Progress By Process Of Attrition

[poliphilo]

Talking about abdicating...

Mary Dejevsky has a piece in the Indy about how young people are moving into the top jobs in international politics. She's pleased about it. Every generation sees things a little differently from the generation before and new ideas drive out old and progress is made in human affairs by the simple process of wastage and replacement.

She notes from some study or other that young people are more concerned about internet privacy than immigration. Oh yes, please, lets have more of that and less of the other. The fear of the foreigner is so last century. Let's sweep it away with the fag ash and the empties. 

Comments

[ingenious76.livejournal.com]

Its good - in the same way I'm pleased that more people my age and younger are moving into Senior positions in Education. People whinge about this, but look - if you want to sit in a school for thirty years and stay in one place, that's your decision. Don't bitch at those younger for get up and go.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Mere seniority is nothing. If you've been sitting in place marking time it's entirely right that younger, brighter people should overtake you.

[ingenious76.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

The hope, of course, is there's some genuine ambition to be an agent of positive change, rather than merely witnessing what amazing gravy trains are in place at many levels, not least Westminster, whether in that extraordinarily broad "expenses" system, or, for more senior figures, the immediate pension of moving from a Ministry to the boardroomand/or lecture circuits and "think tanks", though the latter tends to be more of an American thing.

The fear of the foreigner is so last century.

Hear, hear! It's amazing to see just how persistent that wretchedness is, throughout history - once upon a time, it was the Irish, then the Caribbeans, Indians, and Pakistanis, and more recently, Bulgarians and Romanians.

Me? I absolutely, wholeheartedly support the principle of free movement of people, not just capital. If you're in a position to pay your way, and pay your taxes, I don't mind in the least where you're from, or where you want to move to.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think the nation state is dying (and good riddance.) We live in a global society now.

[matrixmann]

Young people moving into positions of international politics?
...And why do I still see lots of old geezers in crucial positions? Or the policies of old geezers still carried out by younger faces?

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

"The fear of the foreigner is so last century."

Unfortunately there are still some that think that way.