and the ability to manipulate reality; but equally importantly he doesn’t focus enough on issues that really matter such as climate change, violence against women, and inequality. His focus is on explaining and moderating polarisation and restoring civility in difference, when the real threat at the moment is right wing extremism; people like Trump and Bolsanaro aren’t going to meet you halfway on the things that could destroy us and have created a false narrative to sustain the momentum of their movements and to try and make their positions unassailable. Food for thought as we come up to the American elections in November and the possibility of a no-deal Brexit in January 2021.

Now what shall I read next ...