Thursday, 31 October 2013

Soft skills or hard cash? Blair, determinism and the misplaced ego

Tony Blair recently said that he was so good as an international peace summit mediator because had had empathy.

He understood the pain of one party and was able to convey those emotions to their enemies. We all, at root, have human feelings and children to protect.

I won't dismiss these soft skills entirely. Experience at work tell me that the talent, determination and people skills of individuals are ultimately the key the getting stuff done. I think there's more to it though.

It's all about the cold hard cash?

Blair also said that this modest recognition of his superior empathetic qualities was a hard thing to accept as he'd been brought up in the Marxist school of economic determinism.

This states that the world evolves though economic states inevitably and there's nothing the individual does that affects that. Feudalism, capitalism and finally socialism will happen due to factors inherent in those system. For example the competition for finite resources and markets must lead to conflict within capitalism and to it's decline. The world rolls over us, we don't really make a difference.

As a liberal I'm a champion of an individual's impact on the world. Not least as it's depressing to be subject to external forces. But there's something in this underlying forces argument.

Individuals are just the icing on the cakes

The soft skills argument oversells itself. The waring parties wouldn't be at the table if the threat of US military wasn't lurking. I wouldn't be at the table being all caring with Tony because I'm not the prime Minister of a G8 country with a massive army, a predilection for invasion and a say in the movement of E.U. cash. Tony's Princess Di eyes are just the icing on the cake.

The X Factor winner is Christmas number 1 every year because the machine behind it provides 20 weeks of prime time advertising. The pretty singer can sing, the tune might be ok but if they had all that when they still worked in Greggs and no-one bought their records then. Icing on the cake.

Finally to Orwell: 'Pacifism is the preserve of people who live in a country with a large navy'. His point being that if you are overrun by goths, you would grab your pitchfork. Only in the Home Counties, over a glass of Chianti can you afford the luxury of such values because the Royal Navy sits in the channel sinking Vikings.

Larger forces are at work than the emotional intelligence of men who have honed their soft skills.         

No comments:

Post a Comment