Saturday, January 09, 2010

Snow Balls

Current stalkee and esteemed GC of the Fabian society, (S. Katwala esq.) thinks he has spotted a doctrinal inconsistency in the snow …
“..worries about a grit shortage. The Conservative opposition is among those calling for more planning,….It would be strange if a bit of bad weather were to trump the laissez-faire instincts of the libertarians. .... we seem to hear so much less about Iceland from them these days).....”
I have opined-
This is rather like a sermon is it not ? “I was coming to church today and I saw the snow , you know this set me thinking about god ../ socialism …”. I like it
You are confusing a desire for a big state with a desire that the necessary evil of some government, be run efficiently .When Conservatives criticise the record of this administration on military procurement ,we do not suggest a return to the jolly rogering entrepreneurial spirit of Raleigh and Drake .Still, I sympathise with the underlying theme. Some righty folk do seem to want it both ways ( way hay)

The left ignore the profound human cost inherent in taking decisions from us but equally the libertarian denies the dangers of free individual action .There is of course a Goldilocks position, which happens to be mine,Conservatism .Neither of its rivals counts long term values ,easily destroyed by clumsy state or violent market assaults on the nation’s body. Communities , deep mines , farming, the natural beauty of the country the diffuse knowledge coded in customs. Both big state and atomised anarchy are threats , an unholy alliance of these two demons is the story of the last ten years.
Conservatism is also pragmatic. A good old slab of planning periodically has a place after all .Take state insurance at tariff terms . This is clearly inefficient expensive usually corrupt and glacially slow . It does however provide a guaranteed risk support system for emerging economies. Without the guarantee of soil , enterprise cannot grow . Similarly, the provision of housing after the war ,albeit sub contracted after Labour’s failure to launch , the ‘safety net! ,the NHS , the BBC …. In each case, for some period , a guaranteed universal level was, perceived as job one.
As the nation “emerges”,this primtive kick start is no longer required , sadly the scaffolder has grown to love his scaffold .Big state acolytes ,invent faux emergencies. We need the EU because of …The Environment ” ..uhuh , and who are we at war with next week , ?
Today The Labour Party faces a country which needing less government lacking the resources to adjust. It retreats only in violent jerks , each new line in the sand is washed away leaving damp collectivist planners . The SDP episode and now the post defeat de-fenestration of Brown .
PS ICELAND- I take your point but our current travails come from the Passporting system within the EU and affiliates. UK institutional checks have been hollowed out and replaced by a spurious rubber stamp, giving the green light to investors .No surprise that Councils that took the boldest leaps ..innocents abroad.There is much more of this to come. Your fault , top down planning `s fault, the EU`s fault .Own up to it
The fate a wealthy people slightly less numerous than the denizens of Croydon is hardly a burning issue

5 comments:

Gordon the Fence Post Tortoise said...

We need some Icelandic politics - big time - it gets results!

coo-eeee we know you're in there

The equivalent would be 200,000 folk stood outside 10 Downing street with flaming torches saying "yoo-hoo Gordon! - sort this shit out mate , we're not happy"

That I'd pay to see

Philipa said...

Aside: Flo - watch Dinner with Portillo here. Soz I didn't post link straight away but I had quite a tumble whilst sledging. Tip: do not head-butt packed snow on frozen ground.

Excellent post, Newms.

Old BE said...

N - the first part of your post is exactly what I have been meaning to write about for a while. Very well put.

Electro-Kevin said...

We have two Godilockses:

- The EU

- The Global Warmists

Both have been caught eating our porridge ... both continue to eat our porridge while the debate that they shouldn't be eating our porridge goes on.

Of your post - the majority of the population fully understand that society functions on a mixture of govt/private activity ...

... it is the unrepresentative politicians who arse about polarising the two aspects - not us !

Newmania said...

Gordon TFPT - I have recently said myself that the the default deference of the ordinary Brit has been used cynically

Ta P

Ta BE...

EK Your last point is really interesting , quite right , the media as well I think

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