Dalrymple writes again on the British MP expenses scandal, this time in Canada’s Globe and Mail:
The public has reacted to the revelation of parliamentary financial skulduggery with a mixture of glee and anger, but it has missed the wider point: that behaviour of this kind is not a mere accident or untoward event in Britain. Indeed, the dissolution of the distinction between the licit and illicit, the legal and illegal, the honourable and dishonourable, has been the principal social and economic policy of the British government for a long time, since Margaret Thatcher at least. And, with everyone implicated, no one can stand out.
As usual Dalrymple gets it in one. I really cannot add any more to what he has said.
As usual Dalrymple gets it in one. I really cannot add any more to what he has said.
As usual Dalrymple gets it in one. I really cannot add any more to what he has said.
Finally someone has stated what has appeared obvious to me since the start of the expenses scandal: namely, that the actions of the political elite are entirely in keeping with the philosophy of New Labour.
Although the British economy has been run along largely free market terms since 1997, the government’s cultural and social policy has been distinctly Marxist in flavour, promoting the idea that there is no better or worse, no right and wrong, and no theoretical reason to deny anyone the wealth, status and esteem they desire.
What’s more, this philosophy has become the guiding principle of our institutions, leading to bloated state bureaucracies promoting equality, inclusiveness and diversity, and protecting people from the real-world effects of their actions through financial support and preferential treatment.
Another effect of this socialist mindset is that we increasingly live in a ‘pocket money’ society, where the government see our hard-earned cash as its own to be given back to us as it sees fit. The rest they can then spend on social engineering projects – which generally amounts to propping up those people who would otherwise have failed by their own actions (or inactions).
The net result of this is a political elite which considers questions of right and wrong as petty bourgeois considerations; which regards itself as generous defenders of the public good; which considers our aggregate wealth as its own and withdrawls from it as justifiable reward for its largesse.
I agree, Tayles. To me, this scandal has the same ultimate source as that of the current world financial crisis: the degradation of the character of the Western citizenry from the height of the protestant work ethic (whatever one’s religion) to the depth of current individual irresponsibility, which has been promoted by intellectuals and encouraged by socialist government policy.
At last, someone comes up with the “right” asnewr!