'Loose Talk'
By Benjamin Benedict

Divorce

“With the fall of Marxism, all we are left with is Heroic Materialism”, said Sir Kenneth Clark in a seminal TV series called ‘Civilization’ which examined the progress, achievements and possible future of the human race, originally broadcast some thirty years ago. He also made the comment that machines might not offer us the freedom they seem to promise, but instead have the power to enslave. ‘Heroic Materialism’ did not impress Sir Kenneth and I think that the intervening period has proved him right. It has also seen the rise of socialist capitalism, and the ever increasing control of government over the people.

Slogans involving words such as ‘equality’ and ‘fairness’ are heard more and more as the screws are tightened by new armies of enforcers from parking meter attendants, to ‘community police’, and managers of just about everything from hospitals to transport systems to local authorities. These legions are aided by CT cameras, speed cameras, mobile phone cameras, and microphones that most of us don’t even know are there.

What is the way out of this dangerous and ultimately failed relationship? We can only find that out by a process of divorce; divorce from the philosophies and politics that we previously adhered to, not in favour of another but in the realization that we are simply not married anymore.

What is needed is a system which promotes ‘uncoloured’ information and the right of people, particularly those in a position of authority, to say what they actually think. The adversarial aspect of democracy contributes to society’s failure in this respect. It is enshrined in The Party System by which our representatives are prohibited from backing initiatives to which the party does not subscribe and from even stating opinions which run against Party Policy. It is inevitable that this will restrict their actions and statements. In fact it would be a miracle if you could find someone in a position of political power who could truly say that they had at all times been able to speak and act as they wished.

The world is a lot more complex than it was and The Party System does not allow for anything but a very broad brush approach. Now, what if you had to make up your mind on who to vote for, without the Party tags? What if you had to make up your mind on the basis of character and policies alone? How much more would you want to know about the candidates and how much more could they tell you?

As I see it, things are moving in that direction with politicians being forced more and more to act either in cooperation with their opponents or counter to their own Party’s stated position. The danger in this must be that instead of several parties vying for office, you end up with one party in absolute control, which is socialist capitalism in its ultimate form.

No, divorce from the entire Party structure is the only answer. Vote for Independents, because they are independent, as we would wish ourselves to be. The world is moving too fast for us to settle for anything less than divorce from the Party dinosaur. Either it is, ‘for the Party by The Party’ or else it is, ‘for the People by the People’. Which do you prefer?

       

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