Two aspects of mythic nostalgia, a combination of ‘young fogey’ attachment to echoes of old styles and the idea that our pursuit of economic betterment came at the cost of solidarity and community
Thanks for this thoughtful post. I particularly enjoyed this line: “We can use regeneration funding to create the illusion of betterment, a new building here, some cobbled streets there, but if the people remain relatively poor then all we have is just that, an illusion.”
Great points. Most of what you describe in that nostalgia is called the Pollyana Principle where we remember happy times more than bad times. And that makes sense because we survived.
Thanks for this thoughtful post. I particularly enjoyed this line: “We can use regeneration funding to create the illusion of betterment, a new building here, some cobbled streets there, but if the people remain relatively poor then all we have is just that, an illusion.”
Great points. Most of what you describe in that nostalgia is called the Pollyana Principle where we remember happy times more than bad times. And that makes sense because we survived.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollyanna_principle
Great post. I don't live in the UK, but I enjoyed the piece very much. And I think you are right about the free market.