Phil Cohen Works

Phil's Blog

The Pandemonic Dialogues

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1. We don’t want to be  heroes, even for one day We are not heroes. We do not want to be fallen  martyrs. All this war imagery  makes us very uncomfortable. It distract people from the reality. We are ordinary people who have chosen to  become  health workers and carers. We are professionals and highly trained. All we want is to be given the tools we need to do our job … [Read more...] about The Pandemonic Dialogues

Mapping the Pandemic

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MAPPING THE PANDEMIC FROM LEFT FIELD PHIL COHEN Published on line by Compass  Wednesday June 24 2020 This essay  looks at a  range of public, personal and governmental responses to the pandemic for what it tells us about the kind of society and culture we live in. Drawing on insights from anthropology and psychoanalysis a model of risk perception is … [Read more...] about Mapping the Pandemic

SAID THE JOKER TO THE THIEF Political Mindfulness and the Crisis of the Left Part 2

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There must be some way out of here The title of this discussion  might at first sight appear to be a plea for some kind of radical escapology.  We are in a mess, how do we get out of it?  There are currently a number of escapisms on offer on the Left. An escape into the past via  nostalgic evocations of a world  of working class community  support which has been  lost . … [Read more...] about SAID THE JOKER TO THE THIEF Political Mindfulness and the Crisis of the Left Part 2

Politics’ Other Scene : some reflections on the times of Brexit

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On Mindfulness [i] We are living through a conjuncture which almost defies conjunctural analysis, where politics are taking an increasingly toxic turn and we are indeed entering uncharted waters. Against this background, the propagandists of neo-liberalism urge us to cultivate ‘resilience’ and ‘mindfulness’ as a way of seizing and surviving the present moment. Mindfulness in … [Read more...] about Politics’ Other Scene : some reflections on the times of Brexit