I wonder how much this tendency described in Lucy Easthope’s When the Dust Settles (pg 96) contributes to conspiracy theories about state? The malevolent technologically augmented state presupposed by elaborate conspiracies is threatening, but it’s reassuring to imagine this Big Other operating on a different level to other organisations infused with more knowledge and competence than we could imagine in our daily lives:
One of the most common assumptions from outsiders is that we are so much more slick and hi-tech than we actually are, and that there is a level of government rigour that will always kick in at the worst times. I call this ‘the Skyfall effect’. In the Daniel Craig era of James Bond movies, Bond works within a hugely impressive machine to keep Britain safe from hidden threats. He has ‘M’ and ‘Q’ and artificially intelligent cars and futuristic computer screens. He can get ‘eyes’ on London whenever he wants. But the reality of these spaces is dust bunnies on windowsills, a paper flip chart recording actions, a leak in the ceiling and a reminder to pay into the milk club and not leave your mugs in the sink.
The reality as Easthope demonstrates in this remarkable book is mundane and slightly depressing, particularly as New Public Management and the ascent of the spiralists has chipped away at the agency and culture of organisations more concerned with staying out of trouble then addressing problems.
Mark Carrigan 