Review:

First published in ELPAN No.1

Chains of Empire
English Public Schools, MasonicCabalism, Historical Causality, and Imperial Clubdom
by P.J.Rich
266 pages £9.95 from Regency Press, London

This book is part of Rich's "Ritocracy Octet", composed of a trilogyabout English Public Schools, anda further five books about the Gulf. Rich's theoretical approach is drawnfrom notions of Morphic Resonance developed by Rupert Sheldrake. This isa revival of vitalism, "the doctrine that organisms are organised bypurposive principles".
Rich quotes Sheldrake (The Presence of the Past) - "The process bywhich the past becomes present with morphic fields is called MORPHIC RESONANCE.Morphic resonance involves the transmission of formative causal influencesthrough both space and time." (p.33).
Rich locates morphic resonance as a tool for Psychohistory. Psychohistory,at appears, has established itself as an academic discourse, with a radicalcamp (International Psychohistorical Association) and a conservative camp(Group for the Use of Psychohistory in History). Whilst we are naturallyindifferent to the squabbles of academics - in full consciousness of thefact that it is academe itself which must be questioned - no doubt we willfind Psychohistory a useful source of material.
Rich's book is not much a catalogue of intrigue as often sought by consumersof 'conspiracy theory', but more an appraisal of a whole culture where discretechats in a gentleman's club is seen as a natural way of dealing with matters.Thus conspiracy is not exposed as a revelation of intimate secrets, butBritish Imperial Life is exposedas an inscrutable mare's nest of intrigue amongst the upper classes.
With its many illustrations this book is both helpful in terms of the informationit supplies and as regards the development of ideas with which to understandthe organisation of power in contemporary society.

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