Ideology

The local council election results are demonstrating the electorate's expansive punishment of the Labour government. This is based on perceptions of corrupted, secretive systems of departmental governance, or precisely expenses fiddles. The global crunch, is a systems issue, again, we are seeing polarised social mobility and disaffection with the tax system. Everyone could do with a bit more money. However, it is a lack of information on details relating to the precise origins of the present crisis, that deludes the majority. Sure, major parties have bought into the lending economy, but ideologically, human error is written into conservatism. The idea of 'original sin', as seen in exploitative capitalist systems is based on conservative ideas that the boss has a responsibility for the workers and the low wages are based on the ability of the business to thrive and remain in existence. Sure, this makes perfect sense, but the surplus is kept from the worker, and channelled elsewhere. Therefore, if you are satisfied with this entirely, and you are a conservative worker, then I assume you agree with the foundations of conservatism, and that you are living in the hope that you can change your role in relation to the means of production. Either that, or you are a discontented lefty, who would like to see a little more in your wage packet by attaching yourself to the ideology of the unions, or more syndicalised forms of progress through wage increases.
The voter projection cannot be laying the blame for the crunch entirely at the door of the government. The conditions leading up to the explosion of the bubble are new, in so much sustained growth as we have witnessed can only result in a large bust. The conservative worker sees the profit motive as a phased process of progression, that they work their way into different positions. From this, we might gather that the majority are looking for a quick fix using neo-conservative spend-thrift principles, to reestablish the economy as it was, through tax cuts, to restore confidence and mobility. Where this will leave us in terms of ideology is perplexing, because a difficult crisis is likely to be mended through a harsh regime of cuts and a shrinkage in the public sector as well as a minor shrinkage in service sector expertise.
The work of Professor Shiller (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/article6346115.ece) on the potential of a second wave of recession may prove all the more alarming as the government's core pillars disintegrate. Let us not forget, Labour have delivered on economic growth offering dramatic expansion of the finance sector from which we have all benefited. It was in 2005, when the shoots of Tory revival became apparent, based notionally on an increase in affluence through the housing bubble and a desire to reduce taxes even further. A careful consideration of ideological thrust, must account for Cameron's alliance with radical/ far right parties in Europe. Is this really what modern Britain needs now?
I think we can all agree that the economy would benefit from personal household debt being reduced considerably, and that national debt can afford to be reduced in stages. The time for change has arrived, clealry, as the indicators have afforded - but the ideological battle has been suspended concurrently by economic concerns. Why do the Liberal Democrats perform poorly when conservative ideology has led to reckless lack of accountability and secrecy? Why do we seem to believe that a move to the next centre-right party is going to restore our fortunes, when the existing one has followed their example? I feel that a visit to the 'iron law of oligarchy' in this case is appropriate. There is always the chance, however that the Conservatives will surprise us with a radical programme of reform. Only time will tell.

Expensive Mistakes

The row over MPs expenses has been expanded greatly by exposure resonant of the 1980s media coverage of Thatcher. What I am finding, now, is that this sensational story has not taken into account the intricacies of working as a civil servant. Minister is a job like no other, these people travel at all hours of the night and day to meet their commitments around the country. I am not excusing the excruciatingly embarassing revelation that mortgages have been invented to gleen off public money but that the good, honest MPs need solid renumeration to do the profession justice. If we paid MPs more, relative to their level of responsibility and expertise, then there would be no need to exploit the system as it stands. I believe that it is has always been possible to access expense claims for every MP online, and can't believe that the Telegraph is so tantalising such an obvious avenue. The question is, how can we recover the last 100 years of expenses? Someone is laughing all the way to ....

Gimme Shelter

Sometimes the times can be expressed succinctly by a rock song. In the case of April, 2009 I have elected to take the thought provoking lyrics of Neil Hannon, in his vivid, if obvious enuncication of the inevitable. Greatest respect to the man:

Here comes the floodRivers of mud, babyHere comes the quakeEvacuate while you still canHere comes the fireOur funeral pyre, babyHere comes the floodHere comes the blood bath Here comes the flyFifty foot high, babyHere comes the warMore blood and goreThan you can standHere comes the raceFrom outer space, babyIts all overWere all gonna dieIf the good lord intended me to live in l.a., hed have given me a machine gun. still, here I am, just another little worried citizen of this modern-day pompeii waiting for the melt-down, the shWn, the great american close-down. when that fault-line that runs right through societys fabric finally snaps and the whole damn thing starts unravelling. why watch the sports channel, when youWatch cnn? ladies and gentlemen, the greatest race in history, the race to end all races, in fact the race to end history. in lane onethe san andreas fault. in lane twoglobal recession. in tel nino. in fourchemical war. lane fiveinter-racial conflict. lane sixauto immune deficiency syndrome. on your marks. get set. wait for it ..... go!Here comes the floodRivers of blood, babyHere comes the bombIt won t be longtil were all goneHere comes the sunRun baby run, babyIf you believe all that you readYoull know the end is nighWere all gonna die!

So.... Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The 'Social Contract' by Jean-Jacques Rousseau is a brilliant model of goverance, if there ever was one. The picture of sovereignty has clearly had a huge influence on G. Agamben in his huge works on Political governance and political rights: 'concerning the subject'. His ideas on 'equality' are brilliantly romantic, but I like what he is saying, that a state of equals is the only one worth having. It is a good to enshrine rights in a codified, republican constitution to articulate the extent of their reach, that is, reducing the dispute over their interpretation and the extent of political sovereignty. I am in favour of a codified Bill of Rights in the UK, if not for anything else than to deplete ambiguity over the authority of the Human Rights Act and its applicability in day to day living.

Feeling the Moment

Demonstrations of all kinds have blossomed with the growth of alternative political movements inspired by universal suffrage, freedoms of speech and collective resistance to hegemonic power. Issues such as tuition fees for those poor souls who live in England, G20 summit, environmental issues and Iraq have ignited some strong political sentiment. The only problem I have is that it is great that people are making the effort, but it doesn't seem to make any difference to the outcome, if anything it highlights a politically minded liberal/socialist elite and that's about it. Things are only going to get better when it is too late and the earth is ruined or irreversibly changed. For instance, the financial crisis has forced the government to save reckless banks but only because it put the masses at risk - raising the danger of anarchy. The 'precipice' appears to be the point at which intervention becomes pallatable, and that is very dangerous. Jonathan Sacks has brilliantly drawn together a very good article in the Times today along these lines:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5946941.ece

Shock and Awe Blues

Will Hutton has written an excellent article in today's Observer in response to the 'Wilkinson thesis', an analysis of shortfalls in the Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism and human development. I know, you might be thinking that is an exhausted area of academia, but it really has not been tackled thoroughly or boldly. For starters, I agree that economic inquality is at the heart of society's problems, specifically in the UK and USA. Secondly, the current government have not done near enough to tackle child poverty. We know no society is perfect and sociological explanations of atomisation of social bonds is more palatable than political gesturing, because political thinking is genuinely confusing at best and often does not provide remedies to basic human needs at worst. Hutton's use of the "Water babies" as a metaphor for this unfairness is palpable. One issue that does need addressing in addition to the argument regarding inequality is that the state is geared towards those who have researched their entitlements. A lot of families entitled to benefits such as tax credit are missing it and a lot of money really isn't going to people who desperately need it. There is one solution to this, and that is to force them to take the benefit by forcing them to have their income assessed by their local authority for the purpose of supplying supplementary benefits. If the state was less competitive in reinforcing these inequalities then we would not having the damaging barriers highlighted in the article in the Guardian last week. We are witnessing the complete overhaul of the banking industry and the state is genuinely taking a role in supporting rich bankers! The structure of postmodern capitalism has demanded this injustice take place whilst many of us are on the breadline, bringing to our full attention the shocking inequality of the neo-liberal era. I think that the solution to this simple, stop selling financial products to the poor that they don't need and let the state take over. Regulate the lending industry that keeps millions in debt poverty.

Buffallo Bill shoots to kill, Never missed nor he never will

Anger in Northern Ireland is unsurprising, Belfast is the most political city I have ever visited. The contemporary scene is evidently complex, and as I see it the 'peace process' is an active one, involving the formerly antagonistic parties to war. My interpretation of events is that this is a new phase of nationalism, violence has shifted to a new set of actors acting within the political framework of the now relatively respectable Sinn Fein. It is amazing how the media portray this part of Ireland as being 'fixed', when the problem is evidently so much more mind-bogglingly complex and immersed is historical representations of grievance that bubble over into the gloom of depression. I do hope that the militant republican movement realise that their best hope of a united republic is in the full functioning of a devolved parliament and the cessation of violence on all fronts. Roy Hettersley wrote a very engaging piece in the Guardian on this, and I felt the need to revive it quickly: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/aug/01/northernireland.northernireland2

"I bear no hate to a living thing, But love my country beyond the king". (Ulysses, James Joyce).

I want to remember all of those who have suffered this political conflict in Northern Ireland. I have seen the film 'hunger' and was moved deeply by the passion and sadness of Bobby Sands. I cannot understand the full extent of the political grievance of the Irish people, but I hope no more lives are blighted by this dreadful bloodshed.