Decency, Ethical Action & the Common Good in Donald Trump's Morally Bankrupt Anomic Wasteland

In these years of populist politics and of power mad men and their mindless rabble rousing followers stamping their jack boots on the face of humanity we are witnessing a breakdown in the once accepted accepted standards of decency, democracy and integrity. Whether it be Trump, Netanyahu, Putin on the world stage, or Farage, Tommy Robinson, the Reform Party and great swathes of the old Tory Party in the UK (and, sadly, many who should know better in the English Labour Party) the big political questions being asked are no longer whether this policy or that initiative is good, decent, worthy, morally right or even just – the only question asked and criterion for action is “Will it get us what we want?”; the world is turning its back upon integrity and ethical action in favour of zero sum politics where the end justifies the means. That is what underpins all Trump’s “deals” - whether they be in Gaza, Ukraine or in the USA with his attacks on various groups, his side lining of the American Constitution and the US justice system and his abandonment of not only the accepted norms of political and social behaviour but also the common good. And we in the UK are well along the same path; "Does it get me what I want", not "Is it right or is it wrong" has become the solipsistic question to ask in contemporary society, commerce and politics. It is the route to a society rapidly losing its moral compass and dissolving into an anomic wasteland.

For many, like me there is a deep sense that all is not well with our world and I have found myself increasingly turning to the writing of the late Tony Judt – historian, political scientist, political philosopher - for both solace and understanding; his books not only trace how easily we can get to this point but give us signposts as to the sort of world that we should be aiming for.

Judt died in 2010. In 2008, he began to suffer from aggressive amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He soon became paralysed from the neck down and died in August 2010 aged 62. Born in London to a Jewish family he was regarded as one of the brightest of his generation and became internationally known as an expert in 20th century European history and from the 1990s served as the Director of the Erich Maria Remarque Institute Professor and European Studies at New York University. The Remarque Institute focuses its research on Europe and the contemporary world. It was founded in 1995 and named after the German writer Erich Maria Remarque. His widow made a $20 million donation to NYU. Its aims being "to support and promote the study and debate on Europe, and to encourage and facilitate communication between Americans and Europeans". Erich Maria Remarque was the author of the great German1st World War novel "All Quiet on the Western Front", published in 1928 which was strongly anti-war. Remarque was hounded by Hitler as anti-German and forced to flee Germany. He became a naturalised American citizen.

I have most of Judt’s wonderful books on my shelves; they are not just informative history books but inspiring and thought provoking analyses of political events, movements and, above all, ideas and one of them, Judt's "Ill fares the land", is one I return to again and again. It's a thin volume that can be read in a couple of nights but for me and many of my generation and viewpoint it "speaks" - its sub heading is "A treatise on our present discontents" - which says it all. The title of the book is a quote from Oliver Goldsmith’s 18th century poem “The deserted village”, a biting commentary on the great inequalities of his day: ".....Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates, and men decay......."

In October 2010 Tony Judt gave his last public lecture. In that lecture (click on the video link below) he covers many of the points and issues that one can read about in “Ill fares the land”. Judt’s last lecture was his greatest gift to us. For almost 2 hours he sketches, details and gives voice what many like me feel. He was only a few months from his own death, paralysed from the neck down and having to breath with the help of a machine. Incredibly, he spoke without notes. His words are and must be a clarion call to all right thinking people across the western world.

Judt died before the advent of Trump and the other right wing/populist/fascist rabble rousers that are now in ascendancy in our capitals and on the streets of the western world and other places across the planet; he would be horrified at what we have allowed to happen. Sadly he is not here to guide us, but his words and this lecture remain; we should heed what he says. This video should be broadcast across every public building and his little book “Ill fares the land” on the shelves of every library, every school, every university and every government facility – because it speaks of decency, ethical action, society's moral compass and the common good.

Poor Law to NHS: "Dreaming of things that never were".

Occasionality – and sometimes unexpectedly - one comes across something which really grabs your attention, that perhaps thrills you or, to coin a phrase “makes your day”. I’ve had such an occurrence in the past 24 hours.

In the years leading up to and since my retirement two decades ago I have slowly built up an extensive library – my office shelves strain under the weight of hundreds of books; philosophy, politics, history, society……. many of the great works of the world’s learning and fiction. And over the years I have read almost every one (many of them several times) – the only outstanding ones being my most recent purchases, all waiting for me to open their covers. And yesterday I began reading one of my latest acquisitions, a book given to me by my daughter Kate on my 80th birthday a few months ago because, as she said at the time, "I think it might appeal to you”. How right she was.

From the minute I read the first couple of pages I was hooked.

Kate had come across the book almost by accident - it was written by the father of one of her friends in Manchester where Kate lives. It is called “Park Hospital Davyhulme: Birthplace of the NHS” by Edmund Hoare & Michael Billington and it tells the story of that Manchester hospital from before its setting up and up to the present day.

The hospital in question is not famous as one of the great hospitals of the land: Barts, King’s College, Papworth, the John Radcliffe, or Great Ormond Street to name but a few. Indeed it is, many might say, just an ordinary, everyday provincial hospital like so many others throughout the country. But that would be doing it a great disservice for it is anything but ordinary and everyday – it has a unique history and that history is part of the very fabric of the nation’s social, political, and medical landscape; in short it is about us as a people, it is part of our cultural heritage.

Park Hospital began its life in the late 1920s when it was the last hospital to be built in this country as a result of the ancient (dating back to Tudor times) Poor Laws - indeed its concept and establishment was under the supervision of the local Poor Law Guardians. During the war it became a military hospital for troops from the UK, France and America and then shortly after the War it became an NHS hospital. Some might say this was its finest hour when on July 5th 1948 the Park Hospital was chosen to be the place where the new NHS was launched. On that day the great founder of the NHS, Nye Bevan, came with other dignitaries to the Park to officially launch the NHS – and in doing so changed this country for ever and for the better. Today, as Trafford General Hospital, it would be quite unrecognisable to that which opened in 1929 as Park Hospital, born out of the ancient Poor Law but that is a testament to the endeavour, commitment, ideals, far sightedness and altruism of so many for almost a century and up to the present day.

The book is the story of this hospital and its unique and great history and its contribution to the locality and the wider nation. It is full of anecdotes, interesting details, memories, documents and all manner of resources written by people who experienced both the everyday, humdrum moments in the life of the hospital but also its finest moments when it became a beacon in the life of the nation. Filled with pictures, facts and lively commentary it is not a dry and dusty history book but a volume that oozes life and passion. And for me, it makes me proud of what this country can and did do in our long history - even in the most trying of times. It’s not about battles won or kings being crowned or flags being mindlessly waved in faux patriotic pride but about ordinary people who, in the times that they lived – whether it was in the dark days of the Poor Law, or in the age of the much dreaded workhouse, or in the inspirational days of the infant NHS – did what they could and more to make the world a better place both for themselves and their families and for future generations. It makes real the social contract that binds together successive generations; I pay my taxes to make my own world a better place, but in doing so I am also making things better for those yet to be born for they will be born into a world with the hospitals, schools, roads, parks, public services and the rest that makes their world and their lives better. And I, and others like me, have in a small way helped to provide all that; it is our legacy to those yet to be born - people that we will never know, given freely and with love; a maxim which perhaps sums up the tale told in this wonderful book. I was born in 1945, a child of Attlee and Bevan’s “New Jerusalem”, a child of the NHS and I (and my family) am a direct beneficiary of what my parents’ and grandparents’ generations did in their times. And that is why the book is more than just a nice informative read – it’s about our responsibilities as citizens of today and and our responsibilities to each other both now and to the citizens of the future.

Beautifully written and illustrated it’s a treasure trove of information and comment. It’s a social history and a testament to the ingenuity and ambition of both ordinary people and the great men and women of our nation. On the one hand we live, today, in age of increasing homelessness and deteriorating housing stock, of a constantly under pressure health service, of potholes blighting our roads, of under resourced schools, of growing inequality and all the other ills that contemporary society bears witness; and on the other hand our contemporary politicians of every hue appear timid, lacking both vision and the courage of their convictions to take the necessary ambitious steps to improve things. This book is a timely and important reminder of what can be done if the will is there. It’s not just about Nye Bevan and the birth of the NHS but a testament to people through the ages who, to use President John F Kennedy’s words, knew that “The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by sceptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were.” Bevan, Attlee and those involved in the founding of this hospital were such people, but they weren't just dreamers, they dreamt of things that many in their times thought were quite unimaginable and unattainable, and they acted. They were people who made dreams come true - and this lovely book is their testament.

If you get the chance, have a read of this splendid and inspiring book and, like those people of past generations, dream of things that never were.