"There is such a thing as society"
"We shouldn't kill poor people (although for us rich people, it would be even more fun than killing foxes, whatto!)"
"The Earth goes around the Sun"
...by stating the bleeding obvious! If it wasn't for the fact that this bunch of cretins could be the next government it would be hilarious that the Tories are finally saying things most people realised centuries ago.
Mother and apple pie, mother and apple pie, that is all this bullshit is.
But then he cheers the right up again with this bloody devious lie;
"Tax cuts for the rich and cuts in public services will help the poor, honest!"
Are we really fooled?
Can’t you get the quote right? There is such a thing as society, it’s just not the same as the State.
ReplyDeleteTim
ReplyDeleteWhy should he get the quote right? The Tory press make up all sorts of Bullshit but i bet you think that's fair game.
Tim, can't you see how ridicuous it is to have to state "there is such a thing as society", whatever qualifications you follow it up with.
ReplyDeleteOf course there bloody is. Its like saying 'there is such a thing as Friday afternoon'.
Take all Cameron's new manifesto and try saying the opposite. If the opposite doesn't make any sense then you know he is talking complete bullshit, here are some examples;
1. A successful Britain must NOT be able to compete with the world.
2. There is NO such thing as society. (hold on, Thatcher actually said that)
3. The quality of life DOES NOT matter.
4. Public services for everyone must NOT be guaranteed by the
state.
5. It is our moral obligation to NOT make poverty history.
6. Security and freedom must NOT go hand in hand.
7.We DO NOT understand the limitations of government.
8.We believe that government should NOT be closer to the
people.
Maggie actually said:
ReplyDelete"There is no such thing as society: there are individual men and women, and there are families. "
A different thing altogether. Tocqueville said similar things about the US, Burke about Britian. "The small battalions" and all that.
"We do NOT understand the limitations of government"...well, that’s exactly the argument that people like me would use against both social and economic authoritarians. That they don’t. That the vast majority of things are best left to individuals, to families, to the small battalions of civil society to deal with however they should wish.
Yes, the State or Government does have a role but it’s an extremely limited one, limited to only those things that government and government alone can do.
There is no political party in this country that puts such ideas forward. The Tories have too many social authoritarians, Labour and the Lib Dems too many economic ones.
The last politician I fully agreed with was Campbell Bannerman back in 1906. Yes, it was his government that brought in the basis of social insurance such as the old age pension. He also said "The man who is governed best is the man who is governed least."
If there was a political party that put forward suchideas I might even bother to register to vote.
"Maggie actually said: "There is no such thing as society: there are individual men and women, and there are families."
ReplyDeleteA different thing altogether."
No it's not.
So what Thatcher is saying is "I'm alright Jack" philosophy. She is trying to deny altruistic behaviour outside of family groupings. She is trying to deny that individuals and families have ANY responsibility for those less fortunate than themselves. This is clearly false and a peculiarly nasty and selfish ideology.
The reason the Tories are now trying to distance themselves from Thatcherism is because they know people find this ideology distasteful. And after 18 years of massive unemployment, increasing inequality (and worst of all) pathetic growth under the Tories, people started to ask 'what is the point of the Tories?'.
The Tories were elected because people were fed up of union power and economic turmoil. Thatcher promised to put an end to this. Instead she gave us monetarism that resulted in the worst recession since the 30s, a fifth of our industrial base was wiped out in 3 years, there was rioting in every major city. The Tories were heading for anihilation in 1983. If it hadn't have been for the Falklands war, they were so unpopular they would have LOST to Michael Foot.
After U-turning on monetarism, Thatcher abolished credit controls that gave us the late eighties boom and bust and another recession exacerbated by the Black Wednesday fiasco under Major. This destroyed the Tories credibility on the economy once and for all, and they still haven't recovered it.
People rightly are asking 'what are the Tories for'? Their one strength was supposed economic competence. But that was showed to be a sham. NewLabour have the best economic record of ANY British government. So the Tories are now pathetically trying to pretend they are more concerned about poverty than Labour. This is an impossibility. The Tories record proves that.
"NewLabour have the best economic record of ANY British government. So the Tories are now pathetically trying to pretend they are more concerned about poverty than Labour. This is an impossibility. The Tories record proves that."
ReplyDeleteIn fact, the "best economic record" is the direct result of the previous Tory government. The pain inflicted upon many by Thatcher was a necessary pain in the movement away from a stagnant, nationalised economy to a free, open and dynamic economy. The inability of the Left to comprehend that some of the BEST decisions in government entail pain and suffering will forever be your downfall.
Take a look at things at the moment: Gordon Brown is spending more than he can possibly afford. All the PFI, and other off balance-sheet borrowing will come back and sting the country - along with the totally ridiculous amount of money currently being spent on "social protection".
When the next recession comes - and come it will at some point - this nation will be shattered. Who will we have to thank? Labour. Who will have to put it right? The Tories. What will Labour then do? Blame the Tories for causing all the pain.
It's funny how all the recessions happen under Tory governments.
ReplyDeleteHow do you explain the severe recession of the late eighties/early nineties? Considering the Tories had been in government for 10 years at the time, how was that Labour's fault?
This recession that you are hoping for is taking a long time to happen. We had 1.8% growth this year, and the predictions for next year are higher growth. This is the worst year of growth under Labour, the Tories had TWO recessions where the economy actually CONTRACTED by over 2%. They would have loved growth of 1.8%.