It is the succession of Tony Blair and New Labour to government which makes this book possible and it is him and the Christian Socialist tradition he identifies with which the book seeks to explore.
So we are taken, in an engaging manner, through the story of a rather cultured, usually Anglican, patriarchal, benevolent Christian Socialism which culminates in the figure of Tony Blair. The story is told well, even if many of the important figures are mentioned all too briefly and occasionally the original lecture format intrudes.
Significant figures like Henry Scott Holland, Charles Gore, RH Tawney and William Temple receive chapters before Wilkinson takes us to the contemporary scene. The book is an introduction rather than a detailed exploration but this is a job it does very well.
However, two questions rather nagged in my mind as I read the book. The first is whether in these postmodern days we can still write history like this, at least without some acknowledgement of the methodological problems. Wilkinson for example rarely goes beyond the “key” men in the story but this is not the essence or even the culmination of Christian Socialism. Rather it is one particular slant on a far more complex and diverse story which might seem very different told from another context.
My second question is more serious. Sadly, I didn’t feel I was being given a unique insight into Blair or Blairism. There is far more to the Blair phenomenon than this account of his Christian Socialism seems to allow; he is more exciting, dynamic, dare I say sexy than this examination makes him. I can’t imagine the Christian Socialist portrayed here having a huge majority on a church council, let alone the House of Commons. Probably it is too early to understand who or what Blair is or might become @ E May 1997 a drab, left over, exhausted Graeme Smith is co-editor of the forthcoming journal “Political Theology”. For more on Christian Socialism, see Seafarer page 26 - Ed.] REVIEWS: BOOKS _ Theologian IAN MARKHAM reviews theologia _ George Pattison, whose message seems to boil _ down to...