Tag Archives: Lysenko

Brexit: an idea whose time has passed?

One view of our divided country is that it was always a land of potential Leavers and Remainers, the rift being merely exposed by the referendum. On this theory, Remainers were born rather than made and Leavers, like leopards, will never change their spots.

Yet the truth is that Leavers comprise all sorts of people, as do Remainers. They are not a different species. I am coming round to the view that our current turmoil is not the fault of the people themselves, so much as the power of a virulent ideology that has swept the country like a tsunami, sweeping away common sense, but which is now slowly evaporating.

It has happened before: ideas have taken hold with a force disproportionate to their merit, and caused mayhem. There are reasons why these belief systems gain traction. Let us look at a couple of examples.

Lysenkoism

Posted in Op-eds | 60 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Big Tall Tim
    VERY well said James and Tristan....
  • tom arms
    And is it or is it not a perfect opportunity for Ed Davey to make waves, political capital and foreign policy? And-- given his past pronouncements on Trump-- is...
  • paul barker
    I agree with almost every word of this but I must point out that The Green performance involved a great deal of luck, in getting a winnable By-election at the r...
  • Hywel
    Nicely played David Green :-)...
  • Peter Davies
    @David Allen: Indeed. writing good articles for LDV is an ideal way to start....