Thinking

Anthony Barnett (London, OK): Over on Pickled Politics, Sunny Hundal has responded to my appeal for left thinking as well as to Sunder Katwala's important response in oD, where the leader of the Fabians sets out his 5 point approach. (One that is clearly linked to the thinking of the next generation of Labour leaders so Cameroons look out...) As ever Sunny is practical, radical and clear, though he does not pick up on the debate about the individual and inequality in the comments on my initial appeal. Could it be that something entirely missing from the Prime Minister's speech is beginning to emerge, namely a left-liberal, progressive strategy? Don't bet on it, but do contribute to it if you can, every grain of sand will help - and even grit!

Anthony Barnett (London, OK): I threw down a gauntlet earlier this month and asked: where is the thinking on the left? Compared to the energy and vitality of right-wing blogland it seemed to me that the left was failing to make connections and set an agenda, whether far-left, centre-left, liberal-left, it all seemed left-over. I tagged the Fabians and Compass groups by name. Gordon Brown had announced a pathbreaking engagement with the undemocratic nature of the British state as a whole and they were just asleep at the wheel. They could support, oppose, expose, critique or campaign on it, or relate it to other issues too, instead there as no response at all; it was as if their definition of campaigning was to watch Newsnight. A very intense exchange took place in the comment section between Paul Hilder from Avaaz and Tony Curzon Price of oD about the the connections between the individual, equality and solidarity, but from the wider traditional UK left came there...

OurKingdom  For those of you who are not asking yourselves - yet - about the left's new thinking, there is an interesting exchange on the challenge of the big three concepts of individualism, solidarity and equality, between oD's Tony Curzon Price and Avaaz's Paul Hilder in the comments here.

Anthony Barnett (London, OK): I have been scratching my head over Martin Bright's column in the New Statesman. In addition to welcoming Labour being united behind Brown he proclaims that "the left is brimming with new thinking for the first time in years". What is this new thinking? Seriously, I've missed it. Brimming! Could readers post their list of, say, the top ten, or even six, new lines of thought on the left. Either here or on their own websites. To make it easier this thinking does not have to be part of any coalition forming around the Prime Minister as Bright seems to imply.