Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour

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Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour

by Kate Fox

3.84 · rating details · 1,236 ratings · 222 reviews

In "Watching The English" anthropologist Kate Fox takes a revealing look at the quirks, habits and foibles of the English people. She puts the English national character under her anthropological microscope, and finds a strange and fascinating culture, governed by complex sets of unspoken rules and byzantine codes of behaviour. The rules of weather-speak. The iro...more

Paperback, 424 pages

Published April 11th 2005 by Hodder And Stoughton (first published 2004)

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Dec 02, 2008

Guy rated it

Shelves: socsci, travel

If only there were a book like this for every country and people! It has been a long time since I have laughed as much while reading a book... and I'm not sure that I have ever read so many excerpts of a book out loud to my wife. If you have ever wondered why the English behave the way they do, then run (do not walk) to buy this book.

Kate Fox is an anthropologist after my own heart (when I went on an expedition, it was through the Alps rather than the Himalayas) -- uninterested in ...more

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Oct 31, 2007

Isabella rated it

Shelves: female_writers

Oh how I hated this book!

It COULD actually have been hilarious (and we are led to believe that it is....for so say many, many reviews) but the author is just so full of herself, it is simply annoying.

More than once while reading (up to the point where I decided to call it quits, around page 130) I wondered whether the author is English herself. She kept repeating that boasting is very un-English. Yet, she kept bragging about all the other funny (according to *her*) ...more

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Jun 04, 2007

Trin rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: science, english-lit

A really amusing anthropological look at the English by an Englishwoman. Fox’s sense of humor is what really makes this book; it’s a bit long and repetitive at parts—skewing too much toward being an academic text when what I want (need) it to be is a work of popular science—but Fox’s own innate “Oh, come off it!” reaction always pulls through in the end. Somewhat frightening: how much of Fox’s “grammar of Englishness” I find applicable to myself—social awkwardness, humor, cynicism, belief in fai...more

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Feb 07, 2009

Kelly rated it

Recommends it for: people who have spent time in England and want an explanation for peculiarities of English society

I really loved this book. First of all, it's hilarious--not because she's writing humor, but simply because it turns out that it is surprising and amusing to have basic human behaviors picked apart. Second, she is very accurate and the information could actually be useful in future interactions with English people. I feel that Fox is very skilled as an anthropologist to have been able to identify these traits in any culture, much less in her own culture. But she still keeps the book's style ver...more

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Feb 04, 2012

Rebecca rated it

Shelves: nonfiction

At its worst, anthropology can be extremely condescending, analyzing other cultures as if they were animals. But at its best, the discipline explains the very meaning of what it is to be human and live in human society. Fox neatly sidesteps the first to embrace the second by turning her trained gaze on her own culture.

And so we get an examination of why one doesn't speak to fellow commuters, the English substitution of home pride for social skills, the liminality of the pub, and pea-ea...moreAt its worst, anthropology can be extremely condescending, analyzing other cultures as if they were animals. But at its best, the discipline explains the very meaning of what it is to be human and live in human society. Fox neatly sidesteps the first to embrace the second by turning her trained gaze on her own culture.

And so we get an examination of why one doesn't speak to fellow commuters, the English substitution of home pride for social skills, the liminality of the pub, and pea-eating's role as a shibboleth. She narrows down on the English view of the world, an attitude that assumes everything will turn out poorly but one mustn't complain, in which humor and not appearing to take anything too seriously are of paramount importance. And because she herself is English and cannot help herself, she writes the entire thing with a self-depricating wit that is delightful.

Some of her insights have helped me finally figure out some puzzling interactions I've had with British coworkers. Others merely articulate things that I myself do without quite thinking about it. As has been noted by others, New Yorkers and the English (and the Japanese) share the concept of negative politeness--that pretending you're alone on the subway car and not meeting the eyes of fellow pedestrians is not an indication of rudeness or aloofness, but an entirely different set of manners created by people who live on a very crowded island, so that they can handle being surrounded by people all the time without flipping out and killing them all. The Midwesterner who tries to strike up a conversation with strangers on the subway is being actively rude in the environment. (One should not hold that against them, anymore than one should take seriously an inadvertantly crude hand gesture made by a foreigner where it's obvious that no harm was meant, but it's still rude. Hopefully, the New Yorker accosted with inappropriate friendliness and the Brazilian who's just had an American make an OK sign will be tolerant and confine themselves to a private eyeroll.)

There are breakdowns of the class meanings of what time someone eats dinner, what they call a meal in the later part of the day that has tea involved, and what specific departments someone buys things from in Marks & Spencer. Given that American culture has some parallels but fewer strong definitions for class, it's a fascinating comparison.

In the end, she is able to codify English behavior, but not explain it. I wish she had been a bit braver--I think that England's history as having been repeatedly invaded, having several layers of class composed of foreigners, being considered a cultural backwater for quite some time before suddenly finding themselves in command of the world stage only to lose it once more, and the aforementioned fact of being a small, crowded island does much to explain some of the national character traits. Unfortunately, only the last is discussed. Nevertheless, it's a deeply insightful book that sheds a lot of light not only on the English, but also by comparison on some of their cousins. (less)

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Oct 05, 2011

James Austen rated it

Recommended to James by: Observers of social customs

If you're English, reading this book might make you wish you were anything but - to put it bluntly we're absurd. No wonder we always loose the euro-vision song contest, or that so much of the world hates us, or laughs at us. After reading this, who wouldn't? Maybe we should not have have repelled the Spanish Armada, or should have lost to Napoleon. We're more small minded and sillier than the Hobbits of the Shire, and it is misleading to judge us by our greatest.
Our crazy social rituals ar...more

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Aug 24, 2011

Kirsty rated it

· review of another edition

I feel I have something of a love-hate relationship with this book. It's clever, insightful and funny, and yet I couldn't help feeling frustrated the further into the book I got. At one point, Kate Fox mentions that she's never criticised for being overly negative, only for being deemed to be too complimentary to the English. However, in an obvious attempt to avoid being `too complimentary', it seems she's gone too far in the other direction. I feel she's excessively critical of the English, ref...more

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Jul 26, 2011

Jenny Sparrow rated it

Будучи страстной поклонницей Англии и всего английского, я просто не могла пройти мимо книги Кейт Фокс "Наблюдая за англичанами. Скрытые правила поведения". Долго вылавливала ее в интернете и наконец купила! (кстати, это была первая книга, купленная мною через интернет-магазин). Переплатила наверняка, ну да не жалею ни капли!

Кейт Фокс - потомственный антрополог, взявшая на себя трудную задачу - определить скрытые правила поведения и особенности национального характера англича...moreБудучи страстной поклонницей Англии и всего английского, я просто не могла пройти мимо книги Кейт Фокс "Наблюдая за англичанами. Скрытые правила поведения". Долго вылавливала ее в интернете и наконец купила! (кстати, это была первая книга, купленная мною через интернет-магазин). Переплатила наверняка, ну да не жалею ни капли!

Кейт Фокс - потомственный антрополог, взявшая на себя трудную задачу - определить скрытые правила поведения и особенности национального характера англичан, так называемую "грамматику английской культуры". На протяжении всех 500 страниц книги она по полочкам, по кусочкам препарирует перед нами загадочную английскую душу, обнажая все прелести и гадости с бесстрастностью ученого. И в то же время делая это так забавно и тонко, как могут только англичане с присущим им чувством юмора и самоиронии. Вы узнаете, как в Англии принято себя вести на работе, в пабе, в ресторане, на светском приеме и в постели. Каковы особенности истинно английского юмора, пития, светской беседы и быта. Как правильно заводить знакомство, какова роль садовых гномиков в жизни англичан, почему погода является национальным фетишем, как правильно есть горох с помощью вилки и почему англичане к домашним питомцам относятся лучше, чем к собственным детям. Блестящая книга, научная, но с юмором, всеобъемлющая, но лёгкая. Книга займет почетное место на моей книжной полке. Горячо рекомендую тем, кто, как и я, очарован Англией и всем английским :)(less)

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Sep 14, 2010

Nicola rated it

Shelves: non-fiction, recommended, writing, anthropology

I was immediately charmed by Watching the English, wherein anthropologist Kate Fox turns an academic eye to why the English talk about the weather obsessively; use irony so rampantly; and otherwise indulge in other quirks that tend to baffle outsiders. The resulting book is very funny and, for the most part, quite a revelatory look at the unexamined social ‘rules’ that govern the English.

I saw a meme circulating on tumblr recently. It was entitled ‘How to have a lovely day’ and it in...moreI was immediately charmed by Watching the English, wherein anthropologist Kate Fox turns an academic eye to why the English talk about the weather obsessively; use irony so rampantly; and otherwise indulge in other quirks that tend to baffle outsiders. The resulting book is very funny and, for the most part, quite a revelatory look at the unexamined social ‘rules’ that govern the English.

I saw a meme circulating on tumblr recently. It was entitled ‘How to have a lovely day’ and it included advice like ‘smile at everyone you meet’ and ‘compliment strangers’. I literally recoiled in horror. As I have learned from Kate Fox, it’s because I’m English, you see. To do such things would: (a) be overly earnest (we hate being earnest); (b) break the privacy bubble (we love our privacy); (c) involve being social in an unstructured way (quelle horreur!).

I heartily recommend this book to both English people and, particularly, non-English people. I also think it makes a pretty neat writing companion. For instance, it’s easy to fail to register that, while I have a settee in my lounge, an upper-class person has a sofa in their sitting room. The book is filled with lots of yummy class-distinctions to make you chortle and then realise you’re far more working/middle/upper class than you’d thought.

Although I enjoyed the book, it’s not without its flaws. Presumably as a result of a lifetime spent writing reports and academic papers, Fox chooses to finish each chapter by summing up what “we” have learned over the last few pages. It’s completely redundant, and I began automatically skipping the end of each chapter once I noticed this stylistic oddity. It’s no exaggeration to say you could cut 20% of the volume of this book and scarcely notice the difference.

I also don’t quite know what to make of Fox’s decision to continually quote Jilly Cooper(!) as a source of infinite wisdom about what it is to be English. I get that Fox was trying to make the book lighthearted in tone in order to boost crossover appeal, but it’s really quite silly to quote a low-brow novelist in an anthropology book. Similarly, she quotes Jeremy Paxman an awful lot, too. Another thing I began automatically skipping.

A judicious editor could have bumped this up to a four-star read. As it is, it’s a bit too lumpy for me to heap unqualified praise upon. Still an enjoyable read that I got a lot out of, though.(less)

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Apr 04, 2010

Anna Carlsson rated it

Name: Anna Carlsson Hour: 5th

SSR: Book-A-Month

What month did you read this book for? March

Title: Watching the English

Author: Kate Fox

Date started/date completed: 3/7-3/23

Total Pages: 414

Rating of book (1-10): 7.5

Briefly summarize the book: In this study of modern social culture, English anthropologist Kate Fox examines the hidden rules of her native country's behaviour, ranging from pub-talk to lingui...moreName: Anna Carlsson Hour: 5th

SSR: Book-A-Month

What month did you read this book for? March

Title: Watching the English

Author: Kate Fox

Date started/date completed: 3/7-3/23

Total Pages: 414

Rating of book (1-10): 7.5

Briefly summarize the book: In this study of modern social culture, English anthropologist Kate Fox examines the hidden rules of her native country's behaviour, ranging from pub-talk to linguistic codes and rites of passage. Her work in the field includes "bumping experiments", in which she purposefully bumps strangers in busy, crowded places, and line-jumping experiments, in which she breaches the English taboo of jumping in line. Despite my lack of English background, I was still able to find humor in much of what she observed, especially concerning the "Rules of Introduction," which are so ambiguous that there appears to be only one: "...to be impeccably English, one must perform these rituals badly. One must appear self-conscious, ill-at-ease, stiff, awkward, and above all, embarrassed." 'Watching the English' is full of such humorous self-deprecation, which is, I suppose, what makes it so inherently English. Though Fox's informal style is not what you might expect from a detailed anthropological study, her thoroughness in putting nearly every aspect of English conversation and behavior under the microscope is undeniable. And when I say nearly every aspect, I mean it - Fox's research compiles hundreds of the underlying, sometimes backwards-seeming behavioral codes of the English. If one doesn't already harbor an interest in this brand of anthropology, it's possible that one might lose interest as Fox describes the various words for couch (sofa being a sure indicator of upper-class background, settee most assuredly no higher than middle-middle class) and their background, or what the posh (or "smart", if you are one of them) English call the sweet meal after dinner.

Author’s purpose: Fox's purpose is to identify the commonalities in rules governing English behavior, and to write a guide describing the (previously) unwritten rules of English society.

Intended audience(s): Fox's style of writing addresses an intelligent layperson who has an interest in learning about a society in a casual, humorous way. (less)

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Jul 23, 2011

Malcolm MacLean rated it

· review of another edition

There are several reasons that I like this book so much. First, it is a fine piece anthropology where Kate Fox turns her eye to home. There are some fine methodological reflections, and the introduction is a masterpiece of ethnographic method (including a discussion of purposely bumping into people to see how many of them say sorry: now there's a quintessential English trait). Second, she sets out to explain Englishness – to lay out what she calls the rule of Englishness – and in doing so expos...more

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May 28, 2011

Suthawan rated it

Shelves: own

มุมมองของนักมานุษยวิทยาอังกฤษ อ่านแล้วก็ได้อารมณ์อังกรี๊ด อังกฤษ สมชื่อหนังสือ โดยเฉพาะวิธีการเปรียบเปรย กระทบกระเทียบ ตลกร้ายและแสบหน่อย ๆ ซึ่งผู้เขียนน่าจะเขียนได้ร้ายกาจและแสบกว่านี้ แต่คงเพราะเป็นหนังสือที่ถูกนำเสนอผ่านการเก็บข้อมูลและงานวิจัยทางมานุษยวิทยาซึ่งต้องคงไว้ซึ่งมุมมองที่ปราศจากอคติ บางครั้งก็รู้สึกถึงความพยายามของมนุษย์ที่สร้างสิ่งไร้สาระให้เป็นสาระขึ้นมา สิ่งที่น่าสนใจที่สุดของหนังสือ น่าจะเป็นการนำเสนอภาพสังคมและวัฒนธรรมผ่านมุมมอง การสังเกต และการวิเคราะห์พฤติกรรมของผู้คนในแบบม...moreมุมมองของนักมานุษยวิทยาอังกฤษ อ่านแล้วก็ได้อารมณ์อังกรี๊ด อังกฤษ สมชื่อหนังสือ โดยเฉพาะวิธีการเปรียบเปรย กระทบกระเทียบ ตลกร้ายและแสบหน่อย ๆ ซึ่งผู้เขียนน่าจะเขียนได้ร้ายกาจและแสบกว่านี้ แต่คงเพราะเป็นหนังสือที่ถูกนำเสนอผ่านการเก็บข้อมูลและงานวิจัยทางมานุษยวิทยาซึ่งต้องคงไว้ซึ่งมุมมองที่ปราศจากอคติ บางครั้งก็รู้สึกถึงความพยายามของมนุษย์ที่สร้างสิ่งไร้สาระให้เป็นสาระขึ้นมา สิ่งที่น่าสนใจที่สุดของหนังสือ น่าจะเป็นการนำเสนอภาพสังคมและวัฒนธรรมผ่านมุมมอง การสังเกต และการวิเคราะห์พฤติกรรมของผู้คนในแบบมานุษยวิทยา ซึ่งมีมิติที่หลากหลายและนำเสนอให้เห็นความเชื่อมโยงระหว่างส่วนต่าง ๆ ของชีวิต โดยเฉพาะความหมายที่ซ่อนอยู่เบื้องหลังพฤติกรรมต่าง ๆ ซึ่งผู้คนในสังคมวัฒนธรรมนั้นเองก็ไม่ได้รู้สึกถึงมัน ทำให้นึกถึงคำที่ว่า "มนุษย์คือสัตว์สังคม" ในความเป็น "สัตว์" การแสดงออกทางพฤติกรรมและความคิดย่อมดำเนินไปตามสัญชาตญาณที่ผ่านกระบวนการเรียนรู้จากการเป็นสมาชิกของสังคมวัฒนธรรมนั้น ๆ ซึ่งส่งผลให้มนุษย์นั้นแตกต่างกัน แต่เราเชื่อมั่นว่า "มนุษย์" ต่างจาก"สัตว์" แล้วเราต่างจาก "สัตว์" ตรงไหน? (ซึ่งที่เห็นชัด ๆ คือ เขียนต่างกัน)ความแตกต่างของมนุษย์นั้นเกิดขึ้นกับเปลือกนอกของพฤติกรรมและความคิดจิตใจเท่านั้น ในความเป็น "มนุษย์" เรามีศักยภาพที่จะวิวัฒน์ได้สูงขึ้นกว่าความเป็น "สัตว์" ซึ่งกระบวนการวิวัฒน์นี้เป็นปัจเจกอย่างยิ่ง เมื่อเป็นปัจเจกก็ย่อมแยกออกจากสังคม สังคมซึ่งทำให้มนุษย์แตกต่างกัน ดังนั้นการวิวัฒน์นี้จะนำเราก้าวข้ามความแตกต่างทั้งหลายและนำเราไปสู่แก่นแท้ใช่หรือไม่ ประเด็นสำคัญคืออะไรและอย่างไรจึงถือว่าเราคือผู้วิวัฒน์แล้ว? (less)

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Jan 04, 2009

Jenni rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Very much enjoyed this again, on second reading. I had mis-remembered that it was as funny as, say, a Bill Bryson book, which it's not - quite - but nevertheless I giggled over lots of it and read many bits out to my willing partner, who plans to read it himself sometime soon.

The insights are quite striking, though as you would expect a little less startling second time round (first time of reading I remember being really taken by the idea that English people form an orderly queue of...more

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Jan 12, 2009

Will is currently reading it

The hidden rules of English people`s behaviour from an anthropologist`s persective-although she certainly doesn`t write like an anthropologist-she`s far too amusing as well as wincingly acurate! As an English woman herself, sh`s able to laugh at herself and is witty, eloquent and accessible. I think it`s a little long-winded at times but she has obviously studied us in great depth and it strikes home and very true. I just hope I`m able to finish it.......

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Jul 21, 2011

Jan-Maat added it

Shelves: 21st-century, british-isles, society

Anthropology practised on the English. The author claims that this was to just avoid the discomfort involved in studying peoples in obscure and isolated parts of the world - but she also tells us that humour is the default mode of the English and that modesty is one of our values. Having put us at our easy with a friendly joke and a humility topos she is able to smuggle her research past the reader and show us just how alien the English are. Which is a nice way of demonstrating the value of h...more

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Oct 28, 2010

Sijmen rated it

Great read, with many lively anecdotes. I found most of the observations to be spot on. I’ll have to take the author’s word on some aspects that I’m unfamiliar with (such as the class system) but considering the accuracy of the other observations I have no reservations doing that.

What annoyed me slightly was the repetition throughout the book. Although I liked how the author distills rules and shows examples throughout the different parts of her research (from pub talk to weddings), th...more

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Sep 12, 2010

James rated it

Runs a little long/redundant. Some areas much more strongly backed with evidence/anecdote than others (particularly the author's previous focus, the pub). But good.
Wish there was this for every place.

"For class-anxious upper-middles, especially the urban, educated, 'chattering' class, concern is focused not so much on doing things correctly as on doing them [i]distinctively[/i]. Desperate to distinguish and distance themselves from the middle-middles, they strive not only ...more

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Aug 07, 2009

Jasmine rated it

Shelves: british

I read this book because an english person came into the store and bought it, and I figured, I wouldn't buy a book like this on america so it must be good. Now it certainly didn't hurt that John is also English and that Barsby yelled at me for commenting that he sounds like Ringo star (I hold fast he does, this is not a british thing on the basis that I do not think any other people sound particularly like Ringo star,only Barsby). Moving on, basically I read this book and I was vindicated, the b...more

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Apr 15, 2009

Martha rated it

Now, I think this book is funny in two main different ways. To the non-English, there is probably a lot of laughing at all the bizarre English rituals and quirks. To the English, like myself, this book is so funny for the truthfulness in it.
I have developed a rather bad habit after reading this book. Because it is so amazingly, and hilariously, accurate, I've started noticing all the little English things my friends and family do- and laughing when I notice them, occasionally with the adde...more

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Apr 27, 2010

jennifer rated it

If you've ever wondered how and why the English are the English, Fox has too. She's an English social anthropologist who has lived in America and traveled all over the world. This book covers all aspects of English behavior-from child rearing, dating, money, table manners, sub-cultures, sex and grief.
I originally had this book in my travel category of book reads, but once I started it I realized that it had little to do with travel, although Fox does interview tourists from different count...more

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Feb 09, 2010

Kristin rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone who is not English and is either living or visiting England.

I found this book to be both entertaining and - as I'm not English - very informative. I think it's highly likely that the 'English' would find it even more entertaining than me. It outlined a lot of (possible) reasons for certain behaviours and also why I would sometimes get dirty looks at the bus stop!

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Nov 06, 2009

Gill rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Gill by: Woolly

Shelves: 2009, month-11, non-fiction

This is an amusing and very accessible study of English behaviour, trying to get behind the national stereotypes and understand what makes us tick.

If you are English you will certainly chuckle in recognition at many things that Kate Fox points out; things that we do without thinking. Someone bumps into you, and you say sorry. Someone looks like they might jump the queue and you start shuffling and raising your eyebrows.

The sections about public transport particularly reso...more

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May 29, 2009

Dejana rated it

Now, why only 3 stars...It is well written and accurate portrayal of English people. I am so glad I read it before I moved to UK. It was amusing and funny as well. At first.
But then I started to be put of with Mrs. Fox contempt for anything "hippie" or "new age", and her love of MS (main stream). I couldn't even bring myself to finish the book because I am already in danger of seeing english people as well programmed robots. The amount of behavior that is dictated by soc...more

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Sep 30, 2011

Yana rated it

This book was a fantastic overview of the differences between English and other (mainly US) cultural norms! There were so many things I read and thought "SO TRUE", and others I read an thought "so THAT'S why they do that"! I thought I was pretty British, but the book made me realize ways in which I am still a bit Russian. I only gave it 4 and nor 5 stars because the comparisons to other cultures are poorly researched, and the summaries at the end of each chapter are really re...more

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Aug 02, 2011

Natalia Wendkowska added it · review of another edition

I liked it that the author is an antropologist, therefor it is not just some opinion on how the english are or should be or how everything was better in the past anyway.

Nevertheless the book is written in a very simple and not strict scientific way- lots of repetitions, simplistic and rather story like ways to put things. I often skipped a few pages because I was getting bored to read the whole point again and again and again.

Still enjoyed it and got some inside from it. Therefor I would recoman...more

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Dec 28, 2008

Aimee rated it

Fox views English (her own) society from an anthropological point of view. She lived for a period of time (her teenage years) in the US and the audience she seems to be writing to is American. The most interesting sections of the book for me were those on humor and language and how the latter can reveal the speaker's social class.

There were many points where I wondered how much English and US (in my experience) were really different. With the exception of some outgoing tendencies,...more

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Aug 06, 2011

Kiki Marriott rated it

· review of another edition

Kate Fox, a social anthropologist said she doesn't see why "anthropologists feel they have to travel to remote corners...to study strange tribal cultures...when the wierdest, most puzzling tribe of all is right here on our doorstep." So true. A fascinating and funny read. My only criticism is that it laboured the points a bit...maybe the editing could have been tighter. But, on the other hand, if this is meant for a wider audience, not just those of us are English or who have lived amo...more

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Feb 18, 2009

93bcn rated it

Here's my review.

like 1 like

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Feb 18, 2009

Anne rated it

Crazy things the English do:
- Eat food off the back of their forks (there's a special way of mashing peas that the author described but I don't get it)
- Talk for like half an hour about nothing before starting a business meeting. This would really bother me, as I tend to walk up to people already talking and forget to, say, introduce myself
- Offer to buy the bartender a drink instead of tipping because tipping would imply that the bartender is working money instead of the plea...more

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Mar 21, 2011

Robert rated it

In my view, a brilliant skewering of English culture and society. Unforntunately, as an Englishman I rather felt the prick of that skewer. So often during the reading of Fox's book I commented to my wife (one of those obnoxious American's mentioned throughout) that she absolutely had to read the book to understand me: it's not me that's weird, it's simply that I'm English.

To be fair - I gave the book 5 stars, in large part because it resonated so strongly with me. However, it does d...more

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About Kate Fox

Kate Fox is a social anthropologist and Public Relations director. She is the director of the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC).

Fox is the daughter of an anthropologist Robin Fox (not to be confused with the famous historian Robin Lane Fox). As a child she lived in the UK, the United States, France and Ireland. She studied for an undergraduate degree in anthropology and philosophy a...more

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“Social scientists are not universally liked or appreciated, but we are still marginally more acceptable than alcoholics and escaped lunatics.” — 3 people liked it

“A truly English protest march would see us all chanting: 'What do we want? GRADUAL CHANGE! When do we want it? IN DUE COURSE!” — 1 person liked it

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