Must read link: #liz_beths on class, culture and ‘humour’
Cultural disdain is about more than humour. It’s the new politics.
London burning IV: Tory authoritarianism triumphant
British Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech to the House of Commons in the aftermath of the English riots set the tone for a bizarre crackdown: Responsibility for crime always lies with the criminal. But crime has a context. And we [...]
London Burning III: more sociology of civil disorder
The last thread has grown long and slow to load. Here’s two kick-starters for further discussion – Zygmunt Bauman on the UK Riots and this photo of Londoners coordinating to clean up their neighbourhoods after calm was restored.
London burning II: The sociology of civil disorder
It’s time for another thread on the English riots, since the last one is now rather long.
To update on some of the analysis, the prediction that a number of the usual suspects would turn the events into a partisan football has unsurprisingly been borne out. So let’s ignore that, and have a look at what we know about what’s happened and what it means.
London burning: Why here, why now? The sociology of civil disorder
Underlying all this is deep inequality, which creates the subcultures where setting the town alight can be perceived as a rational action. Addressing those causes would require a different form of society altogether, and a politics which would take us there.
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