The Inventory: Paul Mason

Paul Mason, 51, the economics editor of the BBC’s Newsnight, has won a variety of awards for outstanding journalism.

What was your earliest ambition?

As a child, I was a prolific writer of stories, but my ambition was to be a classical composer.

Public school or state school? University or straight into work?

A Catholic grammar school, Thornleigh Salesian College in Bolton. I went to Sheffield university to read music, but persuaded them to let me study music and politics. I did my music teacher’s certificate, then spent a further two years on an unfinished PhD on the music of the Second Viennese School.

Who was your mentor?

My friend the late Dave Hughes, a lecturer in Russian history at De Montfort university. He taught me to write, think critically and all that goes with Russian history.

How physically fit are you?

I’m normally quite fit – I swim and gym – but my body has finally rebelled and I’ve slipped a disc.

Ambition or talent: which matters more to success?

I tell students and young journalists it is the pure Nietzschean will to power: the chutzpah of deciding you’re going to be something and becoming it. If the playing field was level, it would be talent.

Have you ever taken an IQ test?

Yes, at school. I was so gutted to be below 150 that I purposely forgot the score.

How politically committed are you?

Clearly I’m not allowed to be; that’s what you exchange for the privilege of being a public service broadcaster. But I am very attached to the idea of social justice.

Do you consider your carbon footprint?

No. The solutions to global warning are going to be at the macro level.

Do you have more than one home?

I have 0.5 of a home in London.

If you had a coat of arms, what would be on it?

Colliery winding gear for one granddad and a saxophone for my other. The Athenian riot dog as one supporter and a whippet as the other. My motto: Qilai – arise! from the Chinese national anthem

What would you like to own that you don’t currently possess?

A whippet. Nothing to do with being northern, I just love whippets; they are sleek and noble animals.

What’s your biggest extravagance?

Delius. I know it’s schmaltzy, given that I studied ultra-modern atonal music. And, not far behind, Wagner.

In what place are you happiest?

Pembrokeshire, a part of the coastline around St Brides Bay which is very Celtic, slightly magical and my spiritual home.

What ambitions do you still have?

I’ve written a novel and toiled over a so far highly unsatisfactory stage play, so maybe there is one great life change left. I’m exploring that side of what I do, not because I’m bored but because sometimes you reach the limits of what you can tell through fact.

What drives you on?

An incredible sense of hope.

What is the greatest achievement of your life so far?

My book on the history of the global Labour movement. I’m really quite proud of it. To those who get it, it has been influential.

What has been your greatest disappointment?

That my dad, who died when I was 26, isn’t around to see me do what I do now.

If your 20-year-old self could see you now, what would he think?

“Why do you put up with all this cant and hypocrisy in the mainstream media – and what is that little black thing you’re so obsessed with?”

If you lost everything tomorrow, what would you do?

Move to Victoria in Australia and be a surf bum.

Do you believe in assisted suicide?

Yes.

Do you believe in an afterlife?

No. I’m an atheist.

If you had to rate your satisfaction with your life so far, out of 10, what would you score?

4.5. I don’t think I’ve yet done half of what I’m going to achieve and I’m a very restless person.

‘Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions’ by Paul Mason is published by Verso, £12.99