The RSA Blog

Can big ideas succeed in politics?

Blog

09 Mar 2011

Matthew Taylor

Some of you may remember Dennis Norden used to have a steady flow of ‘being old means…’ aphorisms, as in 'being old is when you realise your get up and go has got up and gone’. I suspect they have gone a bit of out fashion now that so many middle aged people continue to try to behave like twenty somethings. Perhaps a new one might be ‘being old is when you look back and find Dennis Norden aphorisms poignant and amusing’. Anyway, my own is additon to the canon is ‘being old is noticing that the point in the week when you think ‘I’ve had enough of this - it’s time for the weekend’ is getting closer and closer to Monday morning’.  

In defence of IDS

Blog

09 Mar 2011

Matthew Taylor

I have over the years tried to defend ministers and MPs by arguing that they do difficult jobs and are generally motivated by a sense of public service. In that spirit, I am risking making enemies of old friends by writing today to defend the aims – if not yet the method – of Iain Duncan Smith.

To know or not to know; that is the question

Blog

04 Mar 2011

Donald Rumsfeld was widely mocked when he talked about “known unknowns”. However, as is often the way with these things, the phrase has now taken on a life of its own. People now use various versions of this little formulation to explain that they don’t know everything that they don’t know but that they do know some of the things that they don’t know. You know?

More thoughts on small groups

Blog

03 Mar 2011

Matthew Taylor

So, more rather superficial thinking about small groups (for deeper ideas I can strongly recommend the comments I have received on earlier posts this week).

Small group is beautiful

Blog

02 Mar 2011

Matthew Taylor

Just like when you buy a new car (not that I have done so for many years) you suddenly notice everyone else with a similar model, so I seem this week to be picking up all sorts of interesting ideas on small groups.

My bad apple, it turns out, was second hand

Blog

28 Feb 2011

Matthew Taylor

I have written before about my obsession with small group dynamics. Then three things happened which made me determined to research and write something more substantial on the issue.

Live .... from Norwich

Blog

25 Feb 2011

Matthew Taylor

I’m just off to do Any Questions from Norwich. It’s another chance to raise the profile of the RSA (we got a nice plug on the Today Programme this morning) but, as always, it’s balancing act between protecting the independence of the RSA while saying what I think and helping make for an interesting programme. I’ll leave readers to judge if I get it right.

Light not heat?

Blog

23 Feb 2011

Matthew Taylor

A core objective of the RSA is to promote informed and constructive public debate. It is an aim which runs through our history and was also central to the values of the 18th century Enlightenment, whose champions saw tackling ignorance and prejudice as essential to social advance.

The cultural contributions of capitalism?

Blog

21 Feb 2011

Matthew Taylor

Until I heard Radio 4’s Last Word yesterday evening I didn’t know about the recent death of Daniel Bell, the pioneering sociologist and futurist (although he didn’t like that label).