Liberal Conspiracy
by Scoop Shachtman, 6 November 2007
A new website has been launched called Liberal Conspiracy. The website name alludes to the liberal conspiracy that some right-wing moonbats think dominates politics, and hopes to create a “conspiracy” out of the somewhat fractured and argumentative left. It appears to be an attempt to create a better, perhaps more leftish, Comment is Free. Liberal Conspiracy certainly has a comment policy that holds the potential to avoid creating the mess that The Guardian have on their hands. Their contributors are an interesting enough mix, although at least one of them is only left in-so-far as opposing humanitarian interventions is a stock leftist position these days. That said I have a high regard for many of the others. Good luck to it.
Which does lead on to the potential problem with the site. The splits on the left are of a more fundamental nature to those on the right in the UK. The differences between Michael Gove’s foreign policy and that of Malcolm Rifkind are as big as some of the differences on the left on issues such as Iraq and Israel. However, the right don’t fight those arguments out in the often highly personal way the left does. It may, in part, be due to the fact that the left is in power (leaving aside arguments about whether Brown’s government is truly of the left), but foreign policy has always been a central preoccupation of the left.
The right has interests in foreign affairs, the left has firm idealogical stances with regard to foreign policy (even if they are contradictory - Euston humanitarians versus leftist anti-imperialists for instance). Scrapping over issues of foreign policy is one of the main activities of both contributors and commentators at Comment is Free for a good reason. Even excluding such detritus as the cadaver from Lenin’s Tomb, there is enough space for disagreement within the left-of-centre for fundamental and bitter splits. Many of the most twisted critics of the Euston Manifesto, for example, are centre-left liberals; their timbre is unlikely to change.
In Sunny Hundal’s interview on Radio 4’s PM programme he seems to suggest that the site is attempting to re-create the success of blogs like Guido, Conservative Home and Iain Dale.
Not many [left wing websites] on the left focus on Westminster, and that’s where the crucial difference lies, because they are more focused on issues like the environment, like feminism, like civil liberties, current affairs, you know world politics, because a lot of politicians, and even a lot of the media, are focused on bloggers who talk especially about Westminster, you know the usual suspects like Iain Dale, Conservative Home etc. It just means they forget there is a whole blogosphere out there on the left which is focused on other issues, and I just want to bring them together and say let’s be a little bit more pro-active and talk to each other a bit more.
While not wishing to pour cold water on Liberal Conspiracy, I doubt that a bunch of lefties discussing policy matters, even if they stay off foreign policy, will be able to compete with the right wing blogosphere. It isn’t the fact that leftist websites fight like a bag of ferrets that is the main problem. The pulling power of right wing websites is due to the fact that they more readily deal in the amateur Kremlinology that the media are so focused on, and for which there is apparently a large obsessive audience. They also specialize in pouring venom on the the current left-wing government (words like authoritarian and nanny-state are common) in a much more entertaining way than left wing websites. Hopefully, Liberal Conspiracy will avoid going down the intellectual dead end of Westminster tittle-tattle.
However, heavy activity on left wing websites, and a progressive consensus, may have to wait until David Cameron is Prime minister.
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 10:24
Another circle jerk for middle class academics, ‘professionals’ and meeja whores, which expresses nothing more than the yearnings of … middle class academics, ‘professionals’ and meeja whores.
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 10:40
Strikes me as pretty anodyne and the comments policy seems firmly directed at Will after Hundal’s comments about him here and elsewhere :-)
The DSTPFW is still the most lively and varied with some bloody good writers. I know which site I would rather spend my valuable work-avoidance time reading.
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 11:04
I think that the last thing that we need is a Westminster-focused political blog.
And the assumption that right-wing bloggers are somehow an asset to the right that the left need to counteract is just weird.
I don’t think that anyone at the top of the Labour Party in the 1980s said to themselves “we need to nurture a lively dialogue among activists of the left” any more than anyone in Tory Central Office is saying “how can we get those marvellous Bloggertarians busy on our behalf.”
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 11:33
I agree Paulie. I have just been on for another look. One thing struck me, other than the fact it isn’t well-written so far, was that there is no mention of the Euston Manifesto at all. It was as if this initiative had never taken place. I get the impression that this is an anti-Euston site, given some of the previous posts by contributors.
The trouble with initiatives like this is they take themselves too seriously and ignore damn fine journalism and research that is taking place elsewhere.
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 11:57
I note that under ‘main areas of interest’ one contributor lists ‘equalities‘, which is another middle-management jargon term–its purpose is merely to act as a signifier to other careerist arseholes–its meaning and use of such jargon is intended to convey ‘authenticity’ to other like-minded twerps rather than anything substantial.
These days you have to include the word ‘liberal’ when talking of socialism or socialist, or as in this case, ‘left’, because if you don’t then you are obviously a Stalinist and obviously Stalinism is everywhere and is a direct consequence of socialist ideology. So again–used to convey a cultural code and express desire not to be too overtly challenging to the status-quo or dominant ideology.
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 12:36
Actually the worst thing you can do when your party is in power is to run a policy idealistic blog. You are either complete shit because you will mimic the government press releases or you pursue an ideological line that is bound to be attacking your own party.
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 12:38
I’ve just finished putting together a post with my reaction to Liberal Conspiracy, but there’s no point in publishing it now that Scoop and commenters above had said all that needs to be said.
As an exercise in building a social movement, a new blog is just lazy and self-indulgent. And as for focusing on Westminster, there are already plenty of bloggers across the spectrum doing just that. They are party activists, policy wonks and lobby group workers for whom Westminster is the epicentre of their universe. And no-one outside of this self-selecting group gives a toss what they think.
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 13:03
you’re all being far too kind to that bunch of twats.
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 14:22
“We want to be the hub”
http://www.liberalconspiracy.org/2007/11/05/we-want-to-spread-the-conspiracy/
pffft.
I think this is the start of a long ‘working CV’ to get onto a think tank somewhere cushy off westminster.
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 16:22
We want to be in the pub.
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 16:47
DSTFW: Not hub or pub, but hub and pub!
Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 23:37
Re the above
Jura is very close. It is certainly self indulgent and has no connection with any concept of “building a social movement”, don’t even think it pretends to, these people hold a “great bloggers” view of history.
However “lazy”? - I doubt it, Too vain, I’ll wager, to stop supping at the high table (CiF - yeah sad isn’t it) and chuck their entire lot in with “sonny”, so double the posts to create so as to remain the shiny, happy and oh so brilliant stars they so clearly think they are.
Hak - as ever - on the money.
Gadgie - you too. This site is, despite some very daft stuff I’ve read elsewhere tonight, the obvious and first pick of collective left blogs. But I repeat myself.