Mike Robbins's Blog, page 5

In these troubled times...

An election!

Now you need a book to help you make sense of what passes for democracy in the UK.



Such Little Accident: British Democracy and Its Enemies

In this novella-length essay, I argue that the free exchange of information is the lifeblood of democracy. I then look at the threats to that process in Britain. They are many; the way the electoral system distorts the agenda, the misunderstanding of science, the 'silo' effect of the Internet and a culture of bullying that replaces thought with rage.

Here's what some readers have said about Such Little Accident:

"This essay is written by someone who knows what they’re talking about. It’s engaging, easy to understand for the layman, and it has a great balance of facts alongside some personal anecdotes from the author. It also has a necessary pinch of humour too."

"This is an extremely important read which covers a lot of ground. All of the strands intertwine and present us with a summary of the nightmare we face on today's world stage."

"[He] has drawn information from a great deal of sources, and has eloquently stuck to facts rather than rhetoric."

"A nourishing essay dealing with the predominant points of interest brought forth by recent trends, focusing here mainly on the UK but branching out to pertinent reflections on events stateside also."

"A good, short read which will make you reconsider your Friends list on Facebook and (one hopes) more determined to seek out opinions contrary to your own. "

If you want to understand where we're going, and why we shouldn't, Such Little Accident is essential reading.

Available for e-reader and as a paperback.

Such Little Accident

Such Little Accident: British Democracy and Its Enemies



Sold well at first... but has now slowed down, and in any case the purpose of this essay was never to make money (the e-book's only 99p, anyway) but to stimulate debate about democracy in Britain. So if anyone wants to read this, please do let me know and I will send you an EPUB, MOBI or PDF. If you can review it on Goodreads/Amazon or post about it on Facebook, that will also be welcome, but I shan't expect you to; what I want is for this piece to make people think.

This is the blurb:

“When the people shall have nothing more to eat,” said Rousseau, “they will eat the rich.” But the rich are rather good at getting the poor to eat each other instead. In this provocative novella-length essay, Mike Robbins looks at how the British electoral system, social media, bullying by business, and a growing gap between rich and poor have led to deep fissures in British society. These have been exploited by those with an agenda of their own. As a result, democracy is now fragile. To repair it, we must look hard at the way information cycles through our society, and how our opinions are formed.

Populism

Populism is not the same as fascism, but they have shared traits - not least in how they come about. Two books, one new and one older, that may help to explain. http://mikerobbinsnyc.blogspot.com/20...

Such Little Accident

What a year it's been. This is my response, I suppose.

Such Little Accident: British Democracy and its Enemies

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

This is the blurb:

“When the people shall have nothing more to eat,” said Rousseau, “they will eat the rich.” But the rich are rather good at getting the poor to eat each other instead. In this provocative novella-length essay, Mike Robbins looks at how the British electoral system, social media, bullying by business, and a growing gap between rich and poor have led to deep fissures in British society. These have been exploited by those with an agenda of their own. As a result, democracy is now fragile. To repair it, we must look hard at the way information cycles through our society, and how our opinions are formed.

E-book only for now but a paperback will be out in a couple of weeks.

If anyone wants to review it, please let me know and I'll send them a file. Likewise if you are not sure you'll do a review, but are just genuinely interested in the topic.

Happy birthday Clare Hollingworth

Happy 105th birthday to Clare Hollingworth, the extraordinary foreign correspondent who broke the news of the invasion of Poland, covered the war in the Balkans and Middle East, was the first and probably the last journalist to interview the Shah, and in later years kept a keen eye on the rise of China. I strongly recommend her autobiography, Front Line. Meanwhile:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37606306

Giveaway: The Lost Baggage of Silvia Guzmán

I'm running a giveaway for my own favourite amongst my books, The Lost Baggage of Silvia Guzmán - a dark satire around the story of a refugee in fashionable liberal London. Do enter for a chance to win a copy. The giveaway is here:

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Also available as an ebook of course, for $2.99/£2.16/EUR 3,09.
If you'd like to read more about this book and how it came to be written, the story's here:

http://mikerobbinsnyc.blogspot.com/20...

Dog! giveaway

I'm running a giveaway for the paperback version of Dog! for the next week. Do enter for a chance to win. If you don't win, please do consider downloading the eBook of the miscreant mutt; he's a very good read, and good value at 99c/99p/EUR0,99. And he won't dig up the garden or poop on the lawn. Though he may give you some strange nightmares...
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Two from Texas

Two great indie books from the Lone Star State
http://mikerobbinsnyc.blogspot.com/20...

Don't like anchovies? Don't bother voting, then

"It should not be argued that proportional voting would make the subversion of democracy impossible. That is clearly nonsense. Hitler came to power under a proportional system (albeit a party list system, which would not be my first choice). However, it should be noted that Hitler’s total – he won 33.09% of the votes cast in November 1932, on a turnout of about 80% - represented about 26.5% of the registered electorate. This was more than the Conservatives won in Britain in 2015, and would have carried him unchallenged into absolute power under the British system. In Germany, it at least required the (reluctant) consent of the President."

http://mikerobbinsnyc.blogspot.com/20...

Brexit - why?

Why indeed? A tale of slacktivism, digital silos, post-factual politics and the English breakfast http://mikerobbinsnyc.blogspot.com/20...