Wednesday, Sep 16, 2009
Archbishop: 1 Paxman: 0
BBC News: Archbishop condemns bank excesses
I don't normally pay much attention to bleating bishops, but Dr Williams performance on Newsnight last night was a delight. Paxo started talking down to him, but the Archbish' very elegantly turned the conversation, leaving Paxo looking a prat..
Posted by uncle tom @ 09:11 AM (899 views) Add Comment
11 Comments
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1. titaniccaptain said...
Yes Uncle Tom as a Christian I am not a fan of the Arch Bishop but he had a cracking one liner....
Quote from interview:-
"Intimidated by expertise"
....in relation to the (Not interview quote) "they know what their doing best keep our heads down and say nothing" sentiment that permeated British culture to a larger degree pre-Lehman brothers collapse.
2. the number cruncher said...
That was remarkable - Rowen has spoken the truth that we will never hear from any politician. He really is a very remarkable clergyman who has spoken truths that never are normally allowed on mainstream media -
I should imagine the right wing of the church will be burning with hatred and plotting his demise as soon as possible
3. inbreda said...
never trust a beardface.
4. smugdog said...
There is something rather satanic and worrying about those eyebrows.
5. happy mondays said...
Did not see the programme, but any religious man / woman who speaks the truth and goes against the government has got my vote...
6. uncle tom said...
It's slightly amusing that neither the names Rowan nor William(s) have a biblical origin..
7. mark wadsworth said...
I don't like RW as a rule, but he was quite good fun yesterday.
He's still making the mistake of joining in the bashing-bankers'-bonuses frenzy though, that was a symptom not a cause. The cause was easy credit (partly from China or Petrostates, presumably) and a house price bubble.
8. icarus said...
In all the Paxman interviews there was too much talk of 'mistakes', 'stupidity', 'we're all partly to blame', 'sorting it all out democratically' (cont. p94). There was never any discussion of power. The closest hint was by the old banker in the previous interview who made a clear distinction between investment and commercial banks, hinted at the dominance of the former and said investment banking = Wall Street, British investment banks having been sidelined by US ones. It's Wall Street, backed up by Washington that has called all the shots and made most of the profits, to some extent at the expense of the rest of the financial sector (e.g. pension funds, German state banks which knew only how to serve the real economy etc.). Then other financial institutions were under pressure to match the unsustainably high returns of investment banks, i.e. to behave like them. I don't think anybody made the point that the size, activity, profits etc. of the financial sector are far and away too big for the simple function of serving the real economy.
9. letthemfall said...
I didn't get the impression that Paxman was talking down to the Archbishop; on the contrary, I think he has a lot of respect for individuals like Dr Williams, Vince Cable and others with something worthwhile to say, reserving his contempt for the mealy mouthed politicians.
I think the Archbishop has much of value to say on these matters, making points that no one else does, especially the one about being overwhelmed by the expertise that turned out to be bullsh**. I also think his remark on original sin, though no doubt appearing quaint to many, has something in it, especially when you consider the unquestionable avarice of the bankers, and indeed many other members of society (BTLers for example). I think the bankers do need a certain amount of bashing, at least enough to fragment the giant institutions which act like robber barons but with greater sleight of hand.
As icarus notes, economic power has become highly concentrated, and this has led to riches for a few and poverty for the many, not just in dubious economies like Russia and developing nations, but in Western economies too, particularly the UK and USA. Whether one wishes to ascribe this to grubby bankers, trade imbalances or whatever, the problem needs addressing urgently but worringly nothing much is happening, possibly a sign that the power of the banks is proving difficult to wrest away. A return of 80s style riots may possibly be in the offing. If big public sector cuts do go ahead, then this is quite likely.
10. tenant super said...
Rowan is a Christian Socialist; there is much truth in what he and other clergymen have said in reponse to the current economic situation; but they are opportunists, pouncing upon a truly ugly situation to push their own agenda which usually boils down to a kind of sanctified form of Marxism.
11. techieman said...
awkward amateur!!