Kenan Malik

Photo of an eagle owl

Sunday photo

Eagle owl (on the Isle of Lewis)

AI thrives where education has been devalued | The Observer A culture that views knowledge as a means to an end invites the misuse of new technology

“It is less that AI is the cause of degradation in reading and thinking, and more that the creation of a culture that views knowledge primarily in an instrumental manner has made it easier to misuse AI.” My ‪@theobserveruk.bsky.social column: observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Thank you

Photo of the bridges of Newcastle

Sunday photo

Bridges of Newcastle

What would Frantz Fanon say about Gaza? | The Observer The postcolonial thinker's ideas were forged in the fire of Algerian liberation – but his views were more nuanced than his myth suggests

“What Fanon had discovered was a contradiction that has shaped the modern world - between societies that defined themselves through a commitment to equality and social practices that denied such equality to the majority of people.” My ‪@theobserveruk.bsky.social column observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Photograph of the London skyline taken from Shooters Hill

Sunday photo

London skyline (from Shooters Hill)

‘Controlling the narrative’ always fails | The Observer A catastrophic data breach put thousands at risk. But the attempt to bury the story may have done even greater damage

“The very desire to control the narrative by curtailing public information not only undermines democracy but leads inevitably to the narrative spinning out of control.” My ‪@theobserveruk.bsky.social column: observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

‘Controlling the narrative’ always fails | The Observer A catastrophic data breach put thousands at risk. But the attempt to bury the story may have done even greater damage

“The very desire to control the narrative by curtailing public information not only undermines democracy but leads inevitably to the narrative spinning out of control.” My ‪@theobserveruk.bsky.social column, online today, in print tomorrow: observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Certainly the right push it (and it is very much a rightwing argument). But so did New Labour with its "Respect" agenda.

The process began long before Starmer. It's been 30 years in the making.

So, social democratic parties haven't moved away from their working class constituencies? And I'm sure the Murdoch press is full of condemnations the conservative mainstream embracing ethnonationalist and white identitarian tropes and how that's allowing out-and-out racists to be more assertive.

Well, that degenerated very quickly. And what a brilliant argument that is.

Let's see. Vivek Chibber. Paul Gilroy. Wendy Brown. Hans Kundnani. Adolph Reed. Catherine Liu. Kenneth Warren. But I won't go on - you've obviously got a bizarre notion of what it is to be "on the left".

No, I don't see much point in carrying on if you can't read.

And it's silly to have to point out that your original claim makes no sense.

No, it's a trend about which many others on on the left have been warning for years.

And where am I "constructing an imaginary conservative 'working class' (the word 'white' is implicit)" rather than challenging?

‘I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK’ ‘I don’t recognize my country’. ‘I want my country back’. These have for many years been the sentiments of those opposed to immigration into Britain. Immigrants, so the critics claim, have taken ov…

kenanmalik.com/2016/10/27/i...

Modern racism has become loud and proud | The Observer The response to a photo of a class in London shows how ethnic notions of national identity have seeped into mainstream conservatism

My article is about how mainstream conservative support for ethnic notions of national identity and their defence of white identity have helped pave the way for out-and-out-racism. I'm not sure why that contradicts what I've previously said. Here it is again: observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Your understanding of Bluesky seems to be as deep as your understanding of what I am saying.

No, I haven’t turned replies off. My replies are permanently on. But the OP to whom I’m replying (‪@crookedfootball.bsky.social‬) limited replies to his OP to those he’s following or those who follow him, and that applies to the whole thread, including my response.

Modern racism has become loud and proud | The Observer The response to a photo of a class in London shows how ethnic notions of national identity have seeped into mainstream conservatism

Given that my whole article is about how mainstream conservative support for ethnic notions of national identity and defence of white identity have helped pave the way for out-and-out-racism, it might help if you had actually read the article. But, here it is again: observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

...to those he’s following or who follow him. Which is why some could respond to my reply.

For the record, my replies are permanently on.

Can people please learn how ‪@bsky.app‬ works before making idiotic comments such as this (there have been a few of these). In ‪@bsky.app‬, the OP sets the options for the thread, including all responses, and in this case, the OP to whom I was replying limited replies...

Your understanding of Bluesky seems to be as deep as your understanding of free speech, or my politics.

No, I haven’t turned replies off. My replies are permanently on. But the OP to whom I’m replying (‪@crookedfootball.bsky.social‬) limited replies to his OP to those he’s following or who follow him, and and in ‪@bsky.app that applies to the whole thread, including my response.

SOCIAL CONSERVATISM AND THE WORKING CLASS This essay, on the debate about social conservatism and the working class,  was my Observer column this week. It was published on 152December 2019, under the headline ‘The idea that the Briti…

Far from “assuming working class whites are all racists and troglodytes”, that’s precisely what I’m arguing against, and always have, eg

kenanmalik.com/2019/12/23/s...

SOCIAL CONSERVATISM AND THE WORKING CLASS This essay, on the debate about social conservatism and the working class,  was my Observer column this week. It was published on 152December 2019, under the headline ‘The idea that the Briti…

On the contrary, “an imaginary conservative 'working class' (the word 'white' is implicit)” is precisely what I’m arguing against, and always have, eg kenanmalik.com/2019/12/23/s...

SOCIAL CONSERVATISM AND THE WORKING CLASS This essay, on the debate about social conservatism and the working class,  was my Observer column this week. It was published on 152December 2019, under the headline ‘The idea that the Briti…

It’s precisely that caricature that I’m arguing against, and always have, eg kenanmalik.com/2019/12/23/s...

Modern racism has become loud and proud | The Observer The response to a photo of a class in London shows how ethnic notions of national identity have seeped into mainstream conservatism

Which is why my whole article is about how mainstream conservative support for ethnic notions of national identity and their defence of white identity have helped pave the way for out-and-out-racism observer.co.uk/news/opinion...