Robertson seems hale and hearty as this exchange indicates and the URLs below indicate.
http://www.pcdf.org/civilsociety/robertson.htm http://www.ceu.hu/sun/robertson.html http://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/ocees/pages/people/robertson.htm -----Original Message----- From: G. Stewart [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2003 11:19 AM To: Keith Hudson; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Futurework] James Robertson I met James Robertson and his wife in the early 1970's on one of their trips to Ottawa. (I regret I don't recall her name as they worked in partnership, her contribution by no means subordinate to his. I think it was Alison but I don't remember her surname.) The event was an informal evening at the home of my business partner, Catherine Starrs. Both we and the Robertson's had by this time become interested in looking at what came to be called "alternative futures," we usually working on contract with the Canadian government and the Robertson's I think working and publishing independently. I recall thinking at that time that their work too conservative (too narrowly framed -- I felt that more was in change than they were taking into account) but subsequently came to appreciate the extraordinary character of what they were doing and their deep commitment to it. I was later for many years an interested and grateful recipient of their newsletter, Turning Point, which brought news of the numerous meetings, conferences, publications and other initiatives in Britain and sometimes elsewhere that were addressing change in concepts of work, in health and social policy, corporate forms, community development, etc. The publication, I think, sustained an immense network of persons, small groups and established organizations that were trying to address change in a coherent, constructive and down to earth way. Far from a glossy New Age magazine it had more the character of a modestly printed chapbook. Turning Point frequently included mention of James's own speaking and writing activity: he was vigorous in pursuing and supporting new thinking about work and income and other matters. He was well-informed about government and his work was always marked by strong common sense about the practicalities of policy change. A few years later I think he became involved as an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) on health promotion, which was on the leading edge of thinking about health. This brought him back to Canada on occasion as at that point Canada itself was deeply involved in pioneering new thinking about health. I am quite out of touch with the Robertsons now but have been struck by the sea change brought by the internet. It seems extraordinary that, even though relatively recent, so little of their commitment and utterly admirable and prolific work remains readily accessible, and that those of us who knew them or knew of their work should be left groping for its traces and trying to put together a picture out of our own memories. I hope somebody who knows more of them, including perhaps their present whereabouts, will come forward with more information and that more of it will be made available on the net. Either or both of them would be remarkable and distinguished members of this FW list or a spin-off list that gets down to business in addressing concepts of work. That some focused discussion is needed is apparent from Arthur Cordell's posting of an article that appeared in yesterday's Globe and Mail, where increased productivity was regarded as a threat to jobs rather than a potential boon to self-directed activity and leisure -- surely a clear indication that conventional thinking about work is quite topsy-turvy! We seen to be trying to accumulate and hoard jobs rather than secure some release of people from long hours of work. It is reminiscent of mercantilism, when gold was prized for its own sake rather than for its potential purchasing power to improve lives. In my own view this is because we have not become comfortable in addressing new arrangements with respect to income - a matter that I think must soon be faced. James Robertson, and Sally Lerner, and Charles Brass, have useful things to say about this. Meanwhile, I'll conclude with the following small piece of history, for your amusement. Regards, Gail Date: Sat Dec 31 14:21:16 1994 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (S. Lerner) Subject: A New UK FW Group To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Multiple recipients of list) Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I've just received a letter from a new UK group, the Job Society. They have almost exactly the same concerns as the Futurework Network (very encouraging!).They too will communicate via the Internet and also with a printed newsletter. They heard of our original Futurework Network through James Robertson's newsletter, Turning Point 2000. (If you haven't read Robertson's seminal books Future Work and Future Wealth, by all means do so. He's been way out in front on these matters for many years.) I've e-mailed FW information to Keith Hudson,their Founding Secretary, inviting their subscription to this list. The e-mail address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you'd like to request their literature. When they join, I'll ask them to post it and/or archive it. Sally Sally Lerner, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Univ. of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1 Gail Stewart [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith Hudson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 7:02 AM Subject: [Futurework] James Robertson > I believe one or two people are looking for his books. Several second-hand > copies of "The Sane Alternative" are available via Amazon. Another book of > his, "Power, Money and Sex", which he was hoping was going to be his > best-seller, didn't sell as well as "SA", but there is a copy available > from a German bookseller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. > > I knew James Robertson quite well 30 years ago. A few years previously, he > had been Macmillan's Principal Private Secretary when M was Prime Minister. > James was thus a very high-flyer civil servant and only about two levels > below Cabinet Secretary -- that is, the highest civil servant in the > country. He was seconded to Interbank, which was a failed forerunner of the > European Central Bank. He left this project when it getting nowhere because > of resistance from the Deutschebank and other central banks. He then > retired from the civil service in his mid-fifties. I was not a close friend > of James but we met and talked together many times because for some years > we both spoke at the same sorts of conferences and were often on the > platform together. JR was a very austere man of the highest intellectual > calibre, but there was one thing that intrigued me enormously for someone > who'd been at the highest establishment levels. This was that during his > time with Interbank he had learned -- apparently for the first time in his > life -- that central banks could, in fact, print their own money. He would > refer to this time and time again in private conversation as being a great > confidence trick of governments and I rather think that this was the final > straw that radicalised him. I read "Power, Money and Sex" a very long time > ago and have long lost it from my bookshelves. I can't remember the > contents but I guess the book contains quite a lot about his > disillusionment with banking (that is, central banking) as well as the > civil service in that book. > > Keith Hudson > ---------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ > > Keith Hudson, General Editor, Handlo Music, http://www.handlo.com > 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England > Tel: +44 1225 311636; Fax: +44 1225 447727; mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > ____________________________________________________________ ____________ > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
