tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post2173132239121921630..comments2024-03-28T23:42:09.625+00:00Comments on Poul Anderson Appreciation: The ConspiracyKetlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08588156788583883454noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-72985393355769996592023-05-16T18:32:53.663+01:002023-05-16T18:32:53.663+01:00Kaor, Jim!
Exactly, it was better for the old Whi...Kaor, Jim!<br /><br />Exactly, it was better for the old Whig/Tory gentry to begin making concessions in 1832, rather than risk losing everything.<br /><br />As Flandry said in THE REBEL WORLDS, some hypocrisy is necessary, as a social lubricant.<br /><br />Ad astra! SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-91194192794825755952023-05-15T17:14:26.395+01:002023-05-15T17:14:26.395+01:00Yes.
The ideas that Whig/Tory gentry used to justi...Yes.<br />The ideas that Whig/Tory gentry used to justify their actions of 1688 made it hard for them to resist further extensions of the franchise without then being justly seen as hypocrites.Jim Baerghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03182949391365921637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-63284135190094467382023-05-14T03:32:59.417+01:002023-05-14T03:32:59.417+01:00Kaor, Jim!
My understanding of what happened afte...Kaor, Jim!<br /><br />My understanding of what happened after 1688 was, altho the Crown remained powerful, it had to be careful to rule in ways tolerable to a Whig/Tory gentry and aristocracy expressing their views and wishes via Parliament. Next, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution after about 1790 spurred the rise of a new class of mercantile/industrial magnates, large and small, who increasingly demanded having a cut of real power in the UK. Such agitations and pressures led to the first Reform Bill, extending the franchise, in 1832. The rest, as they say, is history.<br /><br />Ad astra! SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-14957199895500371002023-05-13T20:45:39.828+01:002023-05-13T20:45:39.828+01:00I am reminded of "The Dictator's Handbook...I am reminded of "The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behaviour is Almost Always Good Politics" by Bruce Bueno de Mequita and Alastair Smith.<br />It is about how even if a dictator wanted to enact policies beneficial to the general populace, doing so would usually result in him being ousted by the people just below him who are rich and powerful because of policies that exploit the majority of the populace.<br />The authors also examine the cases which get around that problem by a substantial fraction of the population getting some power in the state, one of the first examples being UK post 1688.Jim Baerghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03182949391365921637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-27190243805869294002017-01-30T16:13:22.023+00:002017-01-30T16:13:22.023+00:00Kaor, Paul!
And I recall Poul Anderson using the ...Kaor, Paul!<br /><br />And I recall Poul Anderson using the term "grey eminince" at least twice in his works, THE REBEL WORLDS and A STONE IN HEAVEN. In the first it was applied to the ambitions of Aaron Snelund and in the second Dominic Flandry said in Chapter XIV, "And for my part, well, my advice isn't the worst he [Emperor Gerhart] could get; and his son and heir isn't such a bad young fellow. I'm afraid I'll end my days as a kind of grey eminence." He paused. "Though scarcely in holy orders." <br /><br />True, it can be very difficult to converse or reason with conspiracy theorists. They can make it too easy to dismiss or ignore all alleged conspiracies, even real ones!<br /><br />SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-45658832863038957502017-01-30T07:58:53.999+00:002017-01-30T07:58:53.999+00:00Sean,
"Grey Eminence" helps to explain &...Sean,<br />"Grey Eminence" helps to explain "Grey Pope." These guys will find such a reference and interpret it literally. Trying to reason with a conspiracist is very far from amusing!<br />Paul.Paul Shackleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04180596532266581425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-44432423844456800382017-01-30T01:59:25.744+00:002017-01-30T01:59:25.744+00:00Kaor, Paul!
Very amusing, what you said about you...Kaor, Paul!<br /><br />Very amusing, what you said about your meeting with the no doubt well meaning gentleman you met! <br /><br />And one thing I recall about Anderson's "Details" was how the reason why the aliens trying to use an allegedly advanced predictive "science" of society failed was due to the leader of the alien team assigned to Earth not truly understanding human beings and human politics.<br /><br />And the bit about the "Grey Pope" immediately made me think of Cardinal Richelieu's friend and adviser Fr. Joseph, the original "grey eminence." A term which has come to be applied to powerful men considered to be the real rulers of the state, rather than the kings, presidents, or emperors they served.<br /><br />SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.com