tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post8682339212431328761..comments2023-12-31T13:47:05.758+00:00Comments on Fat Man on a Keyboard: Mythical bollocksThe Plumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09244528534476387323noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post-45841205777542374052015-07-09T23:14:44.720+01:002015-07-09T23:14:44.720+01:00actually, the classical text i thought of was plat...actually, the classical text i thought of was plato's <i>apology</i>, especially that part when socrates, after he's been found guilty proposes his own alternative punishment--to be maintained at state expense for the rest of his life, a reward generally offered to athletes and people who had done the athenian state some extraordinary service. (well, he was 80 years old, so how much longer did he have?) in my view of international politics, which is no more fantastic than the spectacle it already presents us with, i think that's a little closer to the current situation than anything sophocles or euripides ever wrote. although, let's face it, i think we're all waiting for dionysus to outwit pentheus, no?<br /><br />lesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post-1982349158306478672015-07-09T19:30:14.214+01:002015-07-09T19:30:14.214+01:00I don't know Owen Jones' work, but I think...I don't know Owen Jones' work, but I think sentiments like that are a classic example of the politicisation of history, and I can actually get behind it (odd for a historian to say).<br /><br />The left in Europe seems to be growing, although still tiny, and I think that it will gain in power the more it can inspire people. Hyperbole is one of the tools being used to build hope among the left, because it is with hope that progressives can thrive - fear is the tool of the old guard, and so far fear has been winning out all over Europe.<br /><br />Preservation of the truth of history is important, but not as important as now. History is a concept, what we do with it is real, and I have no objections to people misusing historical narratives to try and better the lives of real people today. Maybe that is my naivety showing through.<br /><br />Of course I might be reading too much into it. Maybe Owen Jones was simply told by his editor he needed a snappier intro in this click obsessed world.Joshnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post-17368582089773482762015-07-08T21:22:20.841+01:002015-07-08T21:22:20.841+01:00Just to thank you Peter for these posts.Just to thank you Peter for these posts.Anton Dequehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07076828639042541217noreply@blogger.com