Winston Smith (5)

The are two important aspects to this book. The first is that it is an insight to world many Britons won't realise exists (I didn't), the world of a well-subsidised underclass rotting on its haunches as a gurning, inhumane and zealous bureaucracy looks on. And pays. It seems that there is a third sector industry of some size that helps those who aren't aspirationally middle-class to fester expensively in their own shite while gurgling meaningless mantras about empowerment and best practice and so on. The world in which Winston Smith works is like something out of Hieronymus Bosch, but with Powerpoint presentations. It's unbelievable stuff and it's impossible to read it without feeling some anger at a series of palabable injustices. As well as exposing the horrors of NewLab third way-ism it also shows liberalism itself has become something of an anachronism.

The second important aspect is negative. And that's because this book, originally a humble blog, is in essence a bloke moaning about his job. A lot. From a position of frustrated superiority. And that's just a bit wearying. My sympathies for the author ended when he wrote that he split-up with his then-girlfriend because apparently "they couldn't afford to have kids". I know this is supposed to be ironic and even tragic, considering the well-supported young families and single mothers he works with, but really it's just defeatist. But then this book is a moan, and as such it comes from a wellspring of selfishness.

I was very glad to read it though, and it's great that it's been shared as a book. The editor should have stuck some stats in there though, considering the wider poilitcal impact of what Smith is writing about and arguing, even if they were just in box-outs.… (mere)