Folk Opposition
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Review
There is a better future and Alex Niven draws inspiration from the past to show us how to get there. David Cameron's wrong, we're not all in this together. But most of us could be. (Kevin Maguire, New Statesman / Daily Mirror) (A fascinating and knowledgeable writer who accurately dissects the cultural tensions and uncertainties that define his generation and mine. --(Robin Carmody, Sea Songs)
Product Description
For David Cameron and 'Big Society' Tories, folk culture means organic food, nu-folk pop music, and pastoral myths of Englishness. Meanwhile, postmodern liberal culture teaches us that talking about a singular 'folk' is reductive at best, neo-fascist at worst. But what is being held in check by this consensus against the possibility of a unified, oppositional, populist identity taking root in modern Britain? Folk Opposition explores a renewed contemporary divide between rulers and ruled, between a powerful elite and a disempowered populace. Using a series of examples, from folk music to football supporters' trusts, from Raoul Moat to Ridley Scott, it argues that anti-establishment populism remains a powerful force in British culture, asserting that the left must recapture this cultural territory from the far right and begin to rebuild democratic representation from the bottom up.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a great book and one that deserves to be read widely. In recent years, many people have pointed to the widening wealth gap in the United Kingdom and further afield, to regional deterioration and to the rule of an elite as symptoms of a post-industrial malaise, one which has had a corrosive effect on the life prospects of many people and which has permeated all walks of life. In 'Folk Opposition' Alex Niven departs from the theory to show us what this really means in practice, mapping out a path from where we now are to a more humane and social vision of the future. To this end the author builds upon the collective meanings and modes of engagement found both in non-state identities and in new forms of association that are now emerging (such as Supporter's Trusts and perhaps also - if we extend the argument further - the Occupy Wall Street movement).
Furthermore, the book addresses these issues with great skill and sensitivity. On one hand, it draws our attention to the silencing which has resulted from the misappropriation of cultural forms formerly used to express dissent - to the inversion of common ideas which has served to disempower, fragment and frustrate challenges to the policies of a metropolitan elite. On the other, the book also gives strong voice to a hope that it is from this very space that new forms of unity and understanding can proceed, as the effects of socio-economic disequilibrium become more bracing and tensions latent within Cameron's `Big Society' (and it's mysterious twin `Blue Labour') become more obvious to ordinary people.
While Folk Opposition does not pretend to have all the answers, it is a hugely illuminating work, one that is at once sharply discerning, imaginative and hopeful. Highly recommended!
Furthermore, the book addresses these issues with great skill and sensitivity. On one hand, it draws our attention to the silencing which has resulted from the misappropriation of cultural forms formerly used to express dissent - to the inversion of common ideas which has served to disempower, fragment and frustrate challenges to the policies of a metropolitan elite. On the other, the book also gives strong voice to a hope that it is from this very space that new forms of unity and understanding can proceed, as the effects of socio-economic disequilibrium become more bracing and tensions latent within Cameron's `Big Society' (and it's mysterious twin `Blue Labour') become more obvious to ordinary people.
While Folk Opposition does not pretend to have all the answers, it is a hugely illuminating work, one that is at once sharply discerning, imaginative and hopeful. Highly recommended!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
AWESOME READ
1 Jan 2012
Format:Paperback
This was a truly great read, informative, original and mind-expanding. Tracks with great sensitivity transformations in Cameron's Britain and envisions a new path for the future. A great read for anyone interested in British culture, the dominance of the market, and the search for alternatives!
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