Showing results by author "David Goodhart" in All Categories

A good society needs a balance between aptitudes relating to head (cognitive), hand (manual/craft) and heart (caring/emotional). In recent decades in Western societies, they have got out of kilter. One form of human aptitude - cognitive ability - has become the gold standard of human esteem. The cognitive class now shapes society, and largely in its own interests: in the knowledge economy, the over-expansion of higher education and in the very idea of a successful life. To put it bluntly: smart people have become too powerful.

Many Remainers reported waking up the day after the Brexit vote feeling as if they were living in a foreign country. In fact, they were merely experiencing the same feeling that many British people have felt every day for years. Goodhart shows us how people have come to be divided into two camps: the 'Anywheres', who have 'achieved' identities, derived from their careers and education, and the 'Somewheres', who get their identity from a sense of place and from the people around them, and who feel a sense of loss due to mass immigration and rapid social change.

Es muss erst eine Pandemie ausbrechen, damit wir merken, was unsere Gesellschaft zusammenhält. Worauf es wirklich ankommt, was "systemrelevant" ist. Die tägliche Versorgung mit Lebensmitteln ist es und die verlässliche medizinische Betreuung. Verkäuferinnen und Pflegekräfte - die neuen Helden des Alltags. So lange, bis sich dieser wieder normalisiert. Wir leben in einer Gesellschaft, in der kognitive, analytische Fähigkeiten am höchsten bewertet werden, höhere Bildung für möglichst viele ist erklärtes Ziel.

Trump has jangled nerves on both sides of the Atlantic. But for all the shouting, it is not at all clear yet whether he will have a major impact on U.S.–European relations.