John Redwood

I must confess that I did not finish this book. Very erudite and fascinating, but far too dense for anyone not well-versed in the English philosophical milieu of the Enlightenment. This is a dense work that is not an introduction.

Redwood's basic thesis is that the hot topic of the time was the challenge to established religion after the Restoration that came from certain men of reason, leading to a fear of deists and athetists. But even more threatening were the wits who refused to engage seriously with the theological disputes of the day - ridicule was recognized by many as a more dangerous threat to religion than reason.… (mais)

Stars and Strife is written by Conservative Party Minister of Parliament John Redwood. Redwood represents the Wokingham constituency and is firmly on the Euroskeptic wing of the Conservative Party.

Like most of Redwood's writings, Stars and Strife addresses the idea of what type of country Britain has been, is, and is becoming. Redwood often warns that Britain is turning into a more European or multicultural country and is, therefore, losing the unique British culture that made it a world power.

The primary focus of Stars and Strife is Redwood's opinion that not only is Britain's membership in the European Union eating away at its unique culture, but it is also placing it on the road to conflict with its most important ally: the United States. Many commentators on US-EU relations position Britain as a country ideally placed to smooth out the problems that might arise between the US and EU.

Redwood says that in fact what will happen is that Britain's voice will simply get drowned out by the more numerous voices in the EU that are skeptical about having a close relationship with the US. This will lead to a souring of relations between the US and EU and, by extension, between the US and UK. While I don't necessarily buy into Redwood's program, it's his discussion of what effect this souring of relations between the US and UK could have on the world, let alone on Britain, that provides the most intellectually stimulating part of the book.… (mais)