Outsiders Uncut

[Onfroi Baird]

Iwas chatting with my friend Shruti Rajagopalan yesterday, and we were discussing people we have recorded with recently. She reminded me of an excellent frame proposed by Larry Summers to look at people who try to bring about change: that of Insiders and Outsiders.

An insider works towards making small changes now. She works on the supply side of the political marketplace. She realises that fundamental changes in the system may not be possible, but incremental changes can accumulate and do a lot of good.

Outsiders like me can be pessimistic about the short term. I see the dysfunction of the state and the fractures in our society, and it seems to me that the world is going to hell. The incentives for those who run the country is to increase the power of the state, not to reduce it. How can change happen?

Bad apples of this sort are the norm, not the exception. I have learnt to spot both sorts from a mile away. I avoid them. But I have had many genuine insiders and outsiders on The Seen and the Unseen, and have come to respect both approaches.

Larry\u2019s tone was in the friendly-advice category. He teed it up this way: I had a choice. I could be an insider or I could be an outsider. Outsiders can say whatever they want. But people on the inside don\u2019t listen to them. Insiders, however, get lots of access and a chance to push their ideas. People \u2014 powerful people \u2014 listen to what they have to say. But insiders also understand one unbreakable rule: They don\u2019t criticize other insiders.

I\u2019m an example of a classic outsider. As a journalist and blogger and podcaster, I\u2019ve criticized every government we\u2019ve had over the last 20 years. It doesn\u2019t matter which party is in power \u2014 I\u2019ll speak truth to power. Our system is so broken, so dysfunctional, that I\u2019ll always find material to rant about. There\u2019s plenty of low-hanging fruit.

An insider, on the other hand, could be an economist or a policy maker who chooses to change things from the inside. She will never criticize the powers that be, or fight with other insiders. Her public pronouncements will be minimal. There will be no pontification or virtue signalling. She knows that change will be incremental, and often invisible. But she also knows that change can come only from the inside \u2014 and that at the scale of a state, any positive impact can be huge.

Insiders also know that while politicians like to drive hot-button policy, a lot of the time, the deep state drives policy, and it doesn\u2019t matter which party is in power. There is continuity. (See the video at the end of this post for an illustration of this.)

Insiders are optimistic, because they see the impact their tiny changes have made, which are often invisible to the outside world. They also point out that much of the great reform that happened between 1991 and 2011 happened despite those incentives. We contain multitudes \u2014 and our incentives also come in multitudes. Many politicians and bureaucrats are not automatons responding to one set of structural incentives \u2014 they also want to do good in the world.

In a sense, few people would have the ability or inclination to play either. My character and temperament make me an outsider. But I have come to respect insiders, after having disdain for them for the longest time. On my show, I\u2019ve had outsiders who passionately argue for their values \u2014 and insiders who explain the nuts and bolts of what they do. We need them both.

The Outsiders was written by S.E Hinton when she was only 15 years old, and was published on April 24th in 1967 when Hinton was 18. It is a coming-of-age novel still loved and read today, and even studied in many US American classrooms because of its challenging themes. The themes of violence, gangs, dysfunctional families, and underage smoking and drinking also proved a little too controversial for some authorities who called for the book to be banned.

Another reason for its popularity was thanks to the 1983 film of the same name, based on the book, and directed by film legend Francis Ford Coppola. The movie starred Emilio Estevez, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, and Patrick Swayze, among other (gorgeous) famous faces.

The film was well-received by fans and critics alike, however many were a little annoyed by missing details and slight changes to the book. In 2005 Francis Ford Coppola re-released a longer, uncut version of the film which included deleted scenes that made the film more true to the book, something that should please many fans of the original story.

As Everton have drawn their last five matches at Stamford Bridge it seems premature to suggest this one indicates a crisis is brewing at Chelsea, but context is everything. With five points from 18, winless in four league matches, the champions are enduring their worst run of results for a decade. Insiders and outsiders are still bemused by the axing of Ray Wilkins and the team, their own manager admits, is "scared" and playing "poor football".

Like the Australian cricketers, the aura has gone. Everton, 16th before kick-off and coming off a 4-1 home drubbing by West Brom, were hardly replete with confidence themselves but the way they pushed forward in search of a winner in the closing minutes showed that avoiding defeat at the champions is no longer the summit of opponents' ambition. As Phil Neville said: "The only disappointment is that we didn't win."

Carlo Ancelotti usually defends his players, but he has clearly decided on a different approach to shake them out of timidity. Having been critical before a game he called the "most important of the season", he gave them both barrels afterwards. The Italian emerged from a long post-match inquest to say he was "angry" and "very disappointed". His team "played only long ball", were "afraid", "unable to play our football", "lacked desire in the second half" and "have to wake up".

Ancelotti added that although he was not sleeping well and not relaxed, he did not feel under pressure for his job. In a sane world he should not. He is a proven manager, injuries have hit the team, and firing him would only make the club more unstable. However, as Wilkins can testify, normal rules do not apply at Chelsea. The last time their results were so poor, Ken Bates fired Gianluca Vialli. Roman Abramovich has since been even less patient. The Russian was not present on Saturday ("cooking fondue for the Blatters in his dacha", suggested one tweeter) but may be back for a demanding trio of forthcoming matches: Tottenham (a), Manchester United (h), Arsenal (a).

Ancelotti added that the players needed to stick together and not seek a scapegoat. His team had began nervously but improved, John Terry hitting the bar before Drogba put them ahead from the spot. That was down to a knee-jerk decision from Lee Probert, after Nicolas Anelka leapt into a stationary Tim Howard. "Anelka's mullered me," said Howard, "and I thought the [yellow] card must be for him. When he booked me I was dumbfounded, but nine times out of 10 when the referee sees that kind of collision, he thinks that the goalkeeper has gone for the player."

Probert also missed a penalty when Seamus Coleman cleaned out Ashley Cole as he was about to put Chelsea two-up. He was right, though, not to over-react when Tim Cahill caught Petr Cech as the Australian attempted to stretch past Terry to reach a cross. As Moyes pointed out, the fact Cech has been hurt in the past does not make it an offence. Probert also handled well a clash between Florent Malouda and Phil Neville. The latter drew credit for getting up and running away after it appeared that Malouda had delivered a retaliatory slap following a heavy tackle. Yet replays suggested Neville had initially over-reacted, nursing his face where there had been no contact, before quickly repenting.

After Jack Rodwell hit the post Jermaine Beckford levelled, and might have laid on a winner if he had better awareness. Beckford was the main man at Leeds and, admits Moyes, still needs to learn about team-play: "Drogba would have played someone in and they'd have won the game. That's the difference in quality. If you get those moments and don't make the right decision it kills you." It will come, Moyes has to polish such uncut diamonds, but players like Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines shows he can. It may not look it from the league table, but Everton's faith in Moyes shows the value of stability. Ancelotti, and, surely, most Chelsea fans, will hope that the club''s capricious owner recognises the principle applies to rich clubs as well.

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