Phillip Blond: "Red Tory"

Having heard that Phillip Blond was being hailed as something of a guru for David Cameron and the new government, I obtained a copy of Blond’s book “Red Tory” in the hope of learning new and exciting ideas. I was sadly disappointed. The first few chapters were a kind of generalised moan about modern society, attacking everything from street crime to bad television, and the central chapters, where Blond attempted some political philosophy, “The illiberal legacy of Liberalism” and “Restoration of Ethos” were simply twadddle. I find it hard to believe that Blond has actually read Rousseau and John Stuart Mill: if he has, he certainly hasn’t understood them. Also, one is surprised to find such Marxist terms as "wage slavery", not to mention the apalling verb "proletarianise", in a book clearly aimed at Conservatives. It is disappointing to think that a man of David Cameron’s intelligence and academic attainments cannot find a better guide. In any case, I can’t imagine any prominence given to Blond’s book being anything more than a temporary fad.

Incidentally, the same week as I read “Red Tory”, I also read A. N. Wilson’s “God’s Funeral”. The difference in intellectual calibre, let alone literary style, is truly galactic!