Heresies: Against Progress and Other Illusions [Paperback]

This book compiles a collection of articles, authored by Gray, that have appeared in the New Statesman magazine over a number of years. An attempt has been made to arrange the articles into a coherent entity, with a degree of success. In common with Gray's previous publication, Straw Dogs, this book does not make comfortable reading.

The central hypothesis of the early chapters (Part 1) concerns the illusion of progress in society; Gray is utterly compelling here, bringing in environmental and technological evidence. The structure of our present society is examined and framed by history in Part 2 with references to Hobbes and Joseph Conrad. Gray forsees a bleak, but realistic, future in which the battle for global resources is exasipated by increasing global industrialisation. This, he predicts, will fuel natural resource wars. There are anomalies within this section, for example an essay concerning the legalisation of torture.

The '5 Star' standard of Parts 1 and 2 is not retained in Part 3. This final section concerns international politics of Europe, the USA and Britain. I found all but the last of these fanciful, particularly recommendations to the UK Conservative Party agenda. The final essay discusses the 'Society of the Spectacle Revisited' and the role of celebrity in today's society.

In summary, I greatly enjoyed the ideas that this book compiles. As ever, Gray is thought provoking and disturbing in equal measure. If you witnessed the TV series 'The Power of Nightmares' or are familiar with the concept of 'Luxury Fever' you will enjoy this immensely (I did!).

Gray's book, a collection of essays first published in the New Statesman offers a refreshingly different perspective on issues such as war, the environment, Europe, and Blair's leadership amongst other things. Gray uncompromisingly undermines and exposes the illusions which support liberal ideas and the stranglehold which these ideas have on western society. He is to the liberal establishment as a pin is to a baloon. The author's prose style is sharp and his arguments are delivered in a logical and accessible way.

'Heresies' is broken up into three parts: Part 1 is called 'The Illusion of Progress'. It is in this section that Gray expounds his thoughts on how 'Progress', in a technological sense, does not result in increased peace and stability or requisite 'progress' in human values. The human animal, the author explains, will always be infected by certain dersires, often negative, and 'progress' means only that those who benefit from better technology can pursue their desires with increased efficiency. Thus 'Progress', for Gray, leads to the ability to destroy the human species with nuclear weapons and the destruction of hundreds of other species. The modern faith in progress then, as something which will lead us towards a brighter, better future is horribly delusional.

In section 2 'War, Terrorism, and Iraq', Gray heralds the 'resumption of history' which began with 9/11 and the end of the dream of a peaceful, globalised world. He argues that we are seeing a return to a Westphalian inter-state world in which the competition for scarce resources is becoming ever more fierce. It is in this context that Gray places the US 'War on Terror'. Devastatingly accurate in his views on the debacle in Iraq, the author shatters the illusion that anything good could come from the invasion of that country.

In the third, and final, section 'Politics Without Illusions', Gray addresses issues such as the rise of the Far Right in Europe, the cult of celebrity, and Blair's Premiership. This part of the book does not see Gray at his strongest, however it's subject matter reveals the author's breadth of vision.

Gray is perhaps at his best when denouncing - and not without ample evidence - both market liberalism and Marxism as 'secular religions', whose belief in the possibility of a Utopian future is utterly misplaced. Understandably however, points that Gray makes in one essay are repeated later in others and while this is slightly annoying at times, this does not detract from the value of the book.

'Heresies' is not a book for those who are in need of an optimistic take on the prospects for improving the depressing state into which we humans have flung ourselves with such vigour. It is a candid, logical, and effortlessly elegant attempt to make us aware of the ways in which most people in the West have been deceived into thinking that 'free trade', 'liberal values' and their spread to the rest of the 'uncivilized' world will leave us better off. Even if one does not agree with Gray's arguments - something which is probably common - this collection of essays will encourage debate. Further, it is refreshing and necessary to lend an ear to the arguments of someone who is unafraid to go against the mainstream grain. Heresy is no bad thing.

A collection of essays by the accomplished and sceptic Gray whose erudition is worn lightly and still leaves the reader feeling somewhat inadequate. Here he casts his deep and penetrative eye over such subjects as the war on terror, the illusions of progress and politics. For Gray Enlightenment succeeded in replacing one religion with another, where pie in the sky is exchanged for a pie that will be baked on earth, once all the ingredients have been collected, the utensils made and appliances engineered. Gray's beef isn't with science but with the cult of science. This cult sees the evolved primate progress inch by inch towards a paradise on the horizon. The savagely satirical Torture: A Modest Proposal is a highlight where he takes apart Dershowitz's position on torture with a Swiftian elegance. Gray is by turns provocative, disturbing, sensible and very funny but at all times he is cool and measured. Shrillness is something he is not acquainted with. This is a collection definitely worth investigating.