Rather disagree with you there Leos. 1) I do not think the state should have the right to noop on people, even if I trusted the British political establishment but 2) I do not trust our establishment. Our politicians and journalists all agree about practically everything and Britiain is essentially a dictatorship with ballot boxes 3) Why do these politicians want to scrutinise people 4) As you say, at present the CCTV system is useless. So why spend so much money on it? Are they testing the waters? Seeing if people will disagree? Paving the way for something else 4) If the worst case scenario comes up, then Britain may install an even worse government. And they may have resources that no other dictatorship has ever had. As well as an astoundingly apathetic population.

The strange thing is, this is not really the case. Certainly Brown is deeply unpopular, but this is nothing to do with his policies (which are practically identical to Camerons) but because he does not fit in with the media obsessed Britain.

As for Canada, there is a lot that is appealing about it as a country, but I disliked their decision to ban George Galloway. I’m no fan of the guy, but to say someone is not allowed in the country because of their poilitical views is really creepy. Especially when the word ‘terrorism’; is brought up to bar an egocentric big-mouth. I know the same happens in Britain, but what’s the point of leaving the fire-pan?

Of course, by the time I got Canadian citizenship, Obama might have turned the USA into the People’s Republic of America (according to the right wingers on the internet anyway).

‘Black Mass’ is a far more interesting book than False Dawn. Gray is himself a classical liberal, but his comments on how small state liberalism has become a statist system is very interesting.

2. Agreed on Scotland, IIRC you can take 3 subjects in your first year and choose one to specialize in during the second year. It’s not as good / free as the typical US system, but far better than in England where if you choose a subject you come to hate you get screwed (and in any case acquire a narrow specialization).

3. If you’re talking of universities like Cambridge or Edinburgh, then yes. Yet as you go into middle-tier unis you start hearing horror stories…

An anecdote. Academic acquaintance there got the task of teaching a theory-heavy course on calculus. The pre-course aptitude test he gave his students showed a majority of them incapable of basic arithmetic. How they got through the earlier courses I leave to your imaginations.

Re-John Gray. Haven’t read Black Mass, but I have read False Dawn. Back then I was more under the influence of the neoliberalism, so it didn’t make a big impression, though recently the basic truths of what he is saying are becoming increasingly evident.

Re-that photo. Scoffing? It’s an excellent metaphor for modern Britain. Substitution of the eyes of God (i.e. basic pre-capitalist social values) for the eyes of the state (when everything can be bought, including morality, then the state must become more coercive to keep an increasing artificial society cemented together – hence you have an emerging surveillance police state).

Re-France & Germany. France has pretty big social problems with its Muslims, who are locked out of the labor market by the combination of poor educations, white-French chauvinism and strict employment laws. Though overall I agree the situation there is much better than in the UK.

Re-the future. Probably economic collapse, a faux-conservative reaction, and after that the return and full consolidation of authoritarian, inegalitarian socialism. That would be my guess.