I am just finishing up "When The Lights Went Out" by Andy Beckett, a book about Britain's economic and cultural malaise (my characterization, not the author's) in the 1970s. It is a very poor book for many reasons, only some of them ideological. While the book is rarely overtly political, the author is a left-winger, and its interesting to get a glimpse into the left-wing mindset.
This is the most telling quote. It pertains to some affluent, politically active right-wingers, the McWhirters, and how they made their money:
"[the McWhirters were] the co-editors of The Guinness Book of World Records and the cold but compelling stars of its television spin-off Record-Breakers -- both of which put an anti-egalitarian emphasis on ranking individual achievement..." (emphasis added).
This is a remarkable statement. The author is explicitly critical of celebrating individual achievement. Apparently, it is "anti-egalitarian" to acknowledge somebody's accomplishment. This is such a quintessentially left-wing statement, combining all the nihlism that the left embodies: disdain for the individual, denigration of achievement, and viewing excellence as a form of agression. Apparently, the author would be more comfortable with a show celebrating medicority and dependence.
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