Category: Reading Excerpts

...citizens of the Western democracies, and Americans in particular, no longer understand the concept of democracy itself. This, perhaps more than anything, has corroded the relationship between experts and citizens. The relationship between experts and citizens is not "democratic." All people are not, and can never be, equally talented or intelligent. Democratic societies, however, are… Continue reading In Search of Democratic Equality

Public debate over almost everything devolves into trench warfare, in which the most important goal is to establish that the other person is wrong. Sensible differences of opinion deteriorate into a bad high school debate in which the objective is to win and facts are deployed like checkers on a board - none of this… Continue reading I’d Like An Argument Please

...The United States is now a country obsessed with the worship of its own ignorance. It's not just that people don't know a lot about science or politics or geography; they don't, but that's an old problem. And really, it's not even a problem, insofar as we live in a society that works because of… Continue reading The Problem of Ignorance

"The rise and rise of presidential-style politics has infected every aspect of the way politicians’ days are shaped. In Question Time, almost all the questions go to the prime minister, rather than his or her ministers. The driving force is getting the “grab” for the evening news. The days when an Opposition would ask questions… Continue reading A Presidential Style Politics?

"This world of foggy memories – and mediocre politics – has often helped take us back to the political equivalent of debating science versus religion. It has cleared the way for a vapid politics of three-word slogans and the “cheap corn” of appealing to our basest instincts and self-interest. It has cleared the way for… Continue reading Fallout of Foggy Memories

"Much is said about the dumbing-down of politics; the 24-hour news cycle; too much polling and poll-driven politics; the decline of community involvement in political organisations; the rise of the political professional; and the decline of “real-life” experience among our politicians. Without doubt, these all play a role. But elements that I think are regularly… Continue reading The Loss of Institutional Memory

"The idea of state paternalism is embedded in our relationship with government, and has been since the time our convict forefathers expected Governor Phillip to fix the small problem of starvation rather than do anything about it themselves. We have expected governments to intervene to create equality. The very way funding is divided up among… Continue reading State Paternalism

"...so much of our culture, so many of our public discussions, contain some suspicion or assertion that we might be being ripped off, that someone else might be getting preferment. The belief that we are entitled to a lifestyle that we think everyone else may be enjoying seems to simmer not far beneath the surface.… Continue reading The Source of Australian Anger

To understand the relational nature of priestly spirituality, we must remember that the presbyter is ordained to three interrelated roles in the community: shepherd, prophet, and priest. ... the glue which holds the three together is pastoral leadership. The presbyter acts, first of all, in persona Christi - in the person of Christ who is the… Continue reading Community Setting of Ordained Ministry

The apparently “Christian” culture of the people of Spain between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries left much to be desired, since both clergy and people were equally ignorant of basic essentials. “Religion” ended up (as in other parts of Europe) as an extension of social discourse rather than a system of faith; it was, in… Continue reading The Role of “Religion”

As somebody who still believes in facts, I don't believe in false balance. The has become a major issue in contemporary media because frequently people representing inaccurate, fringe positions argue that if their voices are not given equal weight, it illustrates bias. The reality is there are not two equal sides to every issue. There… Continue reading Beware False Balance

That is why I am so alarmed by the influence of 'opinion' - with its basis in certainty - on the mainstream media. It flies in the face of historical experience, which has shown again and again that the application of a doubtful mind is the best way to wisdom and insight. That principle is… Continue reading The Curse of Niche News

There is certainly a place for these voices. But what worries me is that, increasingly, they set the tone for, and lead, the public discourse. In decades past, the heroes of journalism - even on opinion pages - were the voices of reason and cool authority, journalists such as Walter Cronkite, Edward R Murrow and… Continue reading The Certainty of Ideological Self-Assurance

93. Spiritual worldliness, which hides behind the appearance of piety and even love for the Church, consists in seeking not the Lord’s glory but human glory and personal well-being. It is what the Lord reprimanded the Pharisees for: “How can you believe, who receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that… Continue reading No To Spiritual Worldliness

While functional stupidity is a key resource for an organisation, it can also do conspicuous harm. It can lead to meaningless and non-productive work being undertaken: writing plans, ticking boxes, endless meetings take over. Often there is a stark clash between the official version of events and the lived realities. For individuals, functional stupidity turns… Continue reading Planning, Box-Ticking, and Meetings

Today, many schools have fallen victim to image obsession. In the past, teachers had relatively high levels of autonomy. They concentrated their energies on educating students. But as a result of constant educational reforms, schools are now more and more focused on various auditing exercises. In the UK, the event that most head teachers worry… Continue reading Image or Education?

Today, we seem to face a situation in scholarly publication where, to parody the words of Winston Churchill: Never before in human history have so many had so little to say to so few. Mats Alvesson & André Spicer, The Stupidity Paradox: The Power and Pitfalls of Functional Stupidity at Work (London: Profile Books, 2016), Loc… Continue reading So Much Writing

[The] new tribalism is an aberrant form of reception of the fact that the boundaries of the church have become more porous. For this tribal and sectarian mentality, the redefinition of boundaries means not a more welcoming church, a church whose doors are always open to let people in, but a church whose doors are… Continue reading The Aberration of Tribalism