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The Benign Aristocrats
The years 1951 to 1964 were years of undeniable prosperity and progress. They were the years in which Conservative Governments decided not to dismantle Labour’s National Health Service and Welfare State, and for this they must be given a certain amount of credit. The four prime ministers concerned were all from an aristocratic background, but they had learned very quickly that times had changed and that they had to change with them. The result was that these years (and the periods of Labour rule before and after) saw possibly the best governance that Britain has ever experienced. This book, written from an uncompromising Socialist and working-class background, gives a great deal of credit to “the benign aristocrats”, but does not minimise their failures, in particular the Suez affair of 1956.
£8.99 -
The Great Education Robbery
Nigel Gann explains how English schools provided by local councils and embedded in communities were grabbed by an authoritarian government and handed to billionaire business owners. Administrators and academics with knowledge and understanding built up over decades were replaced by a new ‘educational establishment’ of hedge-fund investors and political cronies. Utilising the ‘seven deadly sins’ of corporatised schools, a new ‘blob’ turned a public good into a milch cow for privately-educated politicians and their mates. Then they abandoned Europe and exploited a world-wide killer disease to corner the market in government contracts. But Gann offers a way forward.
"Nigel Gann's analysis should be read by anyone who is interested in the reality of how control of our schools has become much less democratic. The account of this experienced school governor and teacher makes compulsive reading."
Warwick Mansell, writer/editor of the website Education Uncovered.
“The book is an excellent read . . . I recommend it to all those involved in the school system in England – you will gain new and important insights.”
Chris James, Emeritus Professor of Educational Leadership and Management, Department of Education, University of Bath
“Nigel Gann offers an impassioned rejection of the celebrated gains of ‘academisation’ in the English education system and communicates a new vision of education, with public trust, transparency and localism at its core.” Dr Andrew Wilkins, Goldsmiths, University of London
“A fascinating read into the world of education through the lens of the forced academisation of a rural primary school.” Raj Unsworth, chair of governors, special advisor to Headteachers Roundtable
£11.99 -
To Kill or Not to Kill
Euthanasia emerged as a talking point for progressives and secularists in the West in the 1960s. Given that they simply appropriated (without anyone’s permission) control of national and private broadcasters, newspapers and university faculties, it became, eo ipso, a matter of public controversy.
Other modish enthusiasms of that period – sexual licentiousness and psychotropic drugs for example – have long been abandoned, but the quest for legislative sanctioning of the killing of the old and infirm and distressed never abated; not a parliamentary year passed in one of the Australian States, it seemed, or even at Commonwealth level, but another bill was placed on the notice paper. Well, in the states of Victoria and Western Australia, that bill is now an act as it is in Canada, various states in the USA, The Netherlands, Belgium and other nation states.
It has remained an Article of Faith for the left throughout all of the decades of post-modernity – just like that other form of authorised killing: abortion. Why is this? What is it about these issues that evoke in the minds and imaginations of liberals and leftists an almost millenarian enthusiasm?
It required a scholar of Father Fleming’s insight and experience to provide us with the explanation, in this, the latest and, in my view, most important of his publications.
His answer takes us to a close examination of the real legacy of the enlightenment, and it is not the benign and rational one that generations of us have been taught to believe in our schools. His careful unravelling of the three centuries of the secular project from Rousseau to Safe-Schools can leave us in no doubt as to what comes next if we don’t stand up for the Christian inheritance of our institutes. It was always about power. And power always ends up being about persecution.
Father Fleming has been a priest, a broadcaster, a controversialist and a scholar in his long and distinguished journey through public life.
His book will be essential reading for the many Christian folk of all denominations who now understand that our age will be one that will call upon them to be soldiers as well as servants for the church.
– Stuart H Lindsay, barrister and former federal circuit court judge
£15.99 -
Not All Quiet Before the Storm: A Political Study of the West
Not All Quiet Before the Storm: A Political Study of the West offers a comprehensive political and philosophical critique concerning the increasing popularity of socialism among liberal intellectuals, leftist generations of the young, and even Christian democrats. The author presents a series of extensive analyses on ideological, cultural, and generational wars, moral and identity issues, and the challenges facing the Western world in the twenty-first century.
The reader is to receive a severe but frank stricture upon liberal democracy, a condemnation of the globalizing elite and the Western world’s current political climate and culture.
The tone of the work is “politically incorrect,” describing the decline and socialist transformation of the West. The Left has changed the entire political and cultural landscape of the Western world. The breakdown of civil society was caused by individual rights not being paired with personal responsibility, and the growing culture of entitlements has convinced the people that failure is not their fault but results from the political-economic system’s transgressions. Westerners have abandoned the ethical basis for society, believing that all problems are solvable by “good government.”
The book offers recommendations on solving the readily apparent impasse. It outlines an alternative system termed the “New West”.£16.99 -
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman - A Scottish Life and UK Politics 1836-1908
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman’s brief tenure as British Prime Minister between 1905 and 1908 represents an important transition in the history both of the country and of the Liberal Party, where he might be said to have bridged the gap between the party of Gladstone and that of Asquith and Lloyd George. As Liberal Leader from 1899 to 1908, he was widely credited with the restoration of the fortunes of his party, and his time in office includes one of the greatest landslide victories in British politics, when the Liberals won almost 400 seats in the election of 1906.
Sir Henry’s distinguished political career included nearly forty years as the MP for the Scottish seat Stirling Burghs, Chief Secretary for Ireland, Secretary of State for War and, uniquely, ‘Father of the House’ (as the longest-serving MP in the House of Commons) at the same time that he was Prime Minister.
This is the first major biography of Sir Henry for forty years. It is also the first to be written by a Scot since 1914; indeed, it has been written about one former pupil of the High School of Glasgow by another.
‘Truly this is an intensively scholarly work which will do much to elevate Campbell-Bannerman’s reputation.’ – from the Foreword by David Steel (Lord Steel of Aikwood), Liberal Party leader, 1976-1988
£14.99 -
Abundanomics – Unlocking the Real Wealth of Nations
Scarcity has been the driving force of decision makers throughout the ages.
The necessity of choosing between competing wants and needs has always underpinned outcomes. However, we are now in an age of abundance – abundance in goods and services, information, in wealth, and abundance in ways to fairly distribute the rich bounty the world provides.
The problem is we don’t! The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. People across the world are dying of hunger, thirst, and curable disease in their millions every year.
We have the ability now, like never before, to rebalance the scales of humanity.
The aim of the book is to create discussion with a view to attaining a collective realisation and belief that we can build a better future for everyone.
£6.99 -
Political Islamism: Myth and Reality
Political Islam: Myth and Reality is a book that addresses the topic of Islamic political parties and movements within the Muslim societies contexts. The book delves into analyzing the definition of political Islam and the multi-layered means these Islamic groups use to identify themselves politically and how they practice their influence on the theology of the Islamic religion using different violent means.
The author highlights the consequences of Political Islam on international peace, security and prosperity and questions the credibility of their claim on establishing equitable and democratic societies, while highlighting the correlation between political Islam and violence and examining the case of Muslim Brotherhood Organization and how it became a role model for other groups to recreate similar movements and promote radicalism, extremism and terrorism. The author moves on to investigate the weakening and potential rebirth of political Islam in the aftermath of ISIS.
£6.99 -
Social Capitalism
Is Capitalism doomed; how long is its shelf-life? Can its promise of prosperity and the ‘good life’ be sustained? Have stories of its impending demise been exaggerated? If some soothsayers are to be believed it has been on a downward slippery slope at least since the financial crash over a decade ago, so that its days may well be numbered. This work analyses the place of the free market economy in modern society, distinguishes between neo-liberalism and traditional capitalism, and comes to quite different conclusions – as much for reasons of perception as for socio-economic realpolitik. But in the process some important conceptual myths need to be demolished: about the misunderstood role of the individual in modern society, about the absurdity of focusing on economic growth, about the unsustainability of current social inequalities and how they can be overcome, about the mirage of social mobility and the future of work. These issues can only be appreciated in their historical context – currently a yawning gap in any discussion of our current predicament. Suggestions are put forward as to how a reformed, ‘social’ capitalism would better serve the interests of the economy, the community and the individual – in a world where we must learn to consume less, travel less, and yes, work less – with the ultimate goal of greater dignity and justice for all.
£14.99 -
Can We Do Better?
If you prefer to think outside the box, then this book is for you. It is an insightful, penetrating, and far-reaching call to decency, integrity, and accountability. The book is a clarion call to re-evaluate our man-made world of dogmas, ideologies, myths, and masculine institutions and industries. It is a strongly worded call to embrace facts and critical thinking; especially, in the face of religious, political, and conspiratorial distortions of key human and environmental issues. Can We Do Better? is a clear-headed invitation to informed, rational and values-based citizenship, custodianship, and leadership. Necessarily, therefore, this book is a robust call to integrity and accountability in governance.Every chapter invites us to be aware, factual, honest, sensitive, compassionate, and responsible. In contrast to the modern prominence of individualistic transactional leveraging, this book advocates values-based relationships, communities, and ecologies.We men are invited to confront some ‘inconvenient truths’, and to learn from and internalise Yin-based wisdom. To promote Yin-based wisdom, this book encourages women and First Peoples to step forward as role models, educators, stewards, and leaders. In conjunction with Yin-based wisdom, this book argues that a critical mass of us need to embrace holistic and homeostatic systems principles and priorities.‘Holistic systems wisdom’ is crucial in reducing longstanding fragmentation, harms, suffering and disasters. So… be curious and read this compelling and innovative book.Look out for the publication of a ‘Companion Workbook’ that is designed to enable you to explore and apply the values and principles in Can We Do Better?
£15.99 -
Water Security at Risk in Australia, China and Japan
Peter Crawford is well known in Australia and internationally for his leadership in reforming governmental organisations and institutions, notably in environmental and water domains. In recent years he has focused on the role of political ideas and influence on national approaches to water management and water security. He is now one of the few international experts, who is both formally qualified and sufficiently experienced to write a book exploring the way politics and public policy formulation currently interact with science, social science and multiple interests in shaping national water security.
In studying water security in Australia, China and Japan, Dr Crawford has shown that despite the great difference between the political ideologies of the three nations, the exercise of political power has frequently had similar adverse impacts on national water security outcomes - especially when independent, evidence-backed advice has been ignored. Equally, the way each nation has modified major river systems, by giving priority to economic development, has frequently compromised current and future efforts to achieve the sustainability of these systems and their potential to contribute positively to national water security.
It becomes clear as the book progresses, that deterioration in national water security not only threatens human and environmental welfare but, if unchecked, could undermine future national welfare and prosperity in each nation. Yet, none of the three states under review has assigned water security the priority it deserves nor developed a national strategy to advance future water security. Other states could well benefit from analysis of this kind, by assessing the extent to which current policies and measures are impacting on national water security, followed by formulation of a strategy explicitly designed to improve future prospects.
£12.99 -
The Flight of the Gaels
The people of Scotland and Northern Ireland voted in the 2016 referendum to remain in the European Union. It is generally assumed that, whilst the public in these two jurisdictions might not be happy with the Brexit outcome, they will get used to it and adapt to a life as former Europeans.
The Flight of the Gaels demonstrates that there could be a set of circumstances in which this assumption is proved to be wide of the mark. The story begins in the UK and Irish Permanent Representations in Brussels and winds its way via a political research project at Ulster University and political lobbying in the United States and Europe to the establishment of a new political grouping in Scotland and Ireland. A constitutional earthquake follows, with the potential to transform the politics of the British Isles.
When this potential is realised, the political landscape that emerges is one that few could have predicted when the Brexit saga began in 2016.
£7.99 -
The Ignorance of Racism
Why are some people, organisations, and institutions racist and discriminatory? And why do they continue to repeat their racist acts over and over?
It is because ignorance has been promoted to a level where it is used as a justifiable mindset to perpetrate shameful and ignominious behaviour.
This book is written for everyone to use to inspire others or be inspired to stop racism.
£6.99
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