Braverman is a Buddhist, isn't she?
A lot of emphasis in that faith is placed on becoming more aware - through vipassana (aka mindfulness) meditation - of the nexus of causes and conditions that lead us to where we are right now, both individually and collectively. This is not just karma that I am referring to here, by the way. The teaching of paticca samuppada is about far more than that, and I would refer readers of this post to the excellent exposition of it that can be found in Richard Gombrich's What The Buddha Thought if they are curious to find out more.
So what is our new Home Secretary, who was fast-tracked into the post of Attorney General via a process that left those in the know rather aghast, likely to be getting wrong in the sphere of moral cause and effect?
First of all, as a supporter of neoliberal capitalism, she seems dangerously unaware of the fact that increased lawlessness and crime invariably follow-on from neoliberal policy-making, due to the corrosive effects of these selfsame policies, which weaken intermediary social institutions and the informal social controls of community and family life. The endpoint of this development comes when the sanctions of the criminal law become the principal remaining support of social order, as seems to be the case in the USA, given the extraordinarily high rates of incarceration there.
As far as economic migrancy is concerned, it also has to be realized that LEDCs (Less Economically Developed Countries) have also been failed by neoliberal policies. One example is where deregulation has resulted in infant industries in these countries being strangled more or less at birth, as they receive no protection from import tariffs. Often, in the MENA, these policies have been enacted by autocratic leaders and rulers who have been propped up by the West. So it is no surprise that some of the more desperate members of the population try to make their way here. Of course, I am aware that this is not going to apply in all cases (Iran being one example), but it is a factor and one which I doubt very much that Braverman has considered.
Overall then, it would not surprise me if she turns out to be just as incompetent and out of her depth as the other members of the cabinet, who are similarly dangerous ideologues.
Could the mindfulness meditation that she presumably practices on a daily basis be of any help? Well, in theory, metta (lovingkindness) and karuna (compassion) are two qualities that can be extended and expressed to all living beings when cultivated. But I doubt that she actually bothers with that particular technique.
And what I suspect she might have overlooked is the bigger picture, namely, that these practices have already been co-opted by neoliberalism as a means of helping people to cope with the instabilities and insecurities, the remorseless stresses, that inevitably accompany this form of late period capitalism, so that they do not then start to question the system itself.
Mindfulness (or 'McMindfulness' as it has been dubbed) is actually now big business. Corporate leaders and employees at all levels are encouraged to adopt mindfulness practices (that can specifically include extending compassion and lovingkindness to oneself, one's colleagues and customers) in staff training courses. And for school pupils subjected to a constant regime of testing, the method is also touted (and often introduced by inexperienced teachers with little formal training, or even via an iPhone App) as a way to address the mental health issues that are becoming increasingly prevalent among teenagers.
So there you go. All the indications are that Braverman is likely to be another Tory politician who is almost certainly hopelessly ill-equipped to deal with the problems that she will have to deal with.
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www.independent.co.uk