Post a Comment On: Inner Pearls

In the Conservative Manifesto 2010, I read that "Britain needs change: few can doubt that" and "People have lost faith that politics can fix our problems, or that politicians can lead us into a better future. There is a feeling of helplessness. Once again, there is a mood afoot that the decline of Britain is inevitable."

What would appear clear from this narrative is that there is a recognition by the political party that the people of Britain are losing faith in an elected leadership being capable or willing to lead the country in a direction in which that same body of people are wishing to go. It may well be true that there is a sense of helplessness being felt by the people and this could in part be because what is in the air is transition. With transition comes a sense of an established order or a set of beliefs entering into decay, bringing with it chaos, confusion and uncertainty.

What is also clear is that those representing or are charged with preserving hierarchy and the status quo are going to find these times equally as challenging. Their response might be to try and instil a false sense of confidence in the people that their policies are the right ones and are necessary in order to establish a renewed sense of order and economic strength. 'Tough love' might be the buzz words in the media or that of 'compassionate' when some 'difficult decisions' are portrayed as being necessary and are taken.

The Manifesto continues to say "But there is no law that says we must accept decline ... If we join together, if we act decisively, and move forward with optimism, we can start to fix the economic, social and political problems that threaten the nation." This last bit in particular is where I believe that the political landscape is revealing its true colours. Rather than pouring resources into trying to fix that which is broken, it would be refreshing for any governing party to be willing to acknowledge that an older system of allegiance, of power and of contribution is in decline.

So I will watch with interest to see whether a political party is willing to admit that change is in the air and a newer and more inclusive recognition of contribution is necessary. Whether it will recognise that a nation's success and prosperity is not only about its global might and its economic swagger on the world stage, but about its sense of community or its cohesiveness as well. Without this recognition, a governing party has no recourse to the declining sense of optimism of the people, other than to resort to outdated and unproven methods of force (call them sanctions?) and increasing surveillance as the chants of dissatisfaction of those that have been and are becoming disenfranchised grow louder.

It would seem futile to force or even to try and trick a population into a renewed sense of optimism in sticking with a broken system and yet a growing narrative is appearing in  the mainstream media that would appear to be doing just that. In other words, measures are in place to repackage the old system and to give the people a new way of perceiving and envisioning it and the linchpin of this mission would appear to be an idea of aspiration.

Certainly it could be hoped that any intelligent or sane person would dismiss or even laugh at any suggestion that they could ever be sold into an idea that the chains in which they are bound are there for their own good, or that any dubious actions taken in their name are done for the good of the many. Yet history has revealed that many intelligent people have bought into a particular political philosophy or an ideology and so it would seem that discernment can go out of the window on many occasions when a chosen perspective has been very carefully crafted.

It is through a tightly controlled and closed system of propaganda and suppression of dissent that it is possible for an open air prison to be built, one without any apparent walls or bars and in which a prisoner doesn't have to be forced or cajoled into doing what another wants them to do, as it is their own thinking which does it for them.

Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild has frequently been quoted as saying "Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes its laws". In the near future it could be an ideology along the lines of "Give me control of a nation's will and I care not what is good for the many" which becomes equally as famous through its undertaking to dismantle big state in favour of provision of services which are purely merit based.