This blog has steadily moved away from its stated aim of offering a wry look at the 'big society'.
There are reasons for this.
One of course is that the idea of a big society has been lost in translation as the con-dems have moved further and further from the pretence that they are governing in the public interest.
As Suzanne Moore writes in the Guardian, the middle class is being squeezed, and it is being squeezed out of existence, in a reference to Karl Marx, she notes that he saw the decline of the middle class 'crushed by the logic of late capitalism' and so we have moved toward a caricature of society.
Not the big society but the broken society, asking as we struggle, who actually broke it?
The working class were declared redundant by the Thatcherite policies of the early eighties, now the middle class are being eroded, and soon we will be left with an upper class and an underclass, with the upper class in a dialogue that is nowhere as amusing as the the Two Ronnie's had it, blaming the underclass for their own predicament.
Scroungers! As Mr Duncan Smith and Mr Osborne have it.
Whilst the rich continue to grow increasingly and more obscenely rich.
Like so many I was extremely concerned about the possibility that the Government might, as encouraged by Tony Blair in the Times, to launch an attack on Syria as a punishment for its alleged use of chemical weapons on its own population.
Whilst I condemn the use of such weapons, or indeed any weapons as a means of stifling debate and bringing opposition to heel, it must also be said that a country such as Britain has no place intervening militarily in the affairs of another sovereign state.
The international outrage must be expressed in the UN by nations joining voices to condemn and should be accompanied by a clear attempt to establish the truth about what happened, whether the Government of Mr Assad was responsible, whether it was another group seeking to trigger the red line drawn by President Obama.
The result of Thursday's debate was brilliant insofar as Parliament was able finally to address the hegemony of the Osborne, Cameron, Clegg axis.
We can only hope that the other surgical strikes being planned by the axis on the disabled, the poor, the vulnerable and the middle class can also be brought equally abruptly to an end.
But why stop there, as some of the Leaders in today's newspapers have stated, finally we can see Britain's true place in the world.
A nations divided between rich and poor, a nation divided between North and South, a nation soon to be faced with the possibility of geopolitical unity being split when and if Scotland opts for independence, no doubt followed closely by Wales and possibly who knows, Cornwall?
If Scotland chooses independence, then Trident is likely to be the first victim, followed by, who knows what. Of course the money released by that decision should represent a remarkable peace dividend if it can be shared equitably.
The Tory Party is divided between the Hawks and the Doves, in matters of social legislation as well as air strikes and last night the Doves cast the final vote, aided interestingly by the incompetent who managed to miss the division.
So a Prime Minister cut down to size, a party cut down to size and a coalition lacking credibility.
There are still two years before an election.
But, whilst the poorest and most vulnerable in our society are held responsible for the financial crisis whilst Bankers continue to enjoy their champagne parties, as the middle class face extinction as a result of technological changes being engineered in silicon valley, as Parliamentary speeches begin to reflect what constituents are actually feeling, it will become increasingly unlikely that a cabinet of millionaires will be allowed to promote their prejudices as policies.
So maybe, when it becomes clear that we are all in this together, then maybe it will be possible to enlarge our vision and introduce a larger more humanitarian belief, that if we welcome the stranger, if we embrace change, if we care for the environment, if we care for the orphans and widows in their distress then we might become not only a better but a bigger society, offering a vision for a better more peaceful world, across the the globe.
There are reasons for this.
One of course is that the idea of a big society has been lost in translation as the con-dems have moved further and further from the pretence that they are governing in the public interest.
As Suzanne Moore writes in the Guardian, the middle class is being squeezed, and it is being squeezed out of existence, in a reference to Karl Marx, she notes that he saw the decline of the middle class 'crushed by the logic of late capitalism' and so we have moved toward a caricature of society.
Not the big society but the broken society, asking as we struggle, who actually broke it?
The working class were declared redundant by the Thatcherite policies of the early eighties, now the middle class are being eroded, and soon we will be left with an upper class and an underclass, with the upper class in a dialogue that is nowhere as amusing as the the Two Ronnie's had it, blaming the underclass for their own predicament.
Scroungers! As Mr Duncan Smith and Mr Osborne have it.
Whilst the rich continue to grow increasingly and more obscenely rich.
Like so many I was extremely concerned about the possibility that the Government might, as encouraged by Tony Blair in the Times, to launch an attack on Syria as a punishment for its alleged use of chemical weapons on its own population.
Whilst I condemn the use of such weapons, or indeed any weapons as a means of stifling debate and bringing opposition to heel, it must also be said that a country such as Britain has no place intervening militarily in the affairs of another sovereign state.
The international outrage must be expressed in the UN by nations joining voices to condemn and should be accompanied by a clear attempt to establish the truth about what happened, whether the Government of Mr Assad was responsible, whether it was another group seeking to trigger the red line drawn by President Obama.
The result of Thursday's debate was brilliant insofar as Parliament was able finally to address the hegemony of the Osborne, Cameron, Clegg axis.
We can only hope that the other surgical strikes being planned by the axis on the disabled, the poor, the vulnerable and the middle class can also be brought equally abruptly to an end.
But why stop there, as some of the Leaders in today's newspapers have stated, finally we can see Britain's true place in the world.
A nations divided between rich and poor, a nation divided between North and South, a nation soon to be faced with the possibility of geopolitical unity being split when and if Scotland opts for independence, no doubt followed closely by Wales and possibly who knows, Cornwall?
If Scotland chooses independence, then Trident is likely to be the first victim, followed by, who knows what. Of course the money released by that decision should represent a remarkable peace dividend if it can be shared equitably.
The Tory Party is divided between the Hawks and the Doves, in matters of social legislation as well as air strikes and last night the Doves cast the final vote, aided interestingly by the incompetent who managed to miss the division.
So a Prime Minister cut down to size, a party cut down to size and a coalition lacking credibility.
There are still two years before an election.
But, whilst the poorest and most vulnerable in our society are held responsible for the financial crisis whilst Bankers continue to enjoy their champagne parties, as the middle class face extinction as a result of technological changes being engineered in silicon valley, as Parliamentary speeches begin to reflect what constituents are actually feeling, it will become increasingly unlikely that a cabinet of millionaires will be allowed to promote their prejudices as policies.
So maybe, when it becomes clear that we are all in this together, then maybe it will be possible to enlarge our vision and introduce a larger more humanitarian belief, that if we welcome the stranger, if we embrace change, if we care for the environment, if we care for the orphans and widows in their distress then we might become not only a better but a bigger society, offering a vision for a better more peaceful world, across the the globe.
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