Many thanks for the Meek article, Michael, and for the announcement of 'new
management' of this discussion group (not 'out-sourced management', I might
jokingly add!.... in the manner described in the Leys/Player book which is
quoted in Meek's article and eulogised, it seems, by those who use the
NHS/private 'revolving door', some of whom are listed by Meek.)
By the way, Adam, I couldn't agree more with what you say about certain
think tanks 'cosying up' to politicians, when you give the example of
Patricia Hewitt at the King's Fund. In the next issue of the journal which I
edit (International Journal of Health Planning and Management - sorry for
confusing (your) choice and (my) marketing in saying this! : again see
Meek's LRB article), I review the King's Fund-published evaluation of New
Labour's market reforms. I point out that, while some of the chapters are
good and while some of the observations 'below the waterline' in the
concluding chapters have insight, the overall 'ethos' is....how do we
improve 'market reforms' (whether Labour or Lansley) to make them work. In
my view, this represents ideological closure. Or, if it is purely pragmatism
(ie cosying up to politicians in the hope of steering them to
'rationality'), then may I humbly suggest that there is a difference between
seeking to ride a horse to water and riding a tiger (ie he who does so can
never dismount.)
In providing a pedestal to New Labour figures such as Pat Hewitt and Alan
Milburn who have come to believe their own rhetoric (in particular, that
'choice' brought NHS improvements in waiting-times and outcomes..... before
'choice New Labour-style could possibly have been operating enough so to
do), I feel that yesterday's (paper) tigers are being given some teeth which
they do not deserve. Not against free speech for New Labour
re-treads......but against pedestals for them as part of an insider network!
as ever Calum Paton
CALUM R PATON
Professor of Public Policy
School of Public Policy and Professional Practice
CBA1.054
Keele University
Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, U.K.
Tel: +44 (0) 1782 734867
Email: [log in to unmask]
See: Calum Paton, New Labour's State of Health: Political Economy, Public
Policy and the NHS, Ashgate, 2006
See Calum Paton, 'The NHS after 10 years of New Labour', in Martin Powell
(Ed.), Modernizing the Welfare State: The Blair Legacy, Policy Press, 2008
See Calum Paton, 'Blair and the NHS: Resistible Force Meets Moveable
Object?', in Terrence Casey (Ed.), The Blair Years, Palgrave (Macmillan),
2009
Visit the International Journal of Health Planning and Management online at:
www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/hpm
-----Original Message-----
From: Oliver,AJ
Sent: 20 November 2011 15:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: New Management
Thanks Michael. I thought it was a well written article, as you'd expect
from the LRB. But i couldn't really see a lot of discussion of the
particular form that the new reforms will take, insofar as anyone can really
understand them. As the article suggests, the current SoS seems to want to
make an already well trodden path more secure. I never could understand why
people viewed his ideas as all that radical. Silly yes, but not particularly
radical. And the author's point about potential conflicts of interest is
well taken. Afew weeks ago at the king's fund, for instance, patricia hewitt
was again extolling the benefits of choice in a somewhat
miselading/excessive/un-nuanced way, or so it seemed to me. I never really
understand why think tanks, either in the uk or the US, who should know
better, keep on putting particular people on a pedestal, when really they
ought to be placing them down a well (metaphorically speaking). Perhaps the
leaders of these think tanks should take a long, hard look at themselves,
return to their missions, and stop cosying up to politicians so much.
Anyway, it would not be a waste of time, i hope, if at least some list
members read kahneman's new book. It will become a classic in its field.
There are interesting sections on the effects on people's behaviours when
you merely ask them to think about money, or competition, etc.
Best,
Adam
On 19 Nov 2011, at 20:24, "Michael Gusmano" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Dear AAHPN,
>
> Adam Oliver, our colleague and energetic founder of this valuable network,
> has asked a small group of us to take over the management of AAHPN. I'm
> pleased to announce that P.G. Forest from the Trudeau Foundation, Tom
> Foubister from LSE, Colleen Grogan from the University of Chicago, David
> McDaid from LSE, Calum Paton from Keele University and I have agreed to
> share these duties. I'm sure you will all join me in thanking Adam for
> creating this group and keeping it going for such a long time. I hope it
> will continue to serve as a valuable source of information and exchange
> for all of us interested in the UK, US -- and thanks to the addition of
> P.G. -- Canadian health systems.
>
> To help restart our discussions, I thought I would share with all of you
> the following essay by Meek in the London Review of Books. I found it to
> be a helpful update on current NHS politics and would enjoy hearing your
> reactions to it.
>
> http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n18/james-meek/its-already-happened
>
> All the best,
> Michael Gusmano
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