No sign of Tinker yet, but I read on-line at Askbaby.com that the prostaglandins in seamen are proven to increase the likelihood of you going into labour... So I have advised my sister to make haste and get herself down to the dockside as soon as possible.
Contrary to common misunderstanding, liberalism and egalitarianism do not automatically go hand in hand and one of the aims of these ramblings is to address this issue. However, in order to explain that properly, I am going to start by discussing an important example of when the aims of liberalism and egalitarianism coincided exactly. The following contains euphemisms of a adult nature, which are in fact very childish.
There was a time in Britain when no man could take a leisurely stroll up the Kyber Pass of an evening without the risk of arrest and imprisonment. This was a profound infringement on negative freedom; not being able to do what you like in the privacy of your own home. The laws in question actually applied to the act performed with men, women or animals, but were essentially used to prosecute homosexual men.
In 1957 the Wolfenden Report recommended the decriminalisation of using the servants' entrance and other male homosexual acts on the grounds that non-violent private practice between consenting adults caused no harm to anyone but (perhaps) the parties involved. Even then, any real or imagined harm individuals might bring on themselves was felt to be in a private moral sense, a matter of conscience for the individual, not the domain of criminal law.
This and many other UK legal decisions of the twentieth century adhered largely to John Stuart Mill’s Harm Principle. Basically this states that people should be allowed to do whatever they like without interference, the only condition being that their actions are not harmful to other non-consenting parties. A search for the best summary of this landed on this blog entry at Philosophy, et cetera. I could write an essay or too on this myself (indeed, I was obliged to some years ago) but the link is very good if you're interested.
As everyone knows, the recommendations of the Wolfenden Report were realised in law ten years later, which was a little too late for some (In between the Chatterley ban and the Beatle's White album).
In opposition to the Wolfenden Report were the likes of Lord Devlin and his famous man on the Clapham omnibus. He argued that any threat to public morality is a threat to society itself, and that public morality is, at least in part, defined by the feelings of an ordinary reasonable man. This reasonable man, who happens to be riding the omnibus to Clapham Common, presumably having found himself out of luck on Hamstead Heath…
In a sense, Devlin’s argument was for positive freedom. He was not suggesting that male homosexuality was against nature or against the Word of God and ought to remain criminal on those grounds.
Instead, imagine that this man on the Clapham Omnibus was both disgusted and preoccupied by the idea of male homosexuality. The mere idea that this might be happening caused him to be very upset and confused about his place in the world. In order to allow people the freedom to go through life undisturbed by morally corrosive thoughts of naked men giving vigorous consent in the privacy of their own homes… we must infringe upon the negative liberties of a minority.
However, this argument is very weak. For one thing, any argument that involves a reasonable person or a reasonable idea is circular. If I say, a reasonable person prefers jam to marmalade then my defining criteria for reasonable person would have to include a preference for jam over marmalade.
Secondly, there are perhaps many private behaviours which different non-participants would find abhorrent – certain religious practices for example, are entirely blasphemous to members of other religions. And whilst Devlin did use the phrase public morality, what he was talking about was private behaviour - he wasn't talking about anything that non-participants would be subjected to in any way.
Unchanging uniformity in private sexual practices, family life, religious belief and so on does not seem a particularly viable or desirable objective. Of course, the law steps in when someone is being subject to violence or abuse, and we have the institution of marriage and now civil partnership which provides certain securities in civil law (not criminal law). However, it would be a truly totalitarian world in which private behaviours were more closely regulated.
Right, well, these are important arguments and a very important precedent which I shall refer back to later. However, the vast majority of egalitarianism is concerned not with negative freedom, but with positive freedom; to be one's own master.
Once we achieved basic negative freedoms for women and minority groups which mean we are no longer literally or virtually enslaved, the chasm that lies between that point and the point where we become our own masters is all about positive freedom. And that's where, in some cases, liberalism clashes with some of the strategies employed to bring equality about...
This blog was originally entitled Liberté, Égalité, Enculé, but I am always afraid to swear in a foreign language in case it is much much ruder than I imagine it is.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
The Two Concepts of Liberty
I figure I can get away with a series of serious and abstract posts this week as it is almost bound to be interrupted by the birth of my niece or nephew, cute baby photos and accompanying slush. Today is the due date, but no news yet. Is he a she? Is she a he? My brother-in-law says he is still hoping for a puppy...
For a while now I have been wanting to write about what the word 'liberal' means to me. This is partly because I find this word massively misused just now; in American English it seems to mean something quite different and thus British English speakers seem to have got rather muddled. But I also wanted to discuss the way that my liberalism interacts with my egalitarian beliefs and strategies. Spotted Elephant has been in despair at the lack of dialogue between her own Radical Feminism and more liberal or ‘sex-positive’ feminism so I want to get onto that too.
Today I am going to start with this matter of what it means to be a liberal. To me, liberalism is concerned with the maximisation of negative liberty. The concept of positive and negative liberty was touched on by James Medhurst recently, but I’ll start afresh in my own words, because this is a completely different subject.
A hero I have mentioned before, the great Isaiah Berlin, wrote an essay called Two Concepts of Liberty (available in the book Four Essays on Liberty). He proposed that freedom (as experienced by citizens under a governing body) could be described as either positive and negative; I am my own master or I am slave to no man, as Izzy put it.
Negative freedom is basically freedom from interference; freedom to do and say what you like without being censored, censured or locked up. For example, we have the negative freedom to smoke cigarettes in our own homes without interference, but we do not have the negative freedom to smoke in anyone's place of work. To have negative freedom is to be slave to no man
Positive freedom is freedom to do stuff. These are the freedoms which a government provides and protects for its citizens. So for example, the state insists upon its young citizens receiving a free education; an education provides all sorts of knowledge and opportunities which we would not otherwise enjoy. To have positive freedom is to be one's own master.
This differentiation is not terribly easy to understand. However, the next point I am going to make is that often negative and positive freedoms are competing interests and one must be sacrificed for the other. Hopefully by explaining this, it will begin to make more sense.
Imagine that as of today, it was no longer illegal to carry about weapons and firearms of any kind. You would be horrified! Why? – in terms of negative freedom, you would be more free; currently, in the UK, you are not allowed to carry a knife over certain proportions without inviting interference from the authorities.
But of course in reality, most of us would be far less free. I imagine some of us would feel unable to leave our homes at all, and certainly most of us would be quite afraid of being hurt or killed at any time.
Effective Law and Order provide us with a great deal of positive freedom; the freedom to go about our daily lives in relative safety, not to be afraid all the time, and not having to make special provisions to keep ourselves and our loved-ones safe.
As with so much in society and politics, this balance must be negotiated and reviewed ad infinitum. However, as I say, as a liberal I want each of us to have as much negative freedom as we can possibly be afforded. And it is entirely natural that authorities will generally attempt to take as much as we allow them. That is not just a throwaway all power corrupts remark; if you’re in charge of something, you naturally want as much information and co-operation as you can possibly acquire. There is always a danger this goes too far – a danger we have to live with, but a danger we be ever vigilant for.
Isaiah Berlin was very concerned about the threat of totalitarianism and discussed the ways in which authoritarian or totalitarian regimes use positive freedom to sell themselves. Hitler talked a great deal about the freedom of the German people – the positive freedoms of economic prosperity, national pride etc at the cost of… well, at the cost we all know too much about. During the Cold War, there were all sorts of draconian moves to control the speech and behaviour of ordinary people on both sides, and on both sides this was done in the name of freedom. I’m sure I don’t need to draw attention to the way that the word “freedom” has been banded about in recent conflicts...
And here, now… As I have said above, the freedom to go about our daily business and not feel in danger is a very precious one. And currently this is under threat from pseudo-Islamic terrorists, who may strike at any time and have no compunction about taking their own lives and the lives of tens, hundreds or even thousands of people. But then our government start locking away people without charge... this could be said to be a very dangerous time for both positive and negative freedom, and the challenge will be to find a way of maximising both.
Hands up who made it down this far? Promise, this time the next bit is almost guaranteed to be more exciting than this was. Look, here is a picture of a kitten as a reward for your efforts.
photo © Mihail Manolov for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike
For a while now I have been wanting to write about what the word 'liberal' means to me. This is partly because I find this word massively misused just now; in American English it seems to mean something quite different and thus British English speakers seem to have got rather muddled. But I also wanted to discuss the way that my liberalism interacts with my egalitarian beliefs and strategies. Spotted Elephant has been in despair at the lack of dialogue between her own Radical Feminism and more liberal or ‘sex-positive’ feminism so I want to get onto that too.
Today I am going to start with this matter of what it means to be a liberal. To me, liberalism is concerned with the maximisation of negative liberty. The concept of positive and negative liberty was touched on by James Medhurst recently, but I’ll start afresh in my own words, because this is a completely different subject.
A hero I have mentioned before, the great Isaiah Berlin, wrote an essay called Two Concepts of Liberty (available in the book Four Essays on Liberty). He proposed that freedom (as experienced by citizens under a governing body) could be described as either positive and negative; I am my own master or I am slave to no man, as Izzy put it.
Negative freedom is basically freedom from interference; freedom to do and say what you like without being censored, censured or locked up. For example, we have the negative freedom to smoke cigarettes in our own homes without interference, but we do not have the negative freedom to smoke in anyone's place of work. To have negative freedom is to be slave to no man
Positive freedom is freedom to do stuff. These are the freedoms which a government provides and protects for its citizens. So for example, the state insists upon its young citizens receiving a free education; an education provides all sorts of knowledge and opportunities which we would not otherwise enjoy. To have positive freedom is to be one's own master.
This differentiation is not terribly easy to understand. However, the next point I am going to make is that often negative and positive freedoms are competing interests and one must be sacrificed for the other. Hopefully by explaining this, it will begin to make more sense.
Imagine that as of today, it was no longer illegal to carry about weapons and firearms of any kind. You would be horrified! Why? – in terms of negative freedom, you would be more free; currently, in the UK, you are not allowed to carry a knife over certain proportions without inviting interference from the authorities.
But of course in reality, most of us would be far less free. I imagine some of us would feel unable to leave our homes at all, and certainly most of us would be quite afraid of being hurt or killed at any time.
Effective Law and Order provide us with a great deal of positive freedom; the freedom to go about our daily lives in relative safety, not to be afraid all the time, and not having to make special provisions to keep ourselves and our loved-ones safe.
As with so much in society and politics, this balance must be negotiated and reviewed ad infinitum. However, as I say, as a liberal I want each of us to have as much negative freedom as we can possibly be afforded. And it is entirely natural that authorities will generally attempt to take as much as we allow them. That is not just a throwaway all power corrupts remark; if you’re in charge of something, you naturally want as much information and co-operation as you can possibly acquire. There is always a danger this goes too far – a danger we have to live with, but a danger we be ever vigilant for.
Isaiah Berlin was very concerned about the threat of totalitarianism and discussed the ways in which authoritarian or totalitarian regimes use positive freedom to sell themselves. Hitler talked a great deal about the freedom of the German people – the positive freedoms of economic prosperity, national pride etc at the cost of… well, at the cost we all know too much about. During the Cold War, there were all sorts of draconian moves to control the speech and behaviour of ordinary people on both sides, and on both sides this was done in the name of freedom. I’m sure I don’t need to draw attention to the way that the word “freedom” has been banded about in recent conflicts...
And here, now… As I have said above, the freedom to go about our daily business and not feel in danger is a very precious one. And currently this is under threat from pseudo-Islamic terrorists, who may strike at any time and have no compunction about taking their own lives and the lives of tens, hundreds or even thousands of people. But then our government start locking away people without charge... this could be said to be a very dangerous time for both positive and negative freedom, and the challenge will be to find a way of maximising both.
Hands up who made it down this far? Promise, this time the next bit is almost guaranteed to be more exciting than this was. Look, here is a picture of a kitten as a reward for your efforts.
photo © Mihail Manolov for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlikeSunday, August 13, 2006
Book Meme
cross-posted at Blogging Bookworms
I was very pleased to be tagged with this Book Meme by Midwesterntransport.
1. One book that changed your life?
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach. There are many others, but I read illusions at a time when I seemed to have acquired very strong convictions about my place in the world and the very rigid limitations that I faced. Illusions changed that.
(WARNING: That book does involve one rather problematic portrayal of disability.)
2. One book you have read more than once?
A Christma Carol gets read most Decembers. It is the story of Christmas for me and a fantastic story in its own right.
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
On Desert Island Discs they always allow one book plus The Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare. So I will pretend I have those (although I might use Leviticus and Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 as kindling for my camp fire).
Uh... odd choice but Lolita. Nabokov writes so beautifully, this is a book I can pick up and read a delicious passage at random.
4. One book that made you laugh?
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaimen. I haven't read it in a while but I remember that being a really very funny book. And I'm not usually very keen on Terry Pratchett.
5. One book that made you cry?
Skallagrigg was the last book which really opened the flood gates. I am outraged at this point as I have just discovered that you can't currently buy Skallagrigg on Amazon.co.uk or com. Here is my review of it from last November.
6. One book you wish had been written?
I wish I had finished my novel before now. It's working title is To Fear The Light.
7. One book you wish had never been written?
Midwestern had Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus and whilst I can't say I've ever wished that a book hadn't been written, those sorts of books certainly annoy.
8. One book you are currently reading?
Honestly? Okay, it's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg. I'm not getting on with it, to be honest, but I am curious about the subject matter, which is the concept of Calvinism, predestination and so on at the time of the Jacobite rebellion. Yeah, I know.
9. One book you have been meaning to read?
Not so much meaning to read, but meaning to finish. I received Lord of the Rings for my twenty-first birthday which is now approaching years ago. I am about three-quarters through at my last attempt but I am determined to finish it. Similarly with War and Peace which I quite enjoyed in parts up until page eight hundred and something when I could simply go no further.
10. Now tag five people.
Naturally, I tag all the other members of Blogging Bookworms - which is currently six, but I'm sure I shan't get into too much trouble for that.
I was very pleased to be tagged with this Book Meme by Midwesterntransport.
1. One book that changed your life?
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach. There are many others, but I read illusions at a time when I seemed to have acquired very strong convictions about my place in the world and the very rigid limitations that I faced. Illusions changed that.
(WARNING: That book does involve one rather problematic portrayal of disability.)
2. One book you have read more than once?
A Christma Carol gets read most Decembers. It is the story of Christmas for me and a fantastic story in its own right.
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
On Desert Island Discs they always allow one book plus The Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare. So I will pretend I have those (although I might use Leviticus and Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 as kindling for my camp fire).
Uh... odd choice but Lolita. Nabokov writes so beautifully, this is a book I can pick up and read a delicious passage at random.
4. One book that made you laugh?
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaimen. I haven't read it in a while but I remember that being a really very funny book. And I'm not usually very keen on Terry Pratchett.
5. One book that made you cry?
Skallagrigg was the last book which really opened the flood gates. I am outraged at this point as I have just discovered that you can't currently buy Skallagrigg on Amazon.co.uk or com. Here is my review of it from last November.
6. One book you wish had been written?
I wish I had finished my novel before now. It's working title is To Fear The Light.
7. One book you wish had never been written?
Midwestern had Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus and whilst I can't say I've ever wished that a book hadn't been written, those sorts of books certainly annoy.
8. One book you are currently reading?
Honestly? Okay, it's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg. I'm not getting on with it, to be honest, but I am curious about the subject matter, which is the concept of Calvinism, predestination and so on at the time of the Jacobite rebellion. Yeah, I know.
9. One book you have been meaning to read?
Not so much meaning to read, but meaning to finish. I received Lord of the Rings for my twenty-first birthday which is now approaching years ago. I am about three-quarters through at my last attempt but I am determined to finish it. Similarly with War and Peace which I quite enjoyed in parts up until page eight hundred and something when I could simply go no further.
10. Now tag five people.
Naturally, I tag all the other members of Blogging Bookworms - which is currently six, but I'm sure I shan't get into too much trouble for that.
The Wall
The wonderful thing about coming up from a bad patch is that you get write the all rules afresh. Everything has come to a halt, so how you start it again, is up to you – you don’t have bad habits because you have slept them off - in my case, quite literally.
So now I am going to try to be very good. I am going to pace all my activities perfectly. I am going to be the model patient. About time too - less than two weeks to the lurgy's tenth anniversary. Last night as I was going to sleep I calculated that I have probably consumed an average of 2kg (uh, four and half pounds?) of prescription medication every year since I have been ill. I am not sure if this is a lot or not much really. Actually, now I'm thinking I need to do that sum again...
In the comments to an earlier post I mentioned that whilst the texture of my ceiling is extremely smooth and dull, I do have this lovely wall opposite the bedroom window. Today is a grey day; usually the colours are brighter. And I could spend some hours pointing out all the faces and animals which can be seen (although I admit, now it is a photograph, they are not as clear as they are in real life).
Today is a year since The Wedding of The Century. Which gives me an excuse to phone up Rosie and Adrian and find out if there are any signs of Tinker's imminent arrival.
So now I am going to try to be very good. I am going to pace all my activities perfectly. I am going to be the model patient. About time too - less than two weeks to the lurgy's tenth anniversary. Last night as I was going to sleep I calculated that I have probably consumed an average of 2kg (uh, four and half pounds?) of prescription medication every year since I have been ill. I am not sure if this is a lot or not much really. Actually, now I'm thinking I need to do that sum again...
In the comments to an earlier post I mentioned that whilst the texture of my ceiling is extremely smooth and dull, I do have this lovely wall opposite the bedroom window. Today is a grey day; usually the colours are brighter. And I could spend some hours pointing out all the faces and animals which can be seen (although I admit, now it is a photograph, they are not as clear as they are in real life).Today is a year since The Wedding of The Century. Which gives me an excuse to phone up Rosie and Adrian and find out if there are any signs of Tinker's imminent arrival.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Poetry Corner - Boing!
First off, I should put in a notice that Ballastexistenz is asking for other autistic contributors to participate in Getting The Truth Out, an excellent response to the rather odious Getting The Word Out. I imagine you'd need some guts to put yourself out there, but I reckon it is an important message, if any auties happen to be reading this.
I am still feeling grim, but significantly less so today. So I guess my theory is working out, right?
This poem is even sillier than my normal standards given the context, but I do mean it. Only I haven't yet got the brainpower to articulate it in prose, let alone some sort of sensible and meaningful poetic interpretation.
Boing!
However far I’ve had to fall
And hopeless, it may seem,
Often in the darkest deep
I find a trampoline!
Just when all the world above
Is a distant fading light,
My feet may meet that canvas sheet
And hurl me into flight!
It may not send me all the way
That one almighty spring,
But just now being half-way-up’s
A truly wondrous thing!
So now I have to set about
A slow and steady climb,
Which may require my patience
And it will take me some time.
So rather than a crumpled heap
Deep down in the abyss,
I'm now over half-way-up
And grateful to the Swiss!
(because uh, it was a Swiss chap named Kurt Baechler brought the great sport of trampolining to Europe, of course - everyone knows that!).
Previous Poetry Corners: Ode to my TENS machine/ I just want my body to work/ My fair-weather friend/ St. Valentine's Day Massacre/ Impossible (a villanelle)
I am still feeling grim, but significantly less so today. So I guess my theory is working out, right?
This poem is even sillier than my normal standards given the context, but I do mean it. Only I haven't yet got the brainpower to articulate it in prose, let alone some sort of sensible and meaningful poetic interpretation.
Boing!
However far I’ve had to fall
And hopeless, it may seem,
Often in the darkest deep
I find a trampoline!
Just when all the world above
Is a distant fading light,
My feet may meet that canvas sheet
And hurl me into flight!
It may not send me all the way
That one almighty spring,
But just now being half-way-up’s
A truly wondrous thing!
So now I have to set about
A slow and steady climb,
Which may require my patience
And it will take me some time.
So rather than a crumpled heap
Deep down in the abyss,
I'm now over half-way-up
And grateful to the Swiss!
(because uh, it was a Swiss chap named Kurt Baechler brought the great sport of trampolining to Europe, of course - everyone knows that!).
Previous Poetry Corners: Ode to my TENS machine/ I just want my body to work/ My fair-weather friend/ St. Valentine's Day Massacre/ Impossible (a villanelle)
Sunday, August 06, 2006
The Law of Sod
I have a theory. Should I declare that I am having a hiatus from blogging until I feel much better, so I'll stop worrying about my blog and my lack of postings, well I have a theory that this will mean that tomorrow or maybe the next day, I will feel miles better, get back to normal and then feel guilty for this act of melodrama.
So I am going to test this theory, thus:
Now follows a hiatus! I may be gone some time!
I am okay, just sleeping. I have been awake for precisely four hours today, spread out over the day and now I am going back to bed.
In the meantime this was the best news story this last week. Note that this took place at Wookey Hole, from where the Dalek was stolen last year and where two rabbits were married in April. That's Somerset for you.
So I am going to test this theory, thus:
Now follows a hiatus! I may be gone some time!
I am okay, just sleeping. I have been awake for precisely four hours today, spread out over the day and now I am going back to bed.
In the meantime this was the best news story this last week. Note that this took place at Wookey Hole, from where the Dalek was stolen last year and where two rabbits were married in April. That's Somerset for you.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Thank You For The Cactus, whoever you are.
Thank you very much to the kind person who sent me this tiny little cactus, no bigger than a peanut. I have named it Albert. It is in its own plastic dome which could be attached to a keyring if I wanted. Albert is very sweet indeed and has cheered me up no end.Unfortunately, I do not know who sent this lovely gift. All I know is that it came from this shop; Cactus Heaven.
I have my suspects, who may be reading this, and thank you very much if you are. Doubly thanks because the mystery has allowed me to suspect, and therefore think fondly of - and feel loved by - more than one person. Almost as if I received several such cacti, only each of them as special as if I had just received the one. If you see what I mean.
And I'm getting stronger.
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