Paul Bede Johnson (born
2 November 1928) is an
English journalist, historian, speechwriter and author. He was educated at the
Jesuit independent school
Stonyhurst College, and at
Magdalen College, Oxford. Johnson first came to prominence in the
1950s as a journalist writing for, and later editing, the
New Statesman magazine.
A prolific writer, he has written over 40 books and contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers. While associated with the left in his early career, he is now a conservative popular historian. His sons include the journalist
Daniel Johnson, founder of Standpoint, and the businessman
Luke Johnson, former chairman of
Channel 4.
During the
1970s Johnson became increasingly conservative in his outlook, and has largely remained so. In his
Enemies of
Society (
1977), following a series of articles in the
British press, he opposed the trade union movement, perceiving it as violent and intolerant, terming trade unionists "fascists". As Britain’s economy faltered, Johnson began to advocate the future
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s message of less government and less taxation. He was eventually won over to the
Right and became one of
Thatcher's closest advisers. "In the 1970s Britain was on its knees.
The Left had no answers. I became disgusted by the over-powerful trade unions which were destroying Britain," he recalled in
2004.[9] After Thatcher's victory in the general election of
1979 Johnson advised on changes to legislation concerning trade unions, and was also one of Thatcher's speechwriters. Johnson was quoted in 2004:
"'I was instantly drawn to her,' he recalls. 'I’d known
Margaret at
Oxford. She was not a party person. She was an individual who made up her own mind.
People would say that she was much influenced by
Karl Popper or
Frederick Hayek. The result was that Thatcher followed three guiding principles: truthfulness, honesty and never borrowing money.'"[9]
From
1981 to 2009, Johnson wrote a column for
The Spectator; initially focusing on media developments, it subsequently acquired the title "
And Another Thing". In his journalism, Johnson generally deals with issues and events which he sees as indicative of a general social decline, whether in art, education, religious observance or personal conduct. He has continued to contribute to the magazine, though less frequently than before.[10] During the same period he contributed a column to the
Daily Mail until
2001. In a
Daily Telegraph interview in
November 2003, he criticised the Mail for having a pernicious impact: "I came to the conclusion that that kind of journalism is bad for the country, bad for society, bad for the newspaper".[11]
Johnson is a regular contributor to
The Daily Telegraph, mainly as a book reviewer, and in the
United States to
The New York Times,
The Wall Street Journal, Commentary and the
National Review. He also writes for
Forbes magazine.[12] For a time in the early
1980s he wrote for
The Sun after
Rupert Murdoch urged him to "raise its tone a bit".[13]
Johnson is a critic of modernity because of what he sees as its moral relativism,[14] and finds objectionable those who use
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to justify their atheism or use it to promote biotechnological experimentation.[15] As a result of Johnson's views on evolution,[16]
Richard Dawkins and
Steven Pinker[17] have been a target of Johnson's criticism. As a conservative
Catholic, Johnson regards liberation theology as a heresy and defends clerical celibacy, but departs from others in seeing many good reasons for ordination of women as priests.[18]
Admired by conservatives in the United States and elsewhere, he is strongly anti-communist.[19] Johnson has defended
Richard Nixon[20] in the
Watergate scandal, finding his cover-up considerably less heinous than
Bill Clinton's perjury, and
Oliver North's involvement in the
Iran-Contra Affair. In his
Spectator column, Johnson defended his friend
Jonathan Aitken,[21] has expressed admiration for
General Augusto Pinochet[22] and (qualified) admiration for
General Franco.[23]
Johnson was active in the campaign, led by
Norman Lamont, to prevent
General Pinochet's extradition to
Spain, following the General's arrest in
London. "There have been countless attempts to link him to human rights atrocities, but nobody has provided a single scrap of evidence," Johnson was reported as saying in
1999.[24] In
Heroes (2008),[22] Johnson returned to his longstanding claim that criticism of
Pinochet's regime on human rights grounds came from "the
Soviet Union, whose propaganda machine successfully demonised [Pinochet] among the chattering classes all over the world. It was the last triumph of the
KGB before it vanished into history's dustbin."[25] He has described
France as "a republic run by bureaucratic and party elites, whose errors are dealt with by strikes, street riots and blockades" rather than a democracy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Johnson_%28writer%29
- published: 09 Apr 2015
- views: 2319