I am always fascinated when people talk about 'the forging of a nation'. Most nations are forgeries, perpetrated in the last century or so.
Who invented political tolerance? The English invented it, it's something which has taken roots with some difficulty in Scottish politics. - Neal Ascherson
Who invented political tolerance? The English invented it, it's something which has taken roots with some difficulty in Scottish politics.
- Neal Ascherson
English stupidity is an organism so primitive that it is apparently impossible to kill off. It reminds me of Physarum Polycephalum, the gigantic slim… - Neal Ascherson
English stupidity is an organism so primitive that it is apparently impossible to kill off. It reminds me of Physarum Polycephalum, the gigantic slim…
There are many kinds of revelation. But the most powerful is the vision which transcends the mental boundary between life and non-life, and Scotland … - Neal Ascherson
There are many kinds of revelation. But the most powerful is the vision which transcends the mental boundary between life and non-life, and Scotland …
Broadly speaking, most people lived their lives in a kind of unwilling conformity. The thing was that they were offered, as time went by, various kin… - Neal Ascherson
Broadly speaking, most people lived their lives in a kind of unwilling conformity. The thing was that they were offered, as time went by, various kin…
The way that words mutate reminds me of fashions in music. The word--the note--is a constant. But the setting and chord in which it occurs alters wit… - Neal Ascherson
The way that words mutate reminds me of fashions in music. The word--the note--is a constant. But the setting and chord in which it occurs alters wit…
Darwinism did not strip meaning from the world but intensified it, 'by identifying it in as many aspects of life as possible'. - Neal Ascherson
Darwinism did not strip meaning from the world but intensified it, 'by identifying it in as many aspects of life as possible'.
History--the product, not the raw material--is a bottle with a label. For many years now, the emphasis of historical discussion has been laid upon th… - Neal Ascherson
History--the product, not the raw material--is a bottle with a label. For many years now, the emphasis of historical discussion has been laid upon th…
It was a real revolution. But with one missing feature. That is the feeling in a people that "We have done it once, and if the new lot let us down, w… - Neal Ascherson
It was a real revolution. But with one missing feature. That is the feeling in a people that "We have done it once, and if the new lot let us down, w…
Well, if there is a spectrum between ethnic and civic forms of nationalism, which is a rather schematic way of looking at it, all nationalism contain… - Neal Ascherson
Well, if there is a spectrum between ethnic and civic forms of nationalism, which is a rather schematic way of looking at it, all nationalism contain…
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