Again, I’ve probably missed posting one of these for a while. Today, I’ll start with what I’m reading.

• Gorbachev’s Memoirs
• Robert Manne’s “Dear Mr Rudd”
• Ken Knabb’s translation of the “Situationist International Anthology”
• Anthony Giddens’ “The Third Way - Renewal of Social Democracy”

Clearly I’ve got a penchant for reading books about leftist reform, both radical and moderate. The Memoirs are a massive tome; I’m up to “Part II - Inside the Kremlin” which is about 1/5-1/4 of the way through the book and quite weighty. It’s clear that Gorbachev faced an uphill struggle against the established order within the party who were happy to let the union go to shit as long as they had their cushy Party-funded lifestyle.

Knabb’s translation of the Anthology is something I’m reading in bits and pieces; it’s a collection of essays, letters, journal articles, internal memoranda, etc. which deals with the idea of a radical social revolution aiming to overturn the established order in just about every aspect of life. Ideas like bringing about the destruction of religion lead to discussions on what to do with old churches, such as leaving them as museums, converting them to horror houses, leaving them as horror houses, ripping them down and replacing them with gardens or partially demolishing them to create urban ruins which can be enjoyed by society. Whether or not you agree with their conclusions, it’s an interesting take on things.

Giddens’ book on the Third Way is more a brief overview of the history of neo-liberalism and classical social democracy, outlining their failings and then attempting to build a vision of what new social democracy should look like and where it stands at the moment. It’s not a very thick book but it’s certainly interesting.

Reading anything good? Anything caught your eye in the news?

Your response: