Not in My Name: A Compendium of Modern Hypocrisy [Hardcover]

Julie Burchill is an independent journalist in every sense. Her iconoclastic op-ed pieces have over the years succeeded in offending people from across the political spectrum. A lifelong and unrepentant Communist, her political positions are nevertheless somewhat eclectic, and as time as gone by it has become more and more difficult to spot anything conventionally left-wing about her output.

The subject matter in this provocative collection of essays is quite wide-ranging. Many of the items are whimsical, dealing with absurdities rather than heavy issues, but are still well-written and amusing. Some of the pieces raise serious issues, however, and even challenged my preconceptions in certain areas.

One theme explored is the resurgence of class prejudice in supposedly egalitarian 21st Century Britain. In the past I'd always considered Burchill's obsession with "class" to be a rather silly anachronism, but looking at the examples she gives of the growing tendency to denigrate and ridicule members of the white working class has made me wonder whether I'm the one that's in denial. A bit light on analysis, unfortunately, but she suggests that declining levels of career satisfaction in "middle-class" jobs may be to blame.

She takes a pop at environmentalism - not concern for the environment per se, rather the elevation of the aforementioned concerns into a full-blown ideology, and the bizarre contradictions this leads to. For example, Greens promote locally-produced rather than imported food as it means a lesser carbon footprint, but their liberal principles won't allow them to oppose mass immigration, which is none other than the "importation" of labour.

In another chapter, Burchill excoriates the phenomenon of "fat pride", which started as a plea for acceptance on behalf of plump and obese women, but ended up becoming just another kind of body fascism - yet another example of a movement that is supposed to be empowering or liberating, but isn't really.

The book is a collaborative project between two authors who show a marked divergence both in style and, arguably, ability. Some of Newkey-Burden's social observations are mildly intriguing, and make you realise how tricky it is to pick your way through the minefield of political correctness in the modern world. He remarks on the selective deafness of white rap fans to the misogynistic and reactionary messages that permeate hip-hop. Another paradox he notes is that his supposedly pro-gay friends can be quite prudish and judgemental about his sexual lifestyle, whereas people he knows who are superficially homophobic actually tend to be more accepting. I don't have many gay friends, but in future I'll certainly be observing my own reactions carefully.

But I found his style rather pedestrian, with none of Julie Burchill's frothiness and inventive use of language, and was frequently irritated by his lazy generalisations and poorly-evidenced arguments. In the chapter entitled "Foreign Affairs", he lambasts what he sees as liberal hypocrisy on various global issues - the Bush presidency, the Iraq War, Cuba, etc. He makes some valid points but this sort of thing has been done before and done better (by Nick Cohen for example).

His attempts at satire are, in my opinion, too bitchy and too obviously agenda-laden to be funny, although I accept this is partly a matter of taste. E.g. we have a day in the life of two ficticious "typical modern hypocrites", Ben and Siobhan, who somewhat resemble the "cultural creative types" lampooned in Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions - except SWPL doesn't portray them as internet porn addicts and closet anti-Semites. In his "hypocritical travellers' guide", he berates the people of Ireland for their supposedly antidiluvian attitudes to homosexuality, based apparently on his own difficulties in getting a room with a double bed when he's been on vacation there. In fact, Ireland is a country undergoing rapid secularisation and is steadily adopting greater sexual permissiveness, so he could at least have given them some credit for having made progress. In the preface to Not In My Name, he is at pains to point out that changing your stance on something isn't hypocritical, but principled. So in his world, it seems, people can change, but countries can't.

Altogether, this is a somewhat hit-and-miss affair that almost feels like two completely different books sliced into thin sections and interleaved with each other. For this reason, it's difficult to rate it fairly. But since fairness and objectivity are evidently not very high on the authors' list of priorities, I won't lose much sleep over this!

I bought the book after reading Julie Birchill's recent op ed piece on the British environmental movement on the LONDON TIMES' web site, hoping to read more on this issue. Although this book closes with a 15 page essay at the end about this very issue, most of the book is a compilation of expanded op ed columns into essay form. It does provide insights into the current attitudes and direction of British society.

Having worked and lived in the UK for brief, 3-month periods (1960, 1962, 1963, 1967) for six months (1969), and making short visits in 1976, 1979, 1980, 1985 and 1988, I found the book an interesting revelation on how much, but not all that much, of British society has changed since my last visit. From my perspective, it is not a pretty sight as the UK seems to have lost its societal standards much like Western Europe.

The first section on "fun and Games" turns out to be mostly psycho babble and isn't worth commenting on.

The second section on "Foreign Affairs" focuses directly on the hypocrisy of British attitudes about the world. The principal hypocrisy that is emphasized over and over is how the elitist liberal left glorifies the culture of the Arab Middle East WITHOUT REALIZING that those values would undermine the very things they believe in. Moreover, the persistent "America-Bashing" and "Israel Bashing" by the elitist liberal left is precisely exposed and dissected and revealing what it is - a cover for high-end class warfare both in Britain and overseas. This section comes full circle when the contradictions that are revealed indicate a love of much of what America offers and ends with the comment "we are all Americans now." Perhaps so.

The essay on `Catholic hypocrisy" was, regrettably, shocking and revealed excesses in the Irish Catholic Church that are unconscionable.

The third section on "The Cost of Fame" bares the shallowness of Britain's celebrity culture. Because I'm NOT into celebrity culture, this part of the book meant nothing to me and I skipped most of it.

The last section on "Green Unpleasant Land" is perhaps the best part of the book. Here, the authors graphically expose the continuity of class superiority that has long characterized British society, only it is now expanded into a combination of the old elite (hereditary; old schools), the educated elite, the artistic elite, the academic elite, and media elite. From my perspective, it appears that class warfare still remains a prominent part of British culture and nothing has changed. The closing essay on `greens' shows eloquently how the elite uses and supports the `green movement" as a means to keep class warfare alive and the `masses' "in their place" - in short a modern extension of the Medieval principle of "Thou shalt know thy place". Moreover, the blatant `sexism' of the green movement is also revealed in stark contrast. Their comment that "Green is the white man's Islam: really agreeable for the rich who have servants to do everything boring for them, and really super-sucky for everyone else, especially women" sums it up well. I know, I've seen it first hand as an earth scientist in the USA. Moreover, as the writer's state "For the promise of a better tomorrow for the wealthiest, most powerful and idlest of our world, Green is spoiling the lives of the poorest, weakest and most hard-working today. Far from a revolution, Greenery is a savage defense of privilege and tradition". My reaction: Well said, or as they say over there "hear hear".

The closing "Appendix" is a marvelous satirical write-up of a variety of hypocritical ways and is in itself worth reading and done with good humor.

The book has a lot of things that are germane to us all. But, you have to pick and chose according to your world view and LIFE priorities.