Oxford PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) Students and Applicants

maybe globalization and its discontents?

Yeah, I researched that but Stiglitz seems to be in favour of globalization.

I want a writer who's totally against the idea....maybe something by Naomi Klein...? But I'm not sure...

Noam Chomsky "Hegemony or Survival"

He's not against globalisation per se, but he looks at the role of the US military in establishing environments conducive to trade with the US, and the impact of capitalism on countries which had originally been pursuing different economic models.

Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine" is okay for the same thing, if a little journalistic in places.

Hmm okay....

...would you say the Chomsky one is better if I had to choose one?

Do you have any opnion on any books by Noreena Hertz?

Thanks Andy.

Don't talk to me about Noreena Hertz

That woman was on a judging panel for a debating competition we were in last weekend. She was unbelievably abusive to our team in terms of feedback. It's still a sore point for us. I have no idea about the quality of her academic work, admittedly, so I can't advise on that part.

Chomsky is the better of the two. I actually mentioned "The Shock Doctrine" in my PS but it was never asked about.

Sorry I can't recommend any economists on globalisation, it's not my strong point (hence why I applied for History and Politics not PPE).

Which one do you think I should apply to for PPE - Lincoln, Balliol or Pembroke? There are good things and some disadvantages of all three! Some advice would be fantastic! Thanks

Haha - okay, sorry about that. How bad was she?

Hmm...I might invest in the Chomsky but I'll see what else is out there.

Thanks for your help!

Bad enough for me to send a note of complaint to the organisers about who they invite to judge. She panned us, told us our arguments were wrong, and repeatedly interrupted our speakers. The other team, by contrast, got away with proposing to give everyone in the country a pay rise (which would of course cause massive inflation).

I need to keep my personal grievances out of these threads, but it was fairly atrocious.

Noam Chomsky "Hegemony or Survival"

He's not against globalisation per se, but he looks at the role of the US military in establishing environments conducive to trade with the US, and the impact of capitalism on countries which had originally been pursuing different economic models.

Sounds very unprofessional to me...

Don't talk to me about Noreena Hertz

That woman was on a judging panel for a debating competition we were in last weekend. She was unbelievably abusive to our team in terms of feedback. It's still a sore point for us. I have no idea about the quality of her academic work, admittedly, so I can't advise on that part.

Chomsky is the better of the two. I actually mentioned "The Shock Doctrine" in my PS but it was never asked about.

Sorry I can't recommend any economists on globalisation, it's not my strong point (hence why I applied for History and Politics not PPE).

I'm just wondering, how many books did you read in preparation to your application, and did you specifically go out and read books on as many politically relevant topics you could? I personally read a lot of philosophy, and am just wondering how much reading I should do for more non-philosophical political topics..

Most of the books I read were history books, with the next largest category being political philosophy followed by non-academic international relations stuff (Chomsky and Naomi Klein). I read barely any books on domestic politics, with Bernard Crick's "In defence of politics" being the only thing which wasn't IR or Political Philosophy.

I can give you a list of the books I've been told to read for Introduction to Political Institutions though (which both History and Politics and PPE students have to sit).

D Held "Models of Democracy" 3rd edition
D Kavanagh "British Politics, Continuities and Change" 5th edition
A Lijphart "Patterns of Democracy, Government Forms and Performance in 36 countries"
G Peele et al "Developments in American Politics 5"
G. Smith et al "Developments in German Politics 3"

oh my god don't read those books they're incredibly dry.

Haha - okay, sorry about that. How bad was she?

Hmm...I might invest in the Chomsky but I'll see what else is out there.

Thanks for your help!

oh my god don't read those books they're incredibly dry.

does anyone have any successful ppe personal statements im struggling with mine its hard lol