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How We Invented Freedom & Why It Matters by Daniel Hannan Pdf
This book tells the story of freedom and explains how it is a uniquely 'British', rather than 'Western', invention. It shows how the inhabitants of a damp island at the western tip of the Eurasian landmass stumbled upon the extraordinary idea that the state was the servant, and not the master, of the individual. This revolutionary concept created security of property and contract which, in turn, led to industrialization and modern capitalism. For the first time in the history of the species, a system grew up which, on the whole, rewarded production over predation. The system was carried across the oceans by English-speakers – sometimes colonial administrators, sometimes patriotic settlers – where in Philadelphia 1787, it was distilled into its purest and most sublime form as the US Constitution. Freedom is the key to the success of the English-speaking peoples and this book teaches us to keep fast to that legacy and, in our turn, to pass it intact to the next generation.
Why does the world speak English? Why does every country at least pretend to aspire to representative government, personal freedom, and an independent judiciary? In The New Road to Serfdom, British politician Daniel Hannan exhorted Americans not to abandon the principles that have made our country great. Inventing Freedom is a much more ambitious account of the historical origin and spread of those principles, and their role in creating a sphere of economic and political liberty that is as crucial as it is imperiled. According to Hannan, the ideas and institutions we consider essential to maintaining and preserving our freedoms—individual rights, private property, the rule of law, and the institutions of representative government—are not broadly "Western" in the usual sense of the term. Rather they are the legacy of a very specific tradition, one that was born in England and that we Americans, along with other former British colonies, inherited. The first English kingdoms, as they emerged from the Dark Ages, already had unique characteristics that would develop into what we now call constitutional government. By the tenth century, a thousand years before most modern countries, England was a nation-state whose people were already starting to define themselves with reference to inherited common-law rights. The story of liberty is the story of how that model triumphed. How, repressed after the Norman Conquest, it reasserted itself; how it developed during the civil wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries into the modern liberal-democratic tradition; how it was enshrined in a series of landmark victories—the Magna Carta, the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, the U.S. Constitution—and how it came to defeat every international rival. Yet there was nothing inevitable about it. Anglosphere values could easily have been snuffed out in the 1940s. And they would not be ascendant today if the Cold War had ended differently. Today we see those ideas abandoned and scorned in the places where they once went unchallenged. The current U.S. president, in particular, seems determined to deride and traduce the Anglosphere values that the Founders took for granted. Inventing Freedom explains why the extraordinary idea that the state was the servant, not the ruler, of the individual evolved uniquely in the English-speaking world. It is a chronicle of the success of Anglosphere exceptionalism. And it is offered at a time that may turn out to be the end of the age of political freedom.
Developments in British Politics 10 by Richard Heffernan,Colin Hay,Meg Russell,Philip Cowley Pdf
In recent years British politics has seemed increasingly unpredictable. The Conservative Party's return to single-party government in 2015 surprised commentators and the electorate alike, and Labour's choice of Jeremy Corbyn as its leader marked a striking change in direction for the party. Cuts to public welfare and spending have led to growing dissatisfaction among sections of the public, and the increasing popularity of parties critical of the government's immigration, economic and social policies appears to represent a call for fundamental change in British politics. With a question mark hanging over the country's global standing following the EU referendum, and with further calls for Scottish independence, Britain's immediate future seems uncertain. In the 10th edition of this highly acclaimed text, leading authorities reflect on the latest developments in British politics. Drawing on current research, the chapters provide a state-of-the-art, yet accessible, account of British politics today. All the chapters are newly commissioned for this edition and together they provide a systematic analysis of key trends, issues and debates. Topics covered include the legacy of Cameron's governments, the politics of austerity, immigration, and the question of what, if anything, is distinctively 'British' about the British political system.
International Medievalisms by Leverhulme Early Career Fellow Mary Boyle,Mary Boyle Pdf
Identifies and investigates international medievalism through three distinct strands: "Internationally Nationalist", "Someone Else's Past?", and "Activist Medievalism". Medievalism - the reception of the Middle Ages - often invokes a set of tropes generally considered 'medieval', rather than consciously engaging with medieval cultures and societies. International medievalism offers an additional interpretative layer by juxtaposing two or more national cultures, at least one of which is medieval. 'National' can be aspirational: it might refer to the area within agreed borders, or to the people who live there, but it might also describe the people who understand, or imagine, themselves to constitute a nation. And once 'medieval' becomes simply a collection of ideas, it can be re-formed as desired, cast as more geographically than historically specific, or function as a gateway to an even more nebulous past. This collection identifies and investigates international medievalism through three distinct strands, 'Internationally Nationalist', 'Someone Else's Past?', and 'Activist Medievalism', exploring medievalist media from the textual to the architectural. Subjects range from The Green Children of Woolpit to Refugee Tales, and from Viking metal to Joan of Arc. As the contributors to each section make clear, for centuries the medieval has provided material for countless competing causes and cannot be contained within historical, political, or national borders. The essays show how the medieval is repeatedly co-opted and recreated, formed as much as formative: inviting us to ask why, and in service of what.
Transition Point: From Steam to the Singularity by Sean A. Culey Pdf
We live in disruptive times. The world is changing faster than ever before, leaving people dazed, businesses struggling, economies floundering and societies fracturing. But why? Transition Point is the result of over five years of research to establish the answer; a breathtaking tale of freedom, unintended consequences and disruptive technologies that starts 1000 years ago and ends up in the second half of the 21st Century. Starting with an examination into the drivers of technological change and the social, economic and political factors that both enable or suppress it, Transition Point explains why industrialisation happened where and when it did, why progress comes in waves, and why the technologies in the current wave, such as robotics, blockchain and AI, are likely to be the most disruptive of all. It then addresses the million-dollar question: what’s next? What impact will this wave have on our businesses, our economies and most importantly, on our society? Culey explores how our current trajectory could result in a new golden age, but also how it is just as likely to result in a digital dictatorship of compliance and constant surveillance. Finally, he explains why we may soon see Homo sapiens’ role as the dominant species come to an end. As Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, stated; "We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before." Transition Point explains why this is happening, what it means, and why the decisions we make now will prove to be critical.
The Anglo-American Tradition of Liberty by João Carlos Espada Pdf
Joao Carlos Espada's provocative survey of a group of key Anglo-American and European political thinkers argues that there is a distinctive, Anglo-American tradition of liberty that is one of the core pillars of the Free World. Giving a broad overview of the tradition through summaries of the careers and ideas of fourteen of its key thinkers, neglected despite having been tremendously influential in the tradition of liberty, the author engages with current set ideas about the meaning of 'liberal' and 'conservative' to offer an engaging, intellectual case for liberal democracy.
A Magna Carta for all Humanity by Francesca Klug Pdf
The Magna Carta, sealed in 1215, has come to stand for the rule of law, curbs on executive power and the freedom to enjoy basic liberties. When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations in 1948, it was heralded as 'a Magna Carta for all human kind'. Yet in the year in which this medieval Charter’s 800th anniversary is widely celebrated, the future of the UK’s commitment to international human rights standards is in doubt. Are ‘universal values’ commendable as a benchmark by which to judge the rest of the world, but unacceptable when applied ‘at home’? Francesca Klug takes us on a journey through time, exploring such topics as ‘British values,’ ‘natural rights,’ ‘enlightenment values’ and ‘legal rights,’ to convey what is both distinctive and challenging about the ethic and practice of universal human rights. It is only through this prism, she argues, that the current debate on human rights protection in the UK can be understood. This book will be of interest to students of British Politics, Law, Human Rights and International Relations.
Embers of Empire in Brexit Britain by Stuart Ward,Astrid Rasch Pdf
While the British Empire is long gone, it survives as a recurring flashpoint in heated debates about the present and future of Britain and the nations over which Britain once ruled. Embers of Empire in Brexit Britain turns a critical eye to the widely-held notion that the long shadow of the imperial past has much to answer for, and asks to what extent should the residual after-effects of Britain's colonial empire be taken at face value? From the 'Rhodes must fall' controversy and contested anniversaries to immigration scares and the question of what Britishness is in a post-imperial world, an eclectic mix of expert researchers, writers and commentators consider the legacy of the British empire in the battle over Brexit. As the United Kingdom haggles its way out of the European Union and casts about for an alternative future, this volume shows how the memory of the empire is still as potent a political force as ever.
Intellectual property rights (IPR) are a force for good. People could harness their power more. The book describes the UK and global environment in which people can build personal wealth from IP. At its core is the statistic that approximately 70 per cent of a firms value is in its IP, which is generated by people. Changing the environment would help more people build personal wealth from IPR. That includes a better industrialization environment that delivers national competitive advantage through IPR. Author William Jones describes the ecosystem within which people generate and exploit IPR, using many examples, snapshots, and observations, as well as structured disciplines. The book takes a look at this ecosystem through the lens of the individual and IPR and more specifically, the underpinning idea is that people can build their wealth by ensuring that IP works for them. It highlights factors that can influence an individuals ability to be successful. It suggests new ideas to provide a better platform for building personal wealth. The book doesnt fall neatly into any genre of, for example, investment, economics, law, or politics. Rather, it integrates or synthesizes a different position and new genre which exists above or to one side of these.
Winner of the PROSE Award An NRC Handelsblad Best Book of the Year “Ambitious and impressive...At a time when the very survival of both freedom and democracy seems uncertain, books like this are more important than ever.” —The Nation “Helps explain how partisans on both the right and the left can claim to be protectors of liberty, yet hold radically different understandings of its meaning...This deeply informed history of an idea has the potential to combat political polarization.” —Publishers Weekly “Ambitious and bold, this book will have an enormous impact on how we think about the place of freedom in the Western tradition.” —Samuel Moyn, author of Not Enough “Brings remarkable clarity to a big and messy subject...New insights and hard-hitting conclusions about the resistance to democracy make this essential reading for anyone interested in the roots of our current dilemmas.” —Lynn Hunt, author of History: Why It Matters For centuries people in the West identified freedom with the ability to exercise control over the way in which they were governed. The equation of liberty with restraints on state power—what most people today associate with freedom—was a deliberate and dramatic rupture with long-established ways of thinking. So what triggered this fateful reversal? In a masterful and surprising reappraisal of more than two thousand years of Western thinking about freedom, Annelien de Dijn argues that this was not the natural outcome of such secular trends as the growth of religious tolerance or the creation of market societies. Rather, it was propelled by an antidemocratic backlash following the French and American Revolutions. The notion that freedom is best preserved by shrinking the sphere of government was not invented by the revolutionaries who created our modern democracies—it was first conceived by their critics and opponents. De Dijn shows that far from following in the path of early American patriots, today’s critics of “big government” owe more to the counterrevolutionaries who tried to undo their work.
Digitalization of Society and Socio-political Issues 2 by Éric George Pdf
Digitalization is a long socio-historic process in which all areas of society's activities are reconfigured. In the first volume of Digitalization of Society and Socio-political Issues, there is an examination of the transformations linked to the development of digital platforms and social media which affect cultural and communicational industries. The book also analyzes the formation of Big Data, their algorithmic processing and the societal changes which result from them (social monitoring and control in particular). Through diverse critical reflections, it equally presents different ways that digital participates in relations of power and domination, and contributes to eventual emancipatory practices. Following on, the second volume examines the transformations that are linked to digital practices that affect the production, circulation and consumption of information, as well as new forms that are taken by social mobilizations. It treats several important issues in the digital era that are more likely to become the subject of public debates, among which one can include the renewed relationship between research and digital. Through diverse critical reflections, it equally presents different ways that digital participates in relations of power and domination, and contributes to eventual emancipatory practices.
Political decisions are never taken in a vacuum but are shaped both by current events and historical context. In other words, long-term developments and patterns in which the accumulated memory of what came earlier, can greatly (and sometimes subconsciously) influence subsequent policy choices. Working forward from the later seventeenth century, this book explores the ‘deep history’ of the changing and competing understandings within the Tory party of the role Britain has aspired to play on a world stage. Conservatism has long been one of the major British political tendencies, committed to the defence of established institutions, with a strong sense of the ‘national interest’, and embracing both ‘liberal’ and ‘authoritarian’ views of empire. The Tory party has, moreover, at several times been deeply divided, if not convulsed, by different perspectives on Britain’s international orientation and different positions on foreign and imperial policy. Underlying Tory beliefs upon which views of Britain’s global role were built were often not stated but assumed. As a result they tend to be obscured from historical view. This book seeks to recover and reconsider those beliefs, and to understand how the Tory party has sought to navigate its way through the difficult pathways of foreign and imperial politics, and why this determination outlasted Britain’s rapid decolonisation and was apparently remarkably little affected by it. With a supporting cast from Pitt to Disraeli, Churchill to Thatcher, the book provides a fascinating insight into the influence of history over politics. Moreover it argues that there has been an inherent politicisation of the concept of national interests, such that strategic culture and foreign policy cannot be understood other than in terms of a historically distorted political debate.
Keita Ali is on the run. Like every boy on the mountainous island of Zantoroland, running is all Keita’s ever wanted to do. In one of the poorest nations in the world, running means respect. Running means riches—until Keita is targeted for his father’s outspoken political views and discovers he must run for his family’s survival. He signs on with notorious marathon agent Anton Hamm, but when Keita fails to place among the top finishers in his first race, he escapes into Freedom State—a wealthy island nation that has elected a government bent on deporting the refugees living within its borders in the community of AfricTown. Keita can stay safe only if he keeps moving and eludes Hamm and the officials who would deport him to his own country, where he would face almost certain death. This is the new underground: a place where tens of thousands of people deemed to be “illegal” live below the radar of the police and government officials. As Keita surfaces from time to time to earn cash prizes by running local road races, he has to assess whether the people he meets are friends or enemies: John Falconer, a gifted student struggling to escape the limits of his AfricTown upbringing; Ivernia Beech, a spirited old woman at risk of being forced into an assisted living facility; Rocco Calder, a recreational marathoner and the immigration minister; Lula DiStefano, self-declared queen of AfricTown and madam of the community’s infamous brothel; and Viola Hill, a reporter who is investigating the lengths to which her government will go to stop illegal immigration. Keita’s very existence in Freedom State is illegal. As he trains in secret, eluding capture, the stakes keep getting higher. Soon, he is running not only for his life, but for his sister’s life, too. Fast moving and compelling, The Illegal casts a satirical eye on people who have turned their backs on undocumented refugees struggling to survive in a nation that does not want them. Hill’s depiction of life on the borderlands of society urges us to consider the plight of the unseen and the forgotten who live among us.