http://www.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
I recently discussed the decline of various areas of Britain which seems to confuse some: why have some places become so uninhabitably bleak in the last thirty years while others have become so resplendent?
On Question Time this weekend there was much debate over whether the youth of this country were terrible human beings, which initially was very much the consensus until a well-educated and polite young man made a strong argument that he was by no means the exception among his peers.
There is a certain Jekyll and Hyde quality to most of the social problems of modern Britain and although Cameron and his government elect make a great fuss about Broken Britain they only focus on the symptoms, to which the only cure is to be crackdown. This is always the answer from the Conservatives. Something is wrong? Get tougher.
But what is causing this division - where certain areas and certain groups are increasingly undesirable?
One thing tends to link almost all social problems of this kind and these cases are no exception: poverty. The rich-poor divide in contemporary Britain is the widest it has been since the second world war. Since Thatcher and Reagan set a new economic precedent thirty years ago the poor have become poorer and the rich richer and every aspect of their lives have reflected this. Further the relatively low taxation and the reliance on tax credits etc as opposed to state housing etc has seen the national infrastructure collapse. The state education system is unravelling rapidly, the NH can barely keep up, public transport - post privatisation - is over-priced and under-used because there is little return to be seen on the necessary investment in the fundamentals - new tracks, new trains etc. While Europe becomes stronger and stronger, built on solid foundations, co-operation and a more globally centrist political outlook (if you think they're a bunch of lefties then consider that Britain and America are two of the most right wing countries in the world with no left wing mainstream media whatsoever. The Guardian and Independent are not left wing, they are very much capitalistic and economically liberal, the only inch slightly to the left of the Times - the only other newspaper in Britain that does not resort to cartoonish charicatures and outright lies for idealistic propaganda purposes).
I, like almost anyone in this country accused of being left-wing, am not advocating any kind of radical shift. What I propose is not even idealistic, merely pragmatic. If we do not begin a period of heavy and sensible investment into our national infrastructure, combined with an increasing willingness to co-operate with our supposed allies in mainland Europe (there are huge pots of money available from the IMF and the UN set aside specifically for large-scale upgrades of fundamental national infrastructure - housing, education, health, transport etc - we pay into them but are too proud to apply for these grants) (and one important aspect of this will be prioritisation in the national curriculum of modern languages. at present we will only seriously deal with English speaking countries. This is stupid both idealistically and pragmatically. The English speaking countries are fading. We must adapt to compete or we will be left behind) then the country will collapse. It's all very well to be politically selfish but there is self-interest in making sure your fellow countrymen are not so badly off that they become hopeless, disillusioned and desperate and end up stealing, drug dealing, prostituting themselves (and others), fighting and so on. In many cases the good of the many and the good of the few are one.
And yet, as the articles above illustrate, along with the imminent arrival of a Conservative government, whose actions in their current positions of power confess a far more right-wing political outlook than they wish to make plain to the public at large, the growth of far right politics with UKIP and the BNP and the continuing use of America as the sole source of ideas for change, we are shifting further to the right, just like any proud idiot who has made a mistake continues more forcefully in their failed strategy until such point as they break.
It is not too late. We need to only make a few changes and the damage can begin to be rectified. The further we lurch, however, the harder it will be to get back straight.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
I recently discussed the decline of various areas of Britain which seems to confuse some: why have some places become so uninhabitably bleak in the last thirty years while others have become so resplendent?
On Question Time this weekend there was much debate over whether the youth of this country were terrible human beings, which initially was very much the consensus until a well-educated and polite young man made a strong argument that he was by no means the exception among his peers.
There is a certain Jekyll and Hyde quality to most of the social problems of modern Britain and although Cameron and his government elect make a great fuss about Broken Britain they only focus on the symptoms, to which the only cure is to be crackdown. This is always the answer from the Conservatives. Something is wrong? Get tougher.
But what is causing this division - where certain areas and certain groups are increasingly undesirable?
One thing tends to link almost all social problems of this kind and these cases are no exception: poverty. The rich-poor divide in contemporary Britain is the widest it has been since the second world war. Since Thatcher and Reagan set a new economic precedent thirty years ago the poor have become poorer and the rich richer and every aspect of their lives have reflected this. Further the relatively low taxation and the reliance on tax credits etc as opposed to state housing etc has seen the national infrastructure collapse. The state education system is unravelling rapidly, the NH can barely keep up, public transport - post privatisation - is over-priced and under-used because there is little return to be seen on the necessary investment in the fundamentals - new tracks, new trains etc. While Europe becomes stronger and stronger, built on solid foundations, co-operation and a more globally centrist political outlook (if you think they're a bunch of lefties then consider that Britain and America are two of the most right wing countries in the world with no left wing mainstream media whatsoever. The Guardian and Independent are not left wing, they are very much capitalistic and economically liberal, the only inch slightly to the left of the Times - the only other newspaper in Britain that does not resort to cartoonish charicatures and outright lies for idealistic propaganda purposes).
I, like almost anyone in this country accused of being left-wing, am not advocating any kind of radical shift. What I propose is not even idealistic, merely pragmatic. If we do not begin a period of heavy and sensible investment into our national infrastructure, combined with an increasing willingness to co-operate with our supposed allies in mainland Europe (there are huge pots of money available from the IMF and the UN set aside specifically for large-scale upgrades of fundamental national infrastructure - housing, education, health, transport etc - we pay into them but are too proud to apply for these grants) (and one important aspect of this will be prioritisation in the national curriculum of modern languages. at present we will only seriously deal with English speaking countries. This is stupid both idealistically and pragmatically. The English speaking countries are fading. We must adapt to compete or we will be left behind) then the country will collapse. It's all very well to be politically selfish but there is self-interest in making sure your fellow countrymen are not so badly off that they become hopeless, disillusioned and desperate and end up stealing, drug dealing, prostituting themselves (and others), fighting and so on. In many cases the good of the many and the good of the few are one.
And yet, as the articles above illustrate, along with the imminent arrival of a Conservative government, whose actions in their current positions of power confess a far more right-wing political outlook than they wish to make plain to the public at large, the growth of far right politics with UKIP and the BNP and the continuing use of America as the sole source of ideas for change, we are shifting further to the right, just like any proud idiot who has made a mistake continues more forcefully in their failed strategy until such point as they break.
It is not too late. We need to only make a few changes and the damage can begin to be rectified. The further we lurch, however, the harder it will be to get back straight.
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