In December last year, I wrote a letter to The Times criticising a comment piece by George Osborne where he argued the British Museum should keep artefacts gained through British colonialism. I wrote:
Sir, George Osborne makes a muddled case for retaining colonial plunders in the British Museum. Other nations have histories too, and keeping stolen artefacts to tell our story deprives other nations of the same privilege. Would we be happy if the crown jewels were displayed in a foreign museum? Osborne should do the right thing and return what doesn’t belong to us.
I decided I wanted to explore why I disagreed with Osborne in greater detail. Luckily, an opportunity presented itself. I was in the process of applying to join Young Voice’s Contributor Programme, and the application required a long-form article. Now that the process is complete (I am on the programme!), I can share the article I submitted.
Looking backward and forward
A few months ago, I went through a spell of listening to noughties pop. Old-school Rihanna and Beyonce, some Avril Lavigne and Lily Allen, and dare I say, drops of James Blunt and Nickelback. It was harmless sepia tinted nostalgia.
You can hear the era’s optimism through its music. Austerity was yet to bite, Brexit and Trump hadn’t happened, and even climate change seemed a distant concern. Politics was fought between third-way doppelgangers who appeared to know what they were doing. Watching old videos of politician’s speeches, it’s tempting to imagine today’s problems being solved by yesterday’s logic.
But eventually the high must end and you look around and see the world is different now. Darker, more divided and less certain. What were once bold visions of the future now look like relics of a bygone age.
Failing to move with the times is dangerous. Not only does it stop you from seeing the world as it is, but it prevents you from imagining the future as it could be.
George Osborne is stuck in the past. In a comment piece in The Times, he maintained the British Museum is more important than ever, claiming it is still right to be proud of Britain’s history. Justifying the Museum in noughties rhetoric, Osborne basks in its glow long after the light went out.
Now Chairman of the Museum, he’s in denial society has changed, in no small part due to his work as Chancellor.
Osborne disregards the issues of the day with Blair-like self-assurance, presenting a lazy vision of harmony as the solution to the culture wars. ‘Why can’t we just get on and use common sense?’ Assuming unity as both easily achievable and immediately desirable is patronising to a society having very live debates over how to interpret its past.
Branching into pseudo-intellectualism as he strains to uphold outdated values, Osborne claims the British Museum draws more from the grand philosophy of the European Enlightenment than the tarred British Empire. Putting to one side the two were inextricably linked, Osborne neglects that the European Enlightenment was the foundation of quasi-scientific justifications of racism.
It’s unsurprising Osborne then embarks on a civilising mission of his own. He presents the British Museum as a “museum of the world, for the world”. But what if the world doesn’t want to in be his museum? Osborne should have learnt from Brexit that you can’t force globalism on people. Choice matters.
Osborne’s elitism shows why failing to move with the times is dangerous. He dodges the important question of the day: should the British Museum keep artefacts stolen through colonial plunder?
Around the world, countries have asked for their national treasures back and we’ve had the audacity to say no. Osborne’s offer of loaning items back reeks of a school bully lending back the lunch money they stole.
Preoccupied fighting yesterday’s battles, Osborne doesn’t see the opportunities the future holds. The museums of tomorrow will be exciting technology-driven experiences.
When I visited the British Museum recently, I was struck by the feeling it’s a 20th century experience. Wandering through rooms of undoubtedly significant but painfully dull ceramic pots, it’s easier to imagine the souls of bored schoolchildren than Ancient Mesopotamia.
Osborne’s new £1bn plan to renovate the Museum’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems shows a failure to imagine a future better than the past. Modern technology is revolutionising how we interact with the world. Museums should be no exception.
4D and virtual reality could give visitors immersive experiences, allowing them to feel part of the history they came to see. Similarly, blockchain technology has the potential to break down long-standing barriers of power and exclusivity. If the British Museum wants to be a museum “for the world,” it could upload its’ collection to an open-source catalogue, not the NFT store it’s currently trialling.
In 1888, Edward Bellamy wrote in his classic Looking Backward: “Human history, like all great movements, was cyclical, and returned to the point of beginning.” He was writing in an age of cholera and penny farthings, not blockchain and VR. Using new technology, Osborne should wrench both himself and the British Museum out of the past and into the future, making it a true museum of the world while showing he respects everyone in it.
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