December 30, 2009
Top Bloggers 2009
It’s a cheap effort, I know. But my stats are good today so why not bump everyone’s RSS feeds and make it a killer?
Over the last year these are the bloggers that have really stood out for me.
Sunny Hundal deserves a really big mention. Without this guy the quality leftwing blogosphere would be a shadow of what it is, leaving the field to bile-spitting Harry’s Place and the froth of the right. I don’t always agree with Sunny on political specifics, and every time he rejects one of my submissions he’s obviously wrong. But Pickled Politics and (especially) Liberal Conspiracy are continuing proof that grass-roots, voluntary blogging can produce quality superior to any of the established media.
Another big blog whose author deserves a mention is Chris Dillow of Stumbling and Mumbling. I’m kind of in awe at the guy’s like-clockwork output, with so much of it being such high quality. A model of concise, well-argued and entertaining political-economic blogging, S&M should be on everyone’s sidebar.
My vote for best new-entrant of the year goes without question to Giles Wilkes at Freethinking Economist. Although he’s only been blogging independently for a few months, Giles is already getting a readership that puts mine to shame. And rightly so. Sensible, informed economics (with a dash of politics) from a permanently pleasant man. That this blog gets written alongside professional and matrimonial duties is quite a feat. My one to watch for 2010.
Two bloggers that also deserve especial mention are Dave Semple and Paul Cotterill, now united at Though Cowards Flinch. TCF is my compulsory hard-left reading for the day. I vascilate in my levels of agreement, but it’s always an informed, interesting and well-argued read over there.
Similarly, Left Outside should get a mention for sheer diligence and perseverance. I’ll confess I don’t read LO as much as I ought, but I’m always impressed by the tenacity, as well as willingness to engage (politely!) with rightists who I struggle to even be on the same comments thread as.
On the subject of hardworking bloggers, two other names really stand out. Unity at Ministry of Truth (and Liberal Conspiracy) must be permanently sleep-deprived, but his tenacious science blogging with a political angle, and especially his efforts on climate change, deserve applause. Similarly Sunder Katwala at Next Left deserves commendation for his superhuman blogging efforts, ferreting out the hidden facts and lost details (and Sunny H gets another shout-out for chopping it all down and serving it up on LibCon). On the subject of Next Left, Stuart White deserves a mention for consistently super-high standard political theoretic blogging made accessible to the lay-man.
Three more bloggers I owe a personal debt to are the guys at the Tax Justice Network. Firstly, John Christensen and Nick Shaxon who write most of the Tax Justice Blog both put in huge amounts of time and effort to provide a forever-moving resource of the highest standard. Richard Murphy at Tax Reasearch UK needs no introduction, having become something of a celebrity of late. But Tax Research UK continues to be one of my favourite blogs, and as a one-man-watchdog it’s second to none.
Bizarrely, I’m also going to give a shout-out to Richard’s long-time nemesis, the dreaded Tim Worstall. Don’t get me wrong, I think Tim is a protracted pain in the arse. The undisputed King of the deliberately point-avoiding pedants. But having said that, it’s good to debate the enemy. And apart from Dan who comments on this site, I don’t think anybody else forces me to get clear on my positions and consider my grounds as much as Tim does. It would just be nice if he could drop the sarcasm and childish taunting.
Finally – and here’s one you weren’t expecting – I’d like to give an especially big recommendation to Flying Rodent, who writes the severely under-rated Between the Hammer and the Anvil. Flying Rodent is possibly the best blog commentor on the internet. His LibCon put-downs are forever of the highest order, and his incisive intellectual-demolition-cum-hilarious-satirisation are the stuff of which I dream. Take this comment from today as a paradigm classic:
“I’m amazed anyone thought this was worth disputing – Charlotte and DK think that socialism causes racism for the same reasons they think socialism causes every other social ill. They probably think socialism* causes piles and erectile dysfunction as well.
Quite why anyone imagines that this stuff can be reasonably argued against is beyond me. God love ‘em for their commitment, but it’s like watching a bunch of seven year olds thrash out a political system based upon the repeal of baths and bedtime and the institution of free Haribo for all.”
And the blog’s not bad either. Check out this personal favourite of mine.
OK, that’s it for the year in bloggers. Now go out and kill yourself on drugs like it’s 1999.
Sunny H said,
December 30, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Thanks, but you’re being too kind. All I’ve done is create a platform to bring people together. It’s down to those writers to make LC readable and interesting,…
Paul Sagar said,
December 30, 2009 at 11:01 pm
You say that, but I think the editorial role is pretty massive. And the man-hours required look pretty staggering.
For sure, the contributors are essential. But I don’t believe anarchistic auto-organisation is any more likely amongst the rampant herd of cats that is the blogosphere than it is in the “real” world!
Devil's Kitchen said,
December 31, 2009 at 1:45 am
Nice round-up. And I love the Rodent—he’s very funny and he’s been around for ages (I have a soft spot for those with whom I used to interact in t’olden days—before the dark times, before the Empire… I mean, party poiticisation of the political blogosphere).
However…
“I’m amazed anyone thought this was worth disputing – Charlotte and DK think that socialism causes racism for the same reasons they think socialism causes every other social ill.”
I never said that socialism causes racism. I said that it causes a “them and us mentality”—where you can substitute “them” and “us” with benefits scroungers, single mothers, Muslims, Poles, toffs, politicos, drivers, cyclists, etc. etc.
DK
2009: Blogging Year in Review « Though Cowards Flinch said,
December 31, 2009 at 9:12 am
[...] top 100 twitterers of the year. Then Paul Sagar at Bad Conscience ran a list of which bloggers are his favourites from this [...]
Paul said,
December 31, 2009 at 10:09 am
Ta for mention. Funny, I’ve never thought of myself as ‘hard-left’.
Agree totally re: Giles at FreethinkEcon – a revelation as he’s expanded his range/gained confidence.
I’ve also really enjoyed the way your blog has developed over last few months.
I see Dave S has now done his own review of left blogosphere.
I’m quite tempted to do a ‘most overrated blog of 2009′ piece, but it would be a bit churlish.
Paul Sagar said,
December 31, 2009 at 10:59 am
DK: aye, but war is not about accuracy, as we all well know ;)
Paul: Charlotte Gore? Charlotte Gore.
Paul said,
December 31, 2009 at 11:04 am
Oh, you’re really tempting me…….
Gore, Harris, Holborn, Stain……no i mustn’t
Dave Semple said,
December 31, 2009 at 11:23 am
If you are going to write such a thing, Oberon Houston needs to be in the top ten.
freethinkingeconomist said,
January 3, 2010 at 9:02 pm
Paul, you are way too kind, but I am thoroughly encouraged. You have also been far more generous in commenting upon my blog than I have on yours, which I am sure has violated some sort of rule of etiquette. In your debt.
This is going to be a stonking year for the political blogosphere.
Paul Sagar said,
January 3, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Nah, I comment on your blog a lot because I waste too much time. Emulation a bad idea!
2010 will indeed by excellent. “All politics is struggle, and only through struggle can the genuine political leader, he who has the ‘calling for politics’, emerge”.
Bring on the fight!
SOCIALIST UNITY » AROUND THE BLOGS said,
January 9, 2010 at 9:22 am
[...] political blogging, and Dave Semple did a run down of the blogs that impressed him in 2009, as did Bad Conscience. There is still a question mark over whether left and centre-left bloggers could challenge the [...]
The Devil’s in the Details « Left Outside said,
January 13, 2010 at 7:20 pm
[...] I have developed a reputation for a “willingness to engage (politely!) with rightists“, and as DK has “politely” pointed out, I did not engage with the substantive [...]