Issue 76: Communication Breakdown

Who has the left been talking to - and why haven't they been listening? Five articles on our ability to communicate effectively. Plus power, planning, unions and the constitutional debate, Adam Smith, wind and more.

Comment

After years of talking to ourselves and complaining that no-one is listening, it’s time to assess whether we’re saying the right things, in the right ways

Say What?

Alex Snowdon argues that the left has been caught up in an insular and obscure dialect that is not shared by the wider world. If we want to communicate, we need to choose our words better

Values and Frames

The left does not always seem to have caught the mood of the public. David Eyre explains how thinking more clearly about values and language can change political debate

The World Changed – Did We?

Since the 1970s the structures of society, the economy and politics changed radically. It’s harder to argue that the left did. Johnathan Shafi makes a plea for us to recognise the need to adapt.

Stop Shouting

Lorna Waite looks at the way the left has engage with the independence campaign and found both reason for optimism and practices we should end. The left needs to re-learn from the non-violence movement.

Do What Works

Robin McAlpine spent 20 years working as a political strategist. Here he makes an empassioned plea for the left to start using the basic practices of political strategy which work for others.

Power in the Darkness

Gerry Hassan argues that mapping and challenging elite power in Scotland is a crucial aspect of questioning our own national myths and moving forward to an alternative

How Maggie killed ‘local’

Gary Fraser argues that the focus on Thatcher’s impact on national politics has disguised the lasting impact she had on local government - one that continues to take the democracy out of local hands

What’s Left of Planning?

Planning and governmental attitudes to economic development have turned planning processes into a sideline of the neoliberal project, argues Andy Inch. We need a rethink.

Citizen Smith

The appropriation of Adam Smith by the right is a travesty of his writing. Bill Wilson, recently catching up on the Wealth of Nations, argues that he is closer in spririt to the Occupy movement.

A Genuine Debate

Peter Welsh responds to assumptions that the trade unions sector is going to slavishly follow a political path set for them during the referendum campaign by explaining that it’s much more open than that

It’s Scotland’s Wind

The current plans for the development of off-shore wind in Scotland will hand control of and profit from this natural resource to Chinese multinationals. There are better ways to proceed, arges Gordon Morgan.

Reviews

Posthuman International Relations, Cudworth, Erika & Hobden, Stephen

Kick Up The Tabloids

Thatcher Spare Room Eviction Tragedy