Missing the Point

In his new book, John Elsom considers the drama of international politics from the viewpoint of a theatre critic, someone who sits in life's stalls and takes notes in semi-darkness. He relates how grand narratives of human behaviour grew from the insights of Darwin, Descartes and the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, to become "the unacknowledged state religion of the West, High Modernity." He argues that the primary aim of most European ministries of culture, together with Western media companies, is to promote aspects of this faith. With a dazzling range of examples, from George Bush's New World Order to the war in Iraq, the Peace Process in Northern Ireland and John Birt at the BBC, Dr. Elsom describes how the faith in High Modernity has permeated Western habits of mind. High Modernity may alarm those who do not share its Enlightenment beliefs, but it reassures others who want to believe that the future is something that "we can, and must, control," according to the mission statement for the Millennium Dome. The Author: John Elsom is the author of nine books, six plays and an opera libretto. A free-lance literary critic and journalist, who has worked for magazines and broadcasting stations around the world, including the BBC, Paramount Pictures and in the US, The World & I. He has taught in many universities and was the president of the IATC, a UNESCO cultural NGO. Currently a director of Arts Interlink, an arts management consultancy, he was knighted in Romania and doctored in London. Main hobby: random contemplation. Chief asset: a modest availability.