Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

[Mon 12th Sep 2011] Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, with Owen Jones (London, WC1B 3QE)

Pickman's model said:
sorry - was this an ma at oxford or an oxford ma? an oxford ma is (or at least was until very recently) available for any oxford graduate waiting a year and paying something like £14. as opposed to an ma from anywhere else (except for cambridge, where again at least until recently the same thing applied).
Click to expand...

didn't know that was the case (what are they like with their funny ways)

I think it was the former though, a Masters at Oxford - as he stated the topic that it was done on and said he'd 'completed' a Masters there
 
I'm meant to be interviewing him soon - I'll ask why he didn't pay more attention to IWCA when he was in Oxford.
 
love detective said:
didn't know that was the case (what are they like with their funny ways)

I think it was the former though, a Masters at Oxford - as he stated the topic that it was done on and said he'd 'completed' a Masters there
Click to expand...
so what? If he's had a good education then good luck to him, at least he's putting his skills into something worthwhile. I never really got this workerist petty jealousy thing. And btw Owen's parents were full timers for Militant back in the day so despite his 'middle class' background I doubt he grew up in the lap of luxury:D
 
eh - I was answering a question from Pickman's Model - there was no value judgement in that post

(the original comment however was not so much about privilege but an implied general comment on today's professionalised political class who go straight from university and into politics - do you think this is a good thing in general?)
 
love detective said:
eh - I was answering a question from Pickman's Model - there was no value judgement in that post

(the original comment however was not so much about privilege but an implied general comment on today's professionalised political class who go straight from university and into politics - do you think this is a good thing in general?)
Click to expand...
no I don't think it's a good thing. Neither does Owen, he covers this extensively in the book
 
so when he was at school then? like william hague?

he graduated in 2005 yes and he's 26 now - so that would make him around 20 when he graduated and 17 when he started university

anyroads you seem to miss the point of the criticism which is people with no real life experience of work going straight into politics (mainly from Oxford & Cambridge)
 
love detective said:
so when he was at school then? like william hague?

he graduated in 2005 yes and he's 26 now - so that would make him around 20 when he graduated and 17 when he started university

anyroads you seem to miss the point of the criticism which is people with no real life experience of work going straight into politics (mainly from Oxford & Cambridge)
Click to expand...
I suppose his education could have got him into a lot of comfortable positions within Nu Labour, instead he had choosen to side with us in the LRC, and promote the class struggle in the mainstream media, for that he had my unconditional solidarity:)
 
dynamicbaddog said:
I suppose his education could have got him into a lot of comfortable positions within Nu Labour, instead he had choosen to side with us in the LRC, and promote the class struggle in the mainstream media, for that he had my unconditional solidarity:)
Click to expand...
Despite the fact that he's an example of the kind of politics he's arguing against?
 
And tbh as others have said, it looks like he's headed for a cushy media career, but on the alt-left edge.
 
dynamicbaddog said:
As long as he remains true to his socialist principles then if he can get a cushy job, good luck to him,
I'm not a workerist.
Click to expand...
You think that socialism can exist sustained by purity of soul and strength of belief? Myself I'd say that a real connection to working class experience is neccessary before someone can speak for or campaign for the working class.
 
Random said:
You think that socialism can exist sustained by purity of soul and strength of belief? Myself I'd say that a real connection to working class experience is neccessary before someone can speak for or campaign for the working class.
Click to expand...

He lives in Hackney ffs! And he's an activist in the LRC - so he does have a very real connection with our class. And btw he has never ever claimed to speak for us.
 
dynamicbaddog said:
He lives in Hackney ffs! And he's an activist in the LRC - so he does have a very real connection with our class.
Click to expand...
You know this socialism you're talkinga bout sounds a lot like blair's christian socialism. Nice people are nice because they're involved with nice campaigns. What ever happened to looking at class and material circumstances?
 
'And btw Owen's parents were full timers for Militant back in the day so despite his 'middle class' background I doubt he grew up in the lap of luxury:D'

pity him....
 
dynamicbaddog said:
He lives in Hackney ffs! And he's an activist in the LRC - so he does have a very real connection with our class. And btw he has never ever claimed to speak for us.
Click to expand...

Can I apologise in advance if I am having a sense of humour bypass and your post wasn't intend to be taken seriously. But, have you visited Hackney recently? The cloth caps are worn by web designers. The whippet owners work in advertising and real ale is the preserve of the media wankers. Residency in the Borough I call home is not evidence of having an understanding of working class experience. I say this as someone who congratulated Owen for speaking some sense on TV when I bumped into him on a demo.
 
have you read the book dynamicbaddog?

According to Owen:-

Without inflicting my life story on you, my mother was a lecturer at Salford University, and my dad was an economic regeneration officer for Sheffield city council. I grew up in an educated milieu and simply followed in the footsteps of fairly well-paid, professional people who'd gone to university. I did not suffer from the instability and stresses that scraping by in life can cause a family. Even when my dad lost his job during the fag-end of the last Tory government, I still enjoyed relative financial security. Like all people with my background, I will almost certainly die as I was born: middle-class.
Click to expand...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/01/social-mobility-dead-end
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

stethoscope
London Anarchist Bookfair 2024
2 3 4 5
Replies
147
Views
6K
redsquirrel
R
C
Anarchism Down Under-London ACG Public Meeting , Monday Sept. 25th
Replies
0
Views
294
charlie mowbray
C
C
Land Justice Fair-Make London a Commons! July 21st
Replies
11
Views
645
Sasaferrato
Sasaferrato
BristolEcho
Wage Theft Workshop (Bristol) - 19th October 2024
Replies
1
Views
350
seventh bullet
seventh bullet
Lee Japser
Urgent: Baroness Louise Casey's Review into the Culture of the Metropolitan Police Service Public Meeting Karibu Centre Mon 24th Oct 6 pm
2 3
Replies
74
Views
3K
kenny g
kenny g
Back
Top Bottom