Crisis of Legitimacy

Le Monde Diplomatique's lead article Le Couteau sans-lame de social-liberalisme (Le Monde Diplo Avril 2009 sorry don't have the link) by Eveline Pieiller is the best thing I have read this month. She talks about the collapse of any and all of the old projects of the left and the right, including prosperity, equality, the market, redistribution, democracy and opportunity. And the emerging replacement: a kind of society in which the highest we aspire to is "l'affirmation positive de soi".

Pieiller says we are heading for a culture in which we will aim to celebrate (fetishise ?) our own individualties. We have the machinery to do it. Liberalism and socialism can only aspire to defend a "societe de la particularite" and an "economie de la particularite".

This really opens up a new line of thinking on online culture and networking.

Acts of Faith and Nausea

Too long an absence from the blog; galvanized by sworn blog-objector colleague Adam Salkeld whose blog opens today here I return.

Today tried to persuade a large motoring organisation to think about drivers in cars as the dream media audience for a service of info based on camera pictures from motorways. With incipient flu I was nearly sick and running for the toilets twice in the meeting. Also perhaps nauseous with the irony of being a sworn car-avoider, bicycle prophet, and doubter of camera-monitoring. Heck, can one commercialise and distribute absolutely any old content in this age ? It seems so. And at what point does the social conscience kick in ? One way to twist it is: learn the techniques so they can be applied to the good. The other: find the frontiers and push them. Good and bad uses will be made of what's discovered.

Religion ! The RC Diocese of Westminster has been having its web relaunch proposals drafted by yours truly. Does any one have any idea whether an online utterance of a prayer or an intercession has any theological value ? Could one do online confession ? If not why not ?

And the Anglican Diocese of Gambia and Senegal is going to take a day's consultancy (pro bono) in May in Banjul. We need to get them any equipment we can find. The African concept of faith's work is probably more tub-thumping and homily inclined than mine would be. Accept that as their way and their offering ? Or try to inject something of humanist value too, eg tie health content or education content into the religious broadcasting ministry they hope to launch with my help. The free work is always the most interesting.