Data is not the plural of datum
In a recent comments thread, Dave Ricardo notes my observation Unfortunately the data is only published annually and asks Don’t you mean, the data are published only annually? This is a common error,...
View ArticleWord for Wednesday Professionalism: Definition
Professionalism is both an individual characteristic and an ideological position. The primary definition is that of individual professionalism: the idea that membership of a profession carries with it...
View ArticleManagerialism and professionalism, again
Linking back to my last post on this topic, Leaderlog has an interesting piece on Why managerialism trumps professionalism. Key point: Where professionalism at its best is meant to be a mechanism for...
View ArticleWord for Wednesday: contrarian
At the suggestion of James Farrell, I’m reviving this regular feature, beginning with a word I’ve used critically on a couple of recent occasions. The following is an extract from my review of...
View ArticleRe-form
Robert Samelson argues that we should stop using the word ‘reform’. I’ve grappled with this question for a long term, having been generally critical of the neoliberal policies generally referred to as...
View ArticlePeter Beinart wants to reclaim “reform”
In this TNR piece (not sure if subscription required), Peter Beinart laments the Republican (mis)appropriation of the word “reform”, saying “Reform,” in today’s Washington, has come to mean “change I...
View ArticleSoccer or Football
Over at Crooked Timber, Kieran Healy raises the vexed question of “Soccer or Football”. I’m firmly in the camp of soccer, or, if you want to get prissy about it, “Association Football”. The various...
View ArticleWord for Wednesday: Reform (repost)
Back in the early days of this blog, I was working on the idea of a new political dictionary, and made a start with a “Word for Wednesday” series. One of them is relevant to this comment from Megan,...
View ArticleWe need a new word for “reform”
Hardly anyone bothered to pay attention to the “National Reform Summit” put on by the Oz and the Fin the other day. The word “reform” tells us everything we need to know about this event: yet more...
View ArticleWhat, if anything, is neoliberalism? (crosspost from Crooked Timber, repost...
The comments thread on my WTO post raises the much-argued question of whether the term “neoliberalism” has any useful content, or whether it is simply an all-purpose pejorative to be applied to...
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