Why and how questions and statistics

During the last days three statistics were published in relation to the riots of 6-10 August in England. At the time of writing, over 2,000 arrests were made in connection with the riots. Of those arrested, 75 per cent have previous convictions for similar offences, 25 percent have over 10 convictions for similar offences and 50 percent are under the age of 20. The three statistics contribute to a general answer to why there were riots if not to questions of why there were riots then and why there, in the particular locations. The statistics make little contribution to an answer to how? This is especially true if the how question is linked to a related question: how did the riots stop? For answers to the latter two questions, not just rioters but the police need to be considered.

Contributor: Geoff Williams. Sempringham [ehistory.org.uk] eLearning Office.

Categories that become stuck in the past

The Cold War ended and communism ceased to be an opponent to the West Liberal Democracies some 20-years ago but the concepts that date from the early nineteenth century during a time of crude manufacture, as judged by modern systems, continue to catch the mind of everyday thought. Karl Marx, as epitomised by his laconic and luminous Manifesto, 1848, has made a major contribution to this stasis. Marx’s depiction of the capitalist, the factory owner, who is juxtapositioned opposite a multitude of unskilled labourers, is massively outdated: this ‘capitalist’ is superseded by capital markets were most ‘capital’ is the sum of small and medium-sized pension savings of a large proportion of ‘Western-style’ societies. To help clarity of debate, capitalist should be excluded from nearly all debate.

Contributor: Geoff Williams. Sempringham [ehistory.org.uk] eLearning Office.

Capital markets in the present and 1930s

After the collapse of Lehman Bros, 2008, and related financial crisis, there has been much talk of the Wall Street Crisis, 1929, and subsequent economic disruption. In these columns we have argued that it is helpful to look backwards in order the better to understand the present, as in our piece on Cranford [27 October 2010], but this has no relevance to the current world finance situation. Current capital markets are based entirely on confidence whereas in the 1930s the ‘gold standard’ was a direct or indirect influence. We are surprised when commentators make reference to the 1930s because conclusions drawn from comparisons with the 1930s are false.

Contributor: Geoff Williams. Sempringham [ehistory.org.uk] eLearning Office.

Why the 2007 BBC series Cranford engages us

‘Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat’ and a bird informed me I would receive the DVD of the 2007 BBC series, Cranford. I had passed by parts of the episodes but I had not seen the whole series so I look forward to a full showing. News of the gift prompted me to reflect on its success. There are many reasons: good adaptation, good cast and performances, good stories and interesting characters presented by the talented Mrs Gaskell. The full list is long and I suspect it includes a fascination with the different responses of Cranford’s people to change. We may be more inured to change now, some 150 years after the Cranford story, but response to change continues to be a significant challenge to all. A perspective on change, and its consequences on people’s lives, is a helpful contribution from History and, in our media soaked society, historical novels and dramas to a better positioning of ourselves in the world today and thereby the possibility of sounder judgment with decisions that will help to fashion our personal and collective futures.

Contributor: Geoff Williams. Sempringham [ehistory.org.uk] eLearning Office.

The content of A-level and degree History courses

What is the value of A-level and degree courses’ content? It is a short question but a simple answer will be not useful. What can be claimed is that a course at these levels develops the students’ capacities as learners. This is a theme that we have promoted in our Study Centre presentation AS/A2 History in a World of Rapid Change [also available in a YouTube version in our The X Files section]. Vineet Nayar of Indian IT firm HCL Technologies, probably the fastest growing IT services group in the world added a gloss to this in an interview on the Today programme [BBC Radio 4] today. Not shy of controversy, Vineet Nayar stated that these courses, with emphasis on content, did not prepare students for work in business and his business trains students for some12 to 18 months after graduation. To end with a question: does the content of an A-level or degree History course matter at all? [You can be sure contributors to this question will come from this office.]

Contributor: Tom Wells. Sempringham [ehistory.org.uk] eLearning Office.

The ‘fourth estate’. Is it really needed?

When I watched ‘Dispatches: How the MoD Wastes Our Billions’ [20 September, Channel 4], I remembered how important the media, the Fourth Estate, are for healthy government within the liberal democratic pattern. By healthy government is meant a form and process of government in which decisions and activities by decision makers are available to widespread scrutiny. With the busyness of modern government and the range and noise, and some would say near frenzy, of media activity particularly in the areas of sport and pop culture, the importance of bringing to public attention government-related activities, especially if they have a byzantine character, is as important as the defence of the rule of law, the latter itself under threat by the need to deal with terrorist threats. The achievement of [relatively speaking] good governance is never finally won but a dynamic that requires constant vigilance for its continuation.

Contributor: Tom Wells. Sempringham [ehistory.org.uk] eLearning Office.

Spies and state interests

Ten people were arrested in the US this week and are accused of spying for Russia. Spying by Russia and by the Western Powers was regular news during the Cold War era but this week’s arrests have surprised some. The period of ideological confrontation may be over but state interests remain. Infiltration of ‘seats of power’ and policy creation forums reminds us that knowledge/information is power and gives a competitive edge in relations and negotiations. For a state to cease to seek to gain intelligence (information), both by careful collection of open-source data and by other means is to neglect the interests of the state and its citizens.

Contributor: Tom Wells, Sempringham [ehistory.org.uk] eLearning office