The BBC and some other large organisations in Britain are currently rocked by the Jimmy Savile scandal. Over many decades, Jimmy Savile, apparently restlessly working for charities to help disadvantaged children, was in fact preying on the very same kids he pretended to help. The police now think that he was a 'predatory pedophile' who abused more than 200 children.
I have not written about this since the scandal broke because words can only fail to express the horror and devastation felt by those he betrayed, the children he feigned to help, as well as those he actually abused sexually over such a long time.
There are however two issuees that got my attention beyond the sheer evil of his actions. The first is that Savile's behaviour was by no means secret. In fact it was widely known amongst his colleagues and perhaps even tolerated by management in the BBC and the NHS hospital he worked in. So the magnitude of this scandal only becomes clear when one thinks about the wall of silence that surrounded his actions, a wall not built by himself but created and maintained by others.
The second aspect relates to the relationship between good and evil in human behaviour. Savile's nephew recently expressed his sadness upon hearing about his uncle's crimes and he contrasted it with the enormous amount of charity work Savile has done over his life time. Yet when it comes to predatory pedophiles this may confuse motivation and behaviour. Savile may well have developed and nurtured his charity role in society exactly because this line of work ensured that he had access to young underage girls and boys.
For predatory pedophiles, contrasting the 'good' they are doing with the 'harm' is a common strategy of defence. In one of the biggest pedophile scandals in the US, the recently convicted rapist Jerry Sandusky (who worked as Penn State assistant football coach) used a similar strategy. In an interview with the New York Times he pointed to all the charity work he has done, arguing that he could not possibly have done any evil because he had done so much good.
We now know that Sandusky founded and developed his charity for disadvantaged boys exactly because it allowed him access to his victims and a perfect cover to groom them for his sexual abuse over a long period of time. It seems that people like Savile or Sandusky do not do good or evil, they do good in order to perpetrate evil.
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
On Cook's journals
When I lived in Aberdeen I was a keen listener of the shipping forecast every night on BBC Radio. The broadcast exuded a sense of certainty and security while reporting gales and all sorts of weather all over the North Sea. I never found it tedious to listen to it.
This may be the reason why I had little apprehension when I bought James Cook published logbooks of his journeys into the South Sea a couple of years ago. Recently, I finally got round to reading them and I am absolutely gripped by the records of the events unfolding on Cook's three journeys around the world.
The diaries of the first two journeys are littered with weather and nautical information and it may be those that make them so soothing and re-assuring to me. Yet, the most fascinating aspect of his records lies in the way in which they reflect the novelty of Cook's endeavours and the fact that many of the islands he 'discovers' have actually had contact with European travellers already. I always assumed that Cook and his mates were somehow embarking on a journey into the unknown. But, in fact, time and again he notes carefully any previous visits to the islands by others. Although maps were often erroneous and geographical locations of these islands differed widely from one account to another, many of the islands had had contact with the outer world already when Cook arrived.
Interestingly, Cook also notes a phenomenon that we today may call collective memory. He often noticed on his second and third journey that, when re-visiting islands, he often does not recognise any single individual of the locals in the crowd. What he finds astonishing however is that they ask him and his team often detailed questions about incidences that reflect intimate knowledge about his previous visit. Cook was a good observer and he had often very close contact with locals sharing time and many adventures with them when on the islands.
While the fact that Cook does not recognise many of the faces may simply be because of the low life expectancy in the populations he visited, the fact that something like a memory of his previous visit remained alive amongst the people is difficult to explain. Cook's journals offer countless of these fascinating details about life outside the European culture and his records remains a worthwhile read even after so many years, with or without the nautical paraphernalia.
This may be the reason why I had little apprehension when I bought James Cook published logbooks of his journeys into the South Sea a couple of years ago. Recently, I finally got round to reading them and I am absolutely gripped by the records of the events unfolding on Cook's three journeys around the world.
The diaries of the first two journeys are littered with weather and nautical information and it may be those that make them so soothing and re-assuring to me. Yet, the most fascinating aspect of his records lies in the way in which they reflect the novelty of Cook's endeavours and the fact that many of the islands he 'discovers' have actually had contact with European travellers already. I always assumed that Cook and his mates were somehow embarking on a journey into the unknown. But, in fact, time and again he notes carefully any previous visits to the islands by others. Although maps were often erroneous and geographical locations of these islands differed widely from one account to another, many of the islands had had contact with the outer world already when Cook arrived.
 |
| A real size replica of Cook's Royal Navy Barque 'Endeavour' in Sydney Harbour |
Interestingly, Cook also notes a phenomenon that we today may call collective memory. He often noticed on his second and third journey that, when re-visiting islands, he often does not recognise any single individual of the locals in the crowd. What he finds astonishing however is that they ask him and his team often detailed questions about incidences that reflect intimate knowledge about his previous visit. Cook was a good observer and he had often very close contact with locals sharing time and many adventures with them when on the islands.
While the fact that Cook does not recognise many of the faces may simply be because of the low life expectancy in the populations he visited, the fact that something like a memory of his previous visit remained alive amongst the people is difficult to explain. Cook's journals offer countless of these fascinating details about life outside the European culture and his records remains a worthwhile read even after so many years, with or without the nautical paraphernalia.
Saturday, 6 October 2012
Universal benefits to go?
Britain has a long tradition of universal benefits. Whilst some of those are rightly celebrated as a means to lift some people out of poverty and provide a unifying thread across all sections of society, some of them have become a serious challenge to the public purse.
Politicians who question the usefulness or wisdom of universal benefits, such as free bus passes for all pensioners, run into two problems. First, they sound as if they grudge some of the poorest in society the most minimal types of support. And, second, they need to explain how universal benefits can be re-designed in such a way that they are targeted at the most in need. Means testing, the conventional form of targeting benefits to particular social groups, is an expensive bureaucratic exercise whose cost often exceeds the potential savings.
Whilst universal benefits are only minor expenditure items in large budgets (such as that of Central government or England's), for the devolved administrations in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast some universal benefits constitute a major item of expenditure simply because their devolved budgets are smaller and predominantly in those areas that 'host' universal benefits such as bus passes or prescription charges.
The former Scottish Auditor General has now raised some serious concerns about the culture of 'freebies' from devolved governments. In a BBC interview he argues that the demographic changes over the last 2 decades makes a strong case for reviewing some universal benefits. future projections of the costs of universal benefits support his argument. In the long term, some of the universal benefits are simply unsustainable and it appear also morally questionable why millionaires in Wales or Scotland should receive free prescriptions for medication.
The Scottish Labour leader has also floated some controversial ideas about universal benefits, the first time a Labour leader has ventured into this territory. The Welsh government under Carwin Jones has strongly rejected her argument and insists that universal benefits are here (in Wales) to stay. Yet, the Welsh government's case is even weaker than that of the other devolved governments. With a yawning gap in the budget for the NHS (this year alone about £240 million need to be found to save NHS health boards from bankruptcy), and no new funding settlement for Wales in sight, Carwin Jones hopes for a balanced budget are fast disappearing. So far, he has managed to lay all blame on everyone else but the profligacy and mismanagement of his own government, but he wont be able to do this much longer.
Revisiting the extent and usefulness of universal benefits may just be a starting point to reduce the gap in the Welsh budget. The biggest hurdle for this however may not have anything to do with the number crunching, but with Carwin Jones' character. Looking at universal benefits takes political courage and that is not something the Welsh Labour leader is known for.
Politicians who question the usefulness or wisdom of universal benefits, such as free bus passes for all pensioners, run into two problems. First, they sound as if they grudge some of the poorest in society the most minimal types of support. And, second, they need to explain how universal benefits can be re-designed in such a way that they are targeted at the most in need. Means testing, the conventional form of targeting benefits to particular social groups, is an expensive bureaucratic exercise whose cost often exceeds the potential savings.
Whilst universal benefits are only minor expenditure items in large budgets (such as that of Central government or England's), for the devolved administrations in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast some universal benefits constitute a major item of expenditure simply because their devolved budgets are smaller and predominantly in those areas that 'host' universal benefits such as bus passes or prescription charges.
The former Scottish Auditor General has now raised some serious concerns about the culture of 'freebies' from devolved governments. In a BBC interview he argues that the demographic changes over the last 2 decades makes a strong case for reviewing some universal benefits. future projections of the costs of universal benefits support his argument. In the long term, some of the universal benefits are simply unsustainable and it appear also morally questionable why millionaires in Wales or Scotland should receive free prescriptions for medication.
The Scottish Labour leader has also floated some controversial ideas about universal benefits, the first time a Labour leader has ventured into this territory. The Welsh government under Carwin Jones has strongly rejected her argument and insists that universal benefits are here (in Wales) to stay. Yet, the Welsh government's case is even weaker than that of the other devolved governments. With a yawning gap in the budget for the NHS (this year alone about £240 million need to be found to save NHS health boards from bankruptcy), and no new funding settlement for Wales in sight, Carwin Jones hopes for a balanced budget are fast disappearing. So far, he has managed to lay all blame on everyone else but the profligacy and mismanagement of his own government, but he wont be able to do this much longer.
Revisiting the extent and usefulness of universal benefits may just be a starting point to reduce the gap in the Welsh budget. The biggest hurdle for this however may not have anything to do with the number crunching, but with Carwin Jones' character. Looking at universal benefits takes political courage and that is not something the Welsh Labour leader is known for.
Monday, 1 October 2012
Balls' conference freebies
As the Labour Party conference in Manchester draws closer to the highlight of the party leader’s speech, the Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has tried to steal the limelight from his namesake by proposing a stamp duty holiday for first time buyers.
Balls undoubtedly will want to repeat the trick of his Conservative colleague George Osborne four years ago, who, with the Conservatives enjoying mainly ‘soft’ support in the polls, proposed a raise in the inheritance tax allowance for families to £250,000. Post-conference polling showed that the support for the Conservatives firmed up and Cameron was on his way to 10 Downing Street.
Yet, Balls may struggle to repeat this feat under current circumstances. In fact, his proposal may turn out to be a grave mistake for two reasons, one strategic, one tactical.
The first reason why Balls may have miscalculated is that the country is in a different position now then it was in 2008. For the last two years, the public debate has been about how to pay down the debt in the best possible way, rather than about how to spend more. Although the writing was already on the wall in 2008, Osborne still operated under the impression of generous spending limits and the British public was equally thinking that there was still something to give away. Now, this has changed and the polls indicate clearly that voters expect the main battle ground to be over what and where to cut, rather than to make uncosted promises of additional spending.
Yet, the second (tactical) mistake Balls may have made is one that resonates in particular with Labour voters. As spending is being squeezed, the Labour Party leadership is pushed hard to come up with suggestions about what they would do differently to the coalition. So far, there is a big yawning black hole (or a plethora of policy committees which may or may not report some time in the future) where there should be policies. This arguably leaves Balls and Miliband with little choice but to offer some little nuggets instead a coherent programme of reform.
The stamp duty holiday fits into this tactic. It looks like short termism when Labour should instead strive to formulate a coherent programme to re-focus public services. Commentators have already noted how much Balls’ proposal smacks of Gordon Brown’s attitude to policy, echoing the lack of grand narrative and purpose of the last two years of Labour in power.
So, there we are. As Balls reverts back to his old paymaster’s tactics, he may just come to regret his proposal as the country has moved on, for better or worse, to a time of spending reductions. The argument about what to cut and what not, is the harder one to have, but running away from it wont help Labour.
Sunday, 30 September 2012
Why we don't criticise the NHS
A recent survey showed that people are reluctant to criticise the care they receive by the NHS. Whilst we are happy to rate pretty much any service or good we obtain, from mobile phones to hotel stays, we are far less likely to say something critical about the NHS. The Guardian has reported on the result of this survey and the figures are revealing. Only about 250 people go online every day to rate their experience with the NHS, out of 1 million daily encounters in the NHS between care staff and patients.
The authors of the report suspect reverence for medical professionals the main reason. But another reason for why we rarely say much about the NHS is that we simply don't know. Look at it this way.
Rating a good or a service inevitably involves comparing it to a previous experience. We may often not be aware of this comparative exercise, but when we say something about a movie we have seen, we intuitively judge it against a previous movie experience. Although comparisons are complex mental exercises, the fundamental component of any comparison is a previous experience of something that we deemed sufficiently similar to compare it to. That may be easy with movies, yet harder to come by when we think about a colonoscopy. Experiences of medical care are mainly non-comparable, singular events in their nature. We do not have an operation to remove our appendix at Central Manchester Hospital and then decide to go to France to have the same procedure all over again. Once it's done, it's gone.
That illustrates of how little use NHS satisfaction surveys are. People simply have nothing to compare it with when it comes to medical care experiences. At best, they may re-visit the same hospital again and their rating may simply reflect whether or not the hospital itself has improved its care quality over time. Cross comparisons between hospitals or even between the NHS and other care organisations can hardly be based on patient satisfaction surveys.
As a foreigner, I have the privilege ( or perhaps the misfortune) to know two health systems, the NHS and the German system, a de-centralised health care model based on mixed economy health providers. I also work in a university hospital in Wales, one of the largest in the country. Although I bristle at the dire state of hygiene in NHS hospitals and the poor food, I could hardly comment on whether Welsh surgeons would do a better job at operating my appendix than any German doctor would. What I do know however is that if I hear any politician speak of how great the NHS is because they have the highest satisfaction ratings in years, I will roll my eyes and hope I never be asked to fill in one of those surveys.
The authors of the report suspect reverence for medical professionals the main reason. But another reason for why we rarely say much about the NHS is that we simply don't know. Look at it this way.
Rating a good or a service inevitably involves comparing it to a previous experience. We may often not be aware of this comparative exercise, but when we say something about a movie we have seen, we intuitively judge it against a previous movie experience. Although comparisons are complex mental exercises, the fundamental component of any comparison is a previous experience of something that we deemed sufficiently similar to compare it to. That may be easy with movies, yet harder to come by when we think about a colonoscopy. Experiences of medical care are mainly non-comparable, singular events in their nature. We do not have an operation to remove our appendix at Central Manchester Hospital and then decide to go to France to have the same procedure all over again. Once it's done, it's gone.
 |
| Not your usual NHS staff - or so you hope! |
That illustrates of how little use NHS satisfaction surveys are. People simply have nothing to compare it with when it comes to medical care experiences. At best, they may re-visit the same hospital again and their rating may simply reflect whether or not the hospital itself has improved its care quality over time. Cross comparisons between hospitals or even between the NHS and other care organisations can hardly be based on patient satisfaction surveys.
As a foreigner, I have the privilege ( or perhaps the misfortune) to know two health systems, the NHS and the German system, a de-centralised health care model based on mixed economy health providers. I also work in a university hospital in Wales, one of the largest in the country. Although I bristle at the dire state of hygiene in NHS hospitals and the poor food, I could hardly comment on whether Welsh surgeons would do a better job at operating my appendix than any German doctor would. What I do know however is that if I hear any politician speak of how great the NHS is because they have the highest satisfaction ratings in years, I will roll my eyes and hope I never be asked to fill in one of those surveys.
Saturday, 29 September 2012
Lisbon diary
Of all the cities in Europe I always wanted to visit Lisbon has long been top of the list. Perhaps it's the melancholy writing of Pessoa or the fascinating history of this country. Last year I visited Porto and fell in love with the language and the feel of the city: laid back yet organised, small yet big enough to have a fantastic concert hall and a beautiful city centre.
Now it was Lisbon's turn and I was not disappointed. In fact, I have rarely seen such a wonderful place for living and working. The city is big but not overwhelming, well run and clean. It has charm (and beautiful people needless to say), yet also retains a feeling of normalcy that makes it appealing and exciting at the same time.
Yet, the most fascinating aspect of Lisbon and Portugal may be its rich and exciting history. In particular, the last hundred years offer fascinating insights into the clash of modernity with pre-modern elements of life. If you look for manifestations of the recent past, you don't need to look further than Lisbon's trams. Although the city has a functioning and spacious metro system, it also kept its tram lines above ground which still prove a magnet for tourists.
Perhaps the most intriguing detail of Portuguese history however is an aspect that is little discussed: the long 'freeze' under its last dictator, Salazar. The sheer length of his regime provides some staggering figures. Having come to power in 1929, he lived and ruled Portugal until his death in 1970. Although brutal at times, his rule distinguished itself from the previous regime, the last turbulent monarchic rule of Portugal followed by a brief interim republic, and laid the foundations for a semi-modern economy and society.
In a sense perhaps Salazar's dictatorship saw Portugal's slow transformation from a largely aristocratic regime into a modern republic, something that infuriated some because of its slowness and protracted nature, while being admired and envied by others who experienced radical social and economic transformations at the beginning of the 20th century leading to internal strife and civil war. Whatever the lessons of his long rule, Portugal is now fully integrated into the European Union and Lisbon is the Iberian pearl on the Atlantic.
Now it was Lisbon's turn and I was not disappointed. In fact, I have rarely seen such a wonderful place for living and working. The city is big but not overwhelming, well run and clean. It has charm (and beautiful people needless to say), yet also retains a feeling of normalcy that makes it appealing and exciting at the same time.
 |
| The memorial dedicated to the discoverers in Blemel |
Yet, the most fascinating aspect of Lisbon and Portugal may be its rich and exciting history. In particular, the last hundred years offer fascinating insights into the clash of modernity with pre-modern elements of life. If you look for manifestations of the recent past, you don't need to look further than Lisbon's trams. Although the city has a functioning and spacious metro system, it also kept its tram lines above ground which still prove a magnet for tourists.
 |
| Lisbon's tram |
Perhaps the most intriguing detail of Portuguese history however is an aspect that is little discussed: the long 'freeze' under its last dictator, Salazar. The sheer length of his regime provides some staggering figures. Having come to power in 1929, he lived and ruled Portugal until his death in 1970. Although brutal at times, his rule distinguished itself from the previous regime, the last turbulent monarchic rule of Portugal followed by a brief interim republic, and laid the foundations for a semi-modern economy and society.
In a sense perhaps Salazar's dictatorship saw Portugal's slow transformation from a largely aristocratic regime into a modern republic, something that infuriated some because of its slowness and protracted nature, while being admired and envied by others who experienced radical social and economic transformations at the beginning of the 20th century leading to internal strife and civil war. Whatever the lessons of his long rule, Portugal is now fully integrated into the European Union and Lisbon is the Iberian pearl on the Atlantic.
Monday, 17 September 2012
What has the coalition achieved?
The coalition government under David Cameron has had a rough time recently. Surveys show that key ministers are deeply unpopular amongst the British people and the poll figures for both parties, the Conservatives and the LibDems, took a beating since the Rose Garden photo op in 2010.
There have also been rumblings amongst Conservative members of parliament about the leadership qualities of David Cameron, prompted by a perceived advantage given to LibDems in key policy areas. Nick Clegg and his parliamentary colleagues, so the complaint goes, determine policies to a far greater extent than they should. Given the widespread disenchantment with the coalition one might be forgiven to ask: what is the point of the coalition? Has it achieved anything so far?
The most effective opponent of the coalition government is not Her Majesty's Opposition, yet perhaps time itself and the tendency of all electorates to indulge in selective memory. It is easily forgotten how radical this government actually has been, much to the consternation of some former Labour ministers who had similar plans for transformations of public services, yet either never got round to implement them or were blocked by Gordon Brown.
Just reviewing a list of recent reforms reveals the magnitude of the policy programme of the current government. Fundamental change and reforms have received legislative approval in education, health, constitutional affairs and welfare.
Take welfare for example. James Purnell was the one but last Labour Welfare Secretary and his plans for welfare reforms approximated closely those of the current postholder Ian Duncan Smith. When in power, Labour had a keen awareness that the current trajectory of welfare spending was unsustainable in the long term. Ian Duncan Smith, starting in 2010, implemented a radical shakeup of the welfare and benefits system which, for the first time in more than 30 years, involves the re-assessment of benefit recipients for payments.
Despite some criticism from disability rights organisations the reforms seem to be largely in tune with the views of the British public and there seems to be widespread consensus that benefit payments require better targeting at those in need. Ian Duncan Smith carefully built the case for reform and is about to implement it, ceaselessly reminding reform opponents that simply continuing to increase welfare expenditure is not an option and may exacerbate inbuilt injustices.
In other words, he managed to locate the current reforms in the wider context of equity and justice, as well as present them as largely continuous of previous postholder's intentions. Similar feats have been pulled off by the Education Secretary Michael Gove, who argued that his education reforms are in essence an extension of the academy programme started by Labour under Tony Blair.
Yet, how truly radical the policy agenda of this government has been is only revealed by looking at those areas that have little resonance with the British public. It is in matters such as constitutional affairs that investing political capital rarely pays off and hence little progress is often made over decades. Shortly after coming to office, the coalition legislated for fixed term parliaments which removed the prime ministerial prerogative to set the date of the general election, something not even Labour was ready to give up.
After only two years, the record of this coalition government compares positively with Tony Blair's first term, even though he always regretted not having adopted a more radical approach when coming to power. Yet as selective as collective memory might be, it is also usually arriving at a more balanced appreciation of achievements as time goes by. John Major's government, though deeply unpopular at the time, might be a case in hand. Major's term in office is now seen as laying the foundation for the unprecedented economic recovery in the second half of the 1990s creating the space for the expansion of public expenditure under Labour. In this sense, Cameron and Clegg may have their best time still ahead of them.
 |
| Happier times! Cameron and Clegg in the Rose Garden of Number 10 in 2010 |
There have also been rumblings amongst Conservative members of parliament about the leadership qualities of David Cameron, prompted by a perceived advantage given to LibDems in key policy areas. Nick Clegg and his parliamentary colleagues, so the complaint goes, determine policies to a far greater extent than they should. Given the widespread disenchantment with the coalition one might be forgiven to ask: what is the point of the coalition? Has it achieved anything so far?
The most effective opponent of the coalition government is not Her Majesty's Opposition, yet perhaps time itself and the tendency of all electorates to indulge in selective memory. It is easily forgotten how radical this government actually has been, much to the consternation of some former Labour ministers who had similar plans for transformations of public services, yet either never got round to implement them or were blocked by Gordon Brown.
Just reviewing a list of recent reforms reveals the magnitude of the policy programme of the current government. Fundamental change and reforms have received legislative approval in education, health, constitutional affairs and welfare.
Take welfare for example. James Purnell was the one but last Labour Welfare Secretary and his plans for welfare reforms approximated closely those of the current postholder Ian Duncan Smith. When in power, Labour had a keen awareness that the current trajectory of welfare spending was unsustainable in the long term. Ian Duncan Smith, starting in 2010, implemented a radical shakeup of the welfare and benefits system which, for the first time in more than 30 years, involves the re-assessment of benefit recipients for payments.
Despite some criticism from disability rights organisations the reforms seem to be largely in tune with the views of the British public and there seems to be widespread consensus that benefit payments require better targeting at those in need. Ian Duncan Smith carefully built the case for reform and is about to implement it, ceaselessly reminding reform opponents that simply continuing to increase welfare expenditure is not an option and may exacerbate inbuilt injustices.
In other words, he managed to locate the current reforms in the wider context of equity and justice, as well as present them as largely continuous of previous postholder's intentions. Similar feats have been pulled off by the Education Secretary Michael Gove, who argued that his education reforms are in essence an extension of the academy programme started by Labour under Tony Blair.
Yet, how truly radical the policy agenda of this government has been is only revealed by looking at those areas that have little resonance with the British public. It is in matters such as constitutional affairs that investing political capital rarely pays off and hence little progress is often made over decades. Shortly after coming to office, the coalition legislated for fixed term parliaments which removed the prime ministerial prerogative to set the date of the general election, something not even Labour was ready to give up.
After only two years, the record of this coalition government compares positively with Tony Blair's first term, even though he always regretted not having adopted a more radical approach when coming to power. Yet as selective as collective memory might be, it is also usually arriving at a more balanced appreciation of achievements as time goes by. John Major's government, though deeply unpopular at the time, might be a case in hand. Major's term in office is now seen as laying the foundation for the unprecedented economic recovery in the second half of the 1990s creating the space for the expansion of public expenditure under Labour. In this sense, Cameron and Clegg may have their best time still ahead of them.
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