The term Creative Industries is also indebted to a particular aesthetic idea of what counts as art. If Foley wants to be minister for that department, perhaps we need a counter position in a Ministry of Uncreative Industries.

The Left in this country can learn from the example of Syriza’s rise and the difficulties it has encountered. Syriza did not come to power because of a few powerful individuals or a charismatic leader. They came to power because disparate groups within the Left in Greece were able to set aside their differences and organise together.

The Syriza government of Greece has submitted to the EU a draft agreement for economic management, as part of securing continued four-month funding to pay foreign debts coming due, and thus avoid a default.

Rebecca Solnit is the Thomas Friedman of America’s liberal Left: a queasily bad writer stuck in a 90s parallel universe who isn’t great with reality but practiced at milking the stretched udder of metaphor. Friedman gave us The World is Flat. Solnit’s new work is The Faraway Nearby.