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The New Few: A Very British Oligarchy
1st edn 1st printing. 8vo. Original gilt lettered black cloth (Fine), dustwrapper (Fine, not price clipped). Pp. viii + 305 (no inscriptions).
305 pages, Hardcover
First published April 26, 2012
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136 people want to read
About the author
Ferdinand Mount
39 books33 followersFerdinand Mount was born in 1939. For many years he was a columnist at the Spectator and then the Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times. In between, he was head of the Downing Street Policy Unit and then editor of the Times Literary Supplement. He is now a prize-winning novelist and author of, most recently, the bestselling memoir Cold Cream. He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 4, 2013
Mount's book champions localism and equality and looks at 'oligarchy' and how Britain is rife with it and how things were different. Don't let the fact that Mount has worked for the Conservative Party put you off.
Some of the things he mentions has been in the press before, others less considered. He challenges both the major parties views, but had slightly too much support for the coalition government in Britain at the moment, despite making criticisms and not supporting the view that the poor on benefits are to blame for everyone's pain.
He makes some very interesting points and facts about banks, major companies, shareholders, local councils, 2011 riots, political parties and their practices, but sadly on the last page praises Margaret Thatcher (British Prime Minister 1979-1990), who spearheaded disenfranchisement in the first place, as well as some of the policies of the Labour Government under Blair in the 1990s. He makes many good points with statistical facts, but sometimes spoils them by supporting some politician who has done the opposite. Worth a look!
Some of the things he mentions has been in the press before, others less considered. He challenges both the major parties views, but had slightly too much support for the coalition government in Britain at the moment, despite making criticisms and not supporting the view that the poor on benefits are to blame for everyone's pain.
He makes some very interesting points and facts about banks, major companies, shareholders, local councils, 2011 riots, political parties and their practices, but sadly on the last page praises Margaret Thatcher (British Prime Minister 1979-1990), who spearheaded disenfranchisement in the first place, as well as some of the policies of the Labour Government under Blair in the 1990s. He makes many good points with statistical facts, but sometimes spoils them by supporting some politician who has done the opposite. Worth a look!
October 12, 2017
Mount is an old Etonian and a Baronet. He ran the Number 10 policy unit under Margaret Thatcher and headed the right wing Centre for for Political Studies. This makes him uniquely positioned to offer a damning critique of the State.
For fifty years Great Britain has become an increasingly materialistic and individualistic society, symbolized by the increase of rights while forgetting responsibilities. After centuries of impenetrable hierarchy, the rise of the individual seemed a thoroughly good thing. This has now tipped over into naked self interest; from bankers like Mr Fred Goodwin who feather their own nests and receive incredible bonuses regardless of success or catastrophic failure, the politicians who received a pay rise ten times that of much of the public sector workers, the corporate fat cats who dodge their tax bills, all are symptomatic of a culture that has lost its way, has forgotten the national interest and the very real exigencies of a struggling population.
I was struck with the similarities of Mount's conclusions and observations with those of left wing luvvie, Owen Jones in his book, The Establishment and how they get away with it.
An excellent read!!
For fifty years Great Britain has become an increasingly materialistic and individualistic society, symbolized by the increase of rights while forgetting responsibilities. After centuries of impenetrable hierarchy, the rise of the individual seemed a thoroughly good thing. This has now tipped over into naked self interest; from bankers like Mr Fred Goodwin who feather their own nests and receive incredible bonuses regardless of success or catastrophic failure, the politicians who received a pay rise ten times that of much of the public sector workers, the corporate fat cats who dodge their tax bills, all are symptomatic of a culture that has lost its way, has forgotten the national interest and the very real exigencies of a struggling population.
I was struck with the similarities of Mount's conclusions and observations with those of left wing luvvie, Owen Jones in his book, The Establishment and how they get away with it.
An excellent read!!
February 10, 2018
Truly enjoyed this book. In fact, I've not come across a book by Ferdinand Mount that I didn't like. I don't agree with all of his views but he's incredibly informative nonetheless. I particularly like how his highly educated past gets rubbed off on the reader and I find myself reading books from his recommended reading list that I wouldn't normally seek out.
Yes, there is a massive polarisation between the incredibly rich and the incredibly poor. It needs to be addressed. This book is somewhat dated in that Mr Mount wrote of his high optimism about the direction of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition; the aforementioned polarisation still exists despite policies that may have been attempted after the book was published. A worthy read for anyone with even passing interest in UK politics.
Yes, there is a massive polarisation between the incredibly rich and the incredibly poor. It needs to be addressed. This book is somewhat dated in that Mr Mount wrote of his high optimism about the direction of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition; the aforementioned polarisation still exists despite policies that may have been attempted after the book was published. A worthy read for anyone with even passing interest in UK politics.
January 29, 2023
Ten years old and, inevitably dated. More so as the last three years or so have been more eventful than most. The first half is the more convincing: Mount traces the gross overindulgence in the financial sector thar led to 2008 quite vividly. His prescriptions seem less credible: at one point he almost seems to be advocating a Trump like figure and he fails entirely to look at the psychopathlogy of extreme wealth - surely the all-consuming drive to scrabble after a wealth far vaster than they could sanely want or need implies that at least some of the scrabblers aren't quite right in the head?
December 21, 2016
A compelling analysis of how Britain appears to be going to hang together as a society. Dispenses with woolly and political notions of 'equality' to identify how runaway disconnectedness at the top and bottom of society needs tackling. Interestingly, many of the proposals in the book formed part of the Coalition Government's agenda for government - I would be interested to read about the outcomes of the government's programme in terms of the issues discussed.
February 13, 2021
Bit out of date now, but some interesting observations, especially about the future of the EU.
June 12, 2016
Interesting, sharply argued jeremiad, lamenting the concentration of political and economic power (not that, after a certain point, one should distinguish between the one and the other) in the hands of an undeserving few, and the unappealing consequences – economic inequality, erosion of the political sphere, centralisation and unaccountability.
It would be wilfully thick-headed to take issue with Mount's thesis. (Note: this book was published in 2012, before the word 'elites' became a tiresome cliche.) That said, his (deliberate) personal style, relying as much on elegant observations as on cold statistical fact, (coupled with his life-long associations with sectors of the political class associated - fairly or not - with many of the problems outlined in this book) may divert from the essential argument, that we have enabled a structural oligarchy to feed off the imperfections of the existing social and political order.
Prescriptions for change aren't particularly forceful (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, in itself – revolutions do tend to look to the short term, after all); that said, and given that the book starts with an assessment of the essential self-serving nature of the corporate class, Mount doesn't discuss explicitly the relationship between shareholders and stakeholders, instead focusing on elevated oversight as a principal tool of accountability.
It may be a bit unkind, but reading the last (prescriptive) section of the book, I was reminded a bit of Peregrine Worsthorne and Joseph Epstein, both of whom have written (in rather different ways) about the existence of natural hierarchies and the attendant responsibility of noblesse oblige. Which, of course, is no solution at all, unless one is a member of that particular class.
This is a quibble rather than out-and-out criticism, though. Readable without being breezy, The New Few is informed, engaged and engaging.
It would be wilfully thick-headed to take issue with Mount's thesis. (Note: this book was published in 2012, before the word 'elites' became a tiresome cliche.) That said, his (deliberate) personal style, relying as much on elegant observations as on cold statistical fact, (coupled with his life-long associations with sectors of the political class associated - fairly or not - with many of the problems outlined in this book) may divert from the essential argument, that we have enabled a structural oligarchy to feed off the imperfections of the existing social and political order.
Prescriptions for change aren't particularly forceful (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, in itself – revolutions do tend to look to the short term, after all); that said, and given that the book starts with an assessment of the essential self-serving nature of the corporate class, Mount doesn't discuss explicitly the relationship between shareholders and stakeholders, instead focusing on elevated oversight as a principal tool of accountability.
It may be a bit unkind, but reading the last (prescriptive) section of the book, I was reminded a bit of Peregrine Worsthorne and Joseph Epstein, both of whom have written (in rather different ways) about the existence of natural hierarchies and the attendant responsibility of noblesse oblige. Which, of course, is no solution at all, unless one is a member of that particular class.
This is a quibble rather than out-and-out criticism, though. Readable without being breezy, The New Few is informed, engaged and engaging.
January 26, 2013
This book brings together a number of themes to assemble a theory that the Uk is drifting toward a society dominated by the few where social mobility becomes vastly more difficult, where people are fragmented into their social strata and where our politics and institutions become of little use.
The book starts with the financial industry and the disaster to which it has led us - this analysis is a little light weight but gets there and while I didn't agree with all the detail it was hard to disagree just how badly we have been served by this deregulated industry not just over the last few years but over the last three decades.
General inequality in business and society is covered here as well with the lack of control over company management and the concentration of power in the fund management industry - these are not fresh arguments but the synergy between the two made a powerful point.
Of more interest was Mount's comments on political parties and parliament and here the author is on surer ground and for me this was the more interesting part of the book. His description of the decline of the parties and the residual interests left who dominate is a telling one. His description of how ineffectual parliament has become at controlling the executive is no less depressing.
Other issues are explored (the state of journalism, social division, etc) and then some solutions are put forward and her i struggled to be as optimistic as the author. This was not helped that events have moved on from when this was written and some of the welcome reforming ideas of the coalition government have since come to grief.
However an important book on issues that are not going to go away for surely the 99.9% are going to work out they have been had.
The book starts with the financial industry and the disaster to which it has led us - this analysis is a little light weight but gets there and while I didn't agree with all the detail it was hard to disagree just how badly we have been served by this deregulated industry not just over the last few years but over the last three decades.
General inequality in business and society is covered here as well with the lack of control over company management and the concentration of power in the fund management industry - these are not fresh arguments but the synergy between the two made a powerful point.
Of more interest was Mount's comments on political parties and parliament and here the author is on surer ground and for me this was the more interesting part of the book. His description of the decline of the parties and the residual interests left who dominate is a telling one. His description of how ineffectual parliament has become at controlling the executive is no less depressing.
Other issues are explored (the state of journalism, social division, etc) and then some solutions are put forward and her i struggled to be as optimistic as the author. This was not helped that events have moved on from when this was written and some of the welcome reforming ideas of the coalition government have since come to grief.
However an important book on issues that are not going to go away for surely the 99.9% are going to work out they have been had.
June 7, 2013
Mount has written a considered account of the rise of the British oligarchy. He looks at the way that the power and money has become concentrated in the hands of a few business leaders, non doms and and Whitehall mandarins. These groups have vested interests at heart, as can be seen in the way that the revolving doors between government and business work; the way that directors and non executive directors sit on each other’s boards, and the fact that the nominated shareholders (pension funds) also now sit on the boards of these companies.
And yet he sees that there is change just starting, if not to reign in the excesses, but to temper them at least. Politicians are starting to make noises about the ratio between the top earners and the bottom earners in companies. JP Morgan said it should never exceed 20 to 1, but it can now be 400 to one in the worst cases. Politicians are starting to wrest power back from the government and mandarins through the select committees. The living wage organisation, supported even by Boris Johnson, is making an attempt to get large companies implementing it; this will life numerous people out of poverty and into jobs. He makes some good suggestions about the lack of training opportunities and that people who are not suitable for university cannot go to technical schools, as they do in Germany.
Well worth a read for those interested in the way that the political system works in this country.
And yet he sees that there is change just starting, if not to reign in the excesses, but to temper them at least. Politicians are starting to make noises about the ratio between the top earners and the bottom earners in companies. JP Morgan said it should never exceed 20 to 1, but it can now be 400 to one in the worst cases. Politicians are starting to wrest power back from the government and mandarins through the select committees. The living wage organisation, supported even by Boris Johnson, is making an attempt to get large companies implementing it; this will life numerous people out of poverty and into jobs. He makes some good suggestions about the lack of training opportunities and that people who are not suitable for university cannot go to technical schools, as they do in Germany.
Well worth a read for those interested in the way that the political system works in this country.
September 15, 2012
The opening section on the corruption of capitalism and rise of managerialism is worth the price of the book by itself; a withering assessment of corporate greed and transfer of wealth to a tiny elite. This is something I read about every week in the Guardian, LRB and NYRB, but coming from a Tory it is particularly excoriating. I also found myself in agreement with many of the author’s views on the decline of local government and the lost primacy of Parliament with ever more power being transferred to the executive. However, whilst I think more localism would be a very good thing I also believe you need strong central government to bring about decisive change. Part of the huge frustration over recent years has been the lack of intervention from central government on key issues where it really could make a difference, whether it be in financial regulation, industrial policy (just having an industrial policy) or taxation etc. Good to read a smart piece of conservative thought (I know, it sounds like an oxymoron) to agree with in some parts and push against in others. Way better than the usual free market op-ed drivel you get in the right wing “Qualities”.
May 15, 2013
Not the secret like of Roman Abramovich and his ilk, but an examination of how the concentration of power in business and politics effects our lives with a particular focus on the inequality between rich and poor. The book does not contain anything new (although the excellent discussion of the origins of the dislocation between a company's managers and it's shareholders was new to me), but Mount does not claim that the identification of the problems or his proposed solutions are new. This is a clear synthesis of the issues. The book is an easy read, but at the risk of lengthening the book a few more anecdotes in support of the argument would have made it a more compelling read. Nevertheless, interesting and thought provoking.
May 31, 2013
Mount's dissection of modern oligarchy is fascinating and informative though when he strays into more constructive criticism I developed a bit of truck with his 'back to the old ways' attitude though his glasses aren't utterly rose tinted.
April 16, 2013
Gripping. Careful though - it could easily get your ire into a danger zone.
December 17, 2015
I read books like this to educate myself a little more.
December 19, 2015
I like to educate myself with books such as this one. It's a good read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews