Arthur Seldon (1916-2005)
Bono:
Daily Telegraph Obituary
Right to the end
(Filed: 12/10/2005)
After Margaret Thatcher's victory in 1979, Arthur Seldon, who died yesterday, declared: "Labour as we have known it will not rule again." He made two other predictions: that the Soviet Union would not survive the 20th century, and that China would turn to capitalism. He lived long enough to be proved right on all three.
Seldon's insistence (often in articles for The Daily Telegraph) that small government should be promoted without reference to what was "politically possible" helped to make Thatcherism happen. It is now difficult to recall that, when he and Ralph Harris set up the Institute for Economic Affairs, the overwhelming consensus in all parties was that the man in Whitehall always knew best, and that prosperity could be achieved only by governments. That such days seem impossibly remote is a tribute to him and his work.
Filuwaúrdjan:
Quote from: Governor Mordac on October 12, 2005, 12:24:48 PM
After Margaret Thatcher's victory in 1979, Arthur Seldon, who died yesterday, declared: "Labour as we have known it will not rule again." He made two other predictions: that the Soviet Union would not survive the 20th century, and that China would turn to capitalism. He lived long enough to be proved right on all three.
No, he was wrong about the first one. Government policy in the late '70's was pretty similer to Government policy now. The idea that Labour in the late '70's was very leftwing or anything like that is a media myth.
J. J.:
Quote from: Senator Al on October 12, 2005, 12:49:02 PM
Quote from: Governor Mordac on October 12, 2005, 12:24:48 PM
After Margaret Thatcher's victory in 1979, Arthur Seldon, who died yesterday, declared: "Labour as we have known it will not rule again." He made two other predictions: that the Soviet Union would not survive the 20th century, and that China would turn to capitalism. He lived long enough to be proved right on all three.
No, he was wrong about the first one. Government policy in the late '70's was pretty similer to Government policy now. The idea that Labour in the late '70's was very leftwing or anything like that is a media myth.
I've got to disagree; the leadership after the 1979 victory was Michael Foot. His left wing activities, and those of Tony Benn, were the outgrowth of Labour in the 1970's.
Blair has swung Labour back to where it was in the 1950's-60's.
Filuwaúrdjan:
Quote from: J. J. on October 12, 2005, 01:40:40 PM
I've got to disagree; the leadership after the 1979 victory was Michael Foot.
Not quite; Foot took over after the disasterous 1980 Conference.
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One branch of it anyway; Labour's internal problems in the '70's were more down to increased factionalism rather than a general leftward trend IMO (although as the hard left got bigger the overall effect was a leftward trend, o/c). The big swing to the left (in terms of the leadership) happend in the early '80's.
So in a way, yes, Seldon was right; a party as factionalised as Labour was in the late '70's was always going to struggle to regain power. I don't think that was what he meant though.
Interesting thing about the Left in the '80's was that while they were a clear majority with activists, they were always a minority with the Labour Movement as a whole. Probably why they were never very keen on internal democracy (especially as far as individual Union members went) actually ::)
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More or less true (although Kinnock (a good example of how definations of what the Left was changed so much and so quickly in the '80's actually) and Smith also deserve some credit).
J. J.:
I was looking at the undercurrent in the party that finally welled to the surface at the 1980 conference. The 1979 loss brought that to the surface.
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