Rascal
El Presidente
This statement is creeping more and more into use and it disturbs me. Its false equivalence, a logical fallacy that different things are the same. It stands alongside "they are all in it for themselves" as what I consider a threat to democracy.
I am certain there may well be individuals who enter politics for their own personal gain, but I am equally certain that the overwhelming majority of MPs enter politics to do good and serve the people. Seeing as how "doing good" is now derided by certain elements of our media and these people are dismissed as "do-gooders" the narrative or false equivalence is that people must in fact enter politics to "do bad" and are therefore in politics for themselves and therefore all politicians are the same.
My political views are well known on here, I am a strident Leftist, yet I still believe those of a different political persuasion to my own are politicians for the right reasons. Even politicians who I categorically disagree with on every level such as Sajid Javid and even Starmer to an extent are politicians who I do believe and hope hold real conviction that what they are trying to do is in the national interest.
Why does this disturb me, well, I see our democracy being eroded by these statements and trust in politicians is low, that has to change. If trust in our politicians and our democratic system is continually eroded that leads down one road, Authoritarianism, be that from the left or right. A truism of British politics is that however bad things are, they could get much much worse. Of course there are reasons why trust is diminishing, we have just been through a damaging Premiership, austerity seems never ending, Brexit has ignited flames in the nation, there are stories of corruption and of course there are the never ending divisive culture wars. The will of the people became a destructive agent of anti Parliamentarianism. All the while most of us are getting poorer and the post WW2 consensus ideal of every generation being richer than the previous generation has faded away whilst our MPs are given pay rises most of us would never dream of receiving. MPs expenses are still scrutinised closely and quite rightly after the damaging revelations of the expenses scandal.
I saw my own MP in her surgery, she is a Conservative and I had an issue I wanted an answer to. Whilst we were chatting away, I told her I had not voted for her and had never voted Tory in my life, she smiled and explained her job was to represent all her constituents not just those who had voted for her. I found that immensely encouraging and within the week I received a letter from a Minister explaining in great detail why a certain policy was introduced and also saying that my issue would be looked at further. That made me feel that our government was available to the people, ass rightly it should be because we are a democracy. If democracy fails none of us have that right to redress. We will be told what is being done and that is that.
I have a feeling, but no proof that the agenda of "they are all the same" is a nefarious attempt by some of our many libertarian free tanks to further erode our democracy so that they claim it for themselves and it is the financial backers of these think tanks that want this, they do not want Democracy as that can hold them to account.
Below is a passage from the Sovereign Individual
"New technologies will allow the holders of wealth to bypass the national monopolies that have issued and regulated money in the modern period. [...] Their importance for controlling the world's wealth will be transcended by mathematical algorithms that have no physical existence. In the new millennium, cyber money controlled by private markets will supersede fiat money issued by governments. Only the poor will be victims of inflation"
Concentrate on "only the poor" then think about why democracy is devalued by classing all politicians as the same and thinking they are all in it for themselves.
Without democratic accountability the Sovereign individual reigns and they do not give two fucks about you.
I am certain there may well be individuals who enter politics for their own personal gain, but I am equally certain that the overwhelming majority of MPs enter politics to do good and serve the people. Seeing as how "doing good" is now derided by certain elements of our media and these people are dismissed as "do-gooders" the narrative or false equivalence is that people must in fact enter politics to "do bad" and are therefore in politics for themselves and therefore all politicians are the same.
My political views are well known on here, I am a strident Leftist, yet I still believe those of a different political persuasion to my own are politicians for the right reasons. Even politicians who I categorically disagree with on every level such as Sajid Javid and even Starmer to an extent are politicians who I do believe and hope hold real conviction that what they are trying to do is in the national interest.
Why does this disturb me, well, I see our democracy being eroded by these statements and trust in politicians is low, that has to change. If trust in our politicians and our democratic system is continually eroded that leads down one road, Authoritarianism, be that from the left or right. A truism of British politics is that however bad things are, they could get much much worse. Of course there are reasons why trust is diminishing, we have just been through a damaging Premiership, austerity seems never ending, Brexit has ignited flames in the nation, there are stories of corruption and of course there are the never ending divisive culture wars. The will of the people became a destructive agent of anti Parliamentarianism. All the while most of us are getting poorer and the post WW2 consensus ideal of every generation being richer than the previous generation has faded away whilst our MPs are given pay rises most of us would never dream of receiving. MPs expenses are still scrutinised closely and quite rightly after the damaging revelations of the expenses scandal.
I saw my own MP in her surgery, she is a Conservative and I had an issue I wanted an answer to. Whilst we were chatting away, I told her I had not voted for her and had never voted Tory in my life, she smiled and explained her job was to represent all her constituents not just those who had voted for her. I found that immensely encouraging and within the week I received a letter from a Minister explaining in great detail why a certain policy was introduced and also saying that my issue would be looked at further. That made me feel that our government was available to the people, ass rightly it should be because we are a democracy. If democracy fails none of us have that right to redress. We will be told what is being done and that is that.
I have a feeling, but no proof that the agenda of "they are all the same" is a nefarious attempt by some of our many libertarian free tanks to further erode our democracy so that they claim it for themselves and it is the financial backers of these think tanks that want this, they do not want Democracy as that can hold them to account.
Below is a passage from the Sovereign Individual
"New technologies will allow the holders of wealth to bypass the national monopolies that have issued and regulated money in the modern period. [...] Their importance for controlling the world's wealth will be transcended by mathematical algorithms that have no physical existence. In the new millennium, cyber money controlled by private markets will supersede fiat money issued by governments. Only the poor will be victims of inflation"
Concentrate on "only the poor" then think about why democracy is devalued by classing all politicians as the same and thinking they are all in it for themselves.
Without democratic accountability the Sovereign individual reigns and they do not give two fucks about you.