Benjamin Thomas
@benjthomas.bsky.social
Political Ideologies, 20th Century Centre-Right, Neoliberalisms, Thought in Political Parties of UK & DE, Transnational discourses and the conjuncture benjaminjthomas.net
My new article 'Three Waves of Social Markets: The Ordoliberal Variety of Neoliberalism in the United Kingdom, 1972–97' is now available in @conteurohistory.bsky.social doi.org/10.1017/S096...
Three Waves of Social Markets: The Ordoliberal Variety of Neoliberalism in the United Kingdom, 1972–97 | Contemporary European History | Cambridge Core
Three Waves of Social Markets: The Ordoliberal Variety of Neoliberalism in the United Kingdom, 1972–97 - Volume 35
doi.org
My new article 'Three Waves of Social Markets: The Ordoliberal Variety of Neoliberalism in the United Kingdom, 1972–97' is now available in @conteurohistory.bsky.social doi.org/10.1017/S096...
Three Waves of Social Markets: The Ordoliberal Variety of Neoliberalism in the United Kingdom, 1972–97 | Contemporary European History | Cambridge Core
Three Waves of Social Markets: The Ordoliberal Variety of Neoliberalism in the United Kingdom, 1972–97 - Volume 35
doi.org
As the Burnham Government begins to unroll its planned strategy for governing, I return to one of my favourite historical documents, the 'Long Campaign' Paper from 1979, Strauss and Hoskyns' ten year plan for Thatcherism. It wasn't completely or faithfully delivered, but reflects the long term
Proofs submitted for the forthcoming article. Here's some of the characters who feature in the article. I read them together because they all advocate politically for/using the same concept.
For my forthcoming article, I returned to this Andrew Gamble article from Marxism Today, June 1984, which has a lot of interesting passages on the politics of Thatcherism. banmarchive.org.uk/marxism-toda...
Going into the Burnham Government, I've talked to a fair # of 'normal people' down pub about politics in the past few weeks. Of all the commentary on Manchesterism, the only person associated with a new government that really inspired enthusiasm was Mathew Lawrence.
This call for papers has a lot of good people involved and worth keeping an eye on/considering a submission. I'll admit that I'm a bit surprised by the interest in the US, given the organisers, but this should be very good on the German context.
Institut für Zeitgeschichte München−Berlin@leibniz-ifz.bsky.social · 3w ago#CfP: Sind Konservatismus und Kapitalismus ziemlich beste Freunde? Das diskutiert eine Tagung des Arbeitskreises Interdisziplinäre Konservatismusforschung am #IfZ und der @lmu.de. Wer sich beteiligen will: Wir freuen uns über Vortragsvorschläge bis zum 10.8.: www.ifz-muenchen.de/aktuelles/ar...
Jane Gingrich and I have written an essay for @ippr.org on a fundamental problem, that an age that demands more of the state also suffers from multiple state legitimation crises www.ippr.org/articles/the...
The legitimacy trap | IPPR
In many ways, the public want more government: to shape a fairer, more dynamic economy and protect ordinary people from the consequences of a turbulent wor
ippr.org
My new article with @mihjournal.bsky.social is at long last in orbit. It explores how the neoliberal fantasy machine has used space colonisation to wish away the problem of environmental limits and revive the legitimation of private property.
A “Limitless Frontier”? Neoliberalism, Silicon Valley, and the Commercialization of Space | Modern Intellectual History | Cambridge Core
A “Limitless Frontier”? Neoliberalism, Silicon Valley, and the Commercialization of Space
cambridge.org
🧵 Progressives need to think much more ambitiously about citizenship: it can't only be a debate about the "who" - the boundaries of citizenship. Our new @ippr.org report today makes the case for a new politics of "democratic citizenship": www.ippr.org/articles/the...
The democratic citizen: Renewing citizenship and the public domain | IPPR
Often, this descends into little more than an argument about eligibility for welfare benefits. This is a disaster for progressives, who find themselves fig
ippr.org
We had an in-depth look at the misinformation targeting City of Sanctuary last summer. How it spread from the mainstream to the online far right, and how the charity was inundated with horrific threats. This is part of a worrying and growing trend. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...
How migrant charity City of Sanctuary was targeted by the far right
City of Sanctuary promotes compassion for asylum seekers and refugees. It has met a torrent of rightwing hate and misinformation
thebureauinvestigates.com
New article accepted: it'll be my first contribution to political history that goes beyond the right/centre-right and my most contemporary article, with the periodisation reaching into the 1990s (with clear links to the late 2020s).
Great to see this new article from Fabio Wolkenstein in @conteurohistory.bsky.social on neoliberalism in the CSU and the ÖVP using the figures of Strauß and Schüssel. A fruitful agenda on the adoption of greater market liberalism in Christian Democratic doi.org/10.1017/S096...
‘Professor Hayek Is Not a Member of the ÖVP!’ The Conflictual Beginnings of the West German and Austrian Christian Democrats’ Neoliberalisation | Contemporary European History | Cambridge Core
‘Professor Hayek Is Not a Member of the ÖVP!’ The Conflictual Beginnings of the West German and Austrian Christian Democrats’ Neoliberalisation - Volume 35
doi.org
Quick look at the ICIBI's report on asylum casework. A lot of it already known but some new bits I found interesting were - the high nunber of caseworkers on performance management plans - the Home Office's new quality data appears to be inflated in its favour open.substack.com/pub/thoughts...
Really interesting article from @thomaseason.bsky.social and @arturnadiiev.bsky.social on the role of the Churchill myth in Ukraine's strategic communications towards UK and the British reception thereof. Really cool to see that they interviewed one of Zelenskyy’s speechwriters.
BJPIR@bjpir.bsky.social · 2mo ago📣 Don't miss this #openaccess #BJPIR article! 'Invoking Churchill: Zelenskyy’s use of myth diplomacy in the United Kingdom' by @thomaseason.bsky.social & Artur Nadiiev 🔗 buff.ly/EUPIFw8 @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
NEW ARTICLE! "Brexit as Democratic Crisis: Parliament, People and Prophetic Democracy". The crisis of 2016-19 brought Britain's democratic institutions near to breakdown and culminated in an unprecedented assault on Parliament. This article asks why. Free to read! academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...
![Brexit as Democratic Crisis: Parliament, People and Prophetic Democracy, 2016–2019*
‘The most precious thing this country has given the world is the idea of parliamentary democracy’.
Boris Johnson, June 2016
‘We have been paralysed by a broken Parliament that simply refused to deliver Brexit’.
Boris Johnson, November 2019
‘this … [is] a vastly more democratic Parliament, because it will not waste the nation’s time in deadlock, division and delay’.
Boris Johnson, December 2019
The vote to leave the European Union, on 23 June 2016, struck British politics like a volcanic eruption. Within hours of the result the Prime Minister had resigned, the Leader of the Opposition was fighting for his survival and a three-year contest had begun that threatened to consume both major parties. The struggle to ‘Get Brexit Done’ triggered two general elections, three leadership contests, two historic court cases and an attempt to suspend Parliament. It saw judges cast as ‘enemies of the people’ and Members of Parliament as ‘saboteurs’ to be ‘crushed’, while bringing terms like ‘the will of the people’ into mainstream political usage. ‘Brexit’ was more than a policy dilemma—more, even, than a contest for power. It raised fundamental questions about how Britain was governed, who made decisions and what it meant to be a democratic state. For its supporters, Brexit became a test of Britain’s democratic credentials and of the willingness of those in power to accept defeat at the polls. For its critics, it had sent a ‘wrecking ball’ crashing through ‘democratic norms and institutions’. Amid claims of Russian interference, campaign-finance violations and the abuse of parliamentary procedure, it became almost routine to say that democracy had been ‘hijacked’, that a ‘coup d’état’ was afoot or that one side or other was trying ‘to shut down democracy’.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cixgmtrg7nzy4gkmyfeosaox/bafkreibnqtgvhow35t3lpugbjlj3fc5cdjf2nshebv4kv37q765njrsngu)
🚀 New publication! Super happy that my study on local responses to the #FarRight is now out in @prxjournal.bsky.social! 😍 Focusing on mayors in Germany, I show why their role perceptions are crucial for maintaining the #Brandmauer (cordon sanitaire). 🔓 doi.org/10.1080/2474... #OpenAccess
Subscribe to read: @bjoernbremer.bsky.social & Sean McDaniel respond to @colmpm.bsky.social & Patrick Diamond's case for fiscal prudence, and argue for why social democrats must reject any austerity renewal.org.uk/articles/sti...
This Oxford Character Project looks exceptionally cursed and concerning. From the funders to the staffing to the transparent subtext, it's clearly in some continuity with the right-wing American 'civic centres'. I'd be fascinated to find out how it ended up in DPIR.
We are closing @goldperc.bsky.social after 12 years. Here I reflect on the times and what we made of them www.goldperc.uk/project_post...
Looking back on PERC - Political Economy Research Centre
The Political Economy Research Centre is to close formally this summer. Here, founding Director, Will Davies, reflects on its twelve years of activity. It took two or three years before the causes, ef...
goldperc.uk
Quinn's post is excellent on the contemporary funding of the MBS. I'd encourage people to also look at the lineup of speakers. I'll politely avoid direct comment on most of the names, but those interested in British politics will be interested to see Lord Sewell. www.mps2026.org/our-speakers
Our Speakers
mps2026.org
Quinn Slobodian@quinnslobodian.com · 2mo agoThe Mont Pelerin Society is meeting in Indianapolis this year. Besides the Liberty Fund ($400m endowment), the other sponsors are interesting—from Australian gold to Pinochet‘s children to the Christian Right. See below for where these folks are finding their funds these days 👇 www.mps2026.org
long time in the making, finally out :) plato.stanford.edu/entries/econ...
Economic Democracy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
plato.stanford.edu
Unprompted by I wanted to share my thoughts on the Renewal x Tribune issue. It's a real mixed bag with some interesting contributions and some that are not well thought through. It's disappointing how many Labour people can't think of any policy levers beyond tax cuts to incentivise capital.
This is ahistorical nonsense playing to the gallery 🧵 British nuclear power stalled for multiple reasons such as technology (the AGR designed to replace Magnox was plagued by problems), ideology (the private sector isn’t good at delivering projects of this scale…
She had seemingly psychic powers, and correctly deduced that I was on my way back from a conference, without me revealing that. "I bet it was a load of old tosh, I can tell it was", she told me. I chose not to reveal that I had been the speaker, fearing that she was indeed psychic.
Never seen essential criteria like this on a job before, and frankly I don't know if it is really justified from what they set out, but it's a theology job and I'm sure human resources will have had a field day figuring it out.
This divide normalises and institutionalises forms of racism that fit into those respective worldviews. And with that very system itself, its norms and assumptions, coming apart both in the UK and globally, including the relative strength of those wings, those racisms are becoming more egregious.
My review of Anton Jager's Hyperpolitics appears in the next @lrb.co.uk and is online now www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
William Davies · Easy to Join, Easy to Leave: Politics on Speed
This is what distinguishes hyperpolitics from the mass democracy of the mid-20th century. Symbolic political gestures...
lrb.co.uk
I certainly hope this is some form of technical error - I chased in January and was assured by an administrator that it was out for review - but this absolutely sucks and an editor should have reached out by now.
Is the Elections Bill up to the job? Guy Furlong argues that the bill is jumble of half-measures, reflecting a lack of any coherent theory of what's wrong with democracy, and of what a better democracy might look like: renewal.org.uk/blog/democra...
Democracy demands more than half-measures
Earlier this year, the government introduced the Representation of the People Bill (the Bill) into Parliament. Speaking for the government during the second reading debate in the House of Commons, Sec...
renewal.org.uk