tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post4545929449359922616..comments2024-03-27T09:14:27.496+00:00Comments on All That Is Solid ...: Extreme CentrismPhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-42392539987060445192018-08-05T16:54:43.033+01:002018-08-05T16:54:43.033+01:00As the privatisation of NHS and Iraq show.thanksAs the privatisation of NHS and Iraq show.thanksEdward Afloathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14438967999063001852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-61754849102161848432018-07-30T23:14:15.474+01:002018-07-30T23:14:15.474+01:00I think it would better to introduce the Single T...I think it would better to introduce the Single Transferable Vote and let people who hold left-liberal* views in sincere good faith** form their own parties if they aren’t happy in Labour. <br /><br />Social Democratic parties can be prone to nannying and can tend to think that parliamentary politics are the only legitimate sphere of political activity. It’s arguably a natural outcome of their belief in the state.<br /><br />* Whether Market Socialists or Social Liberals or whatever <br />**As distinct from cynical triangulation1729torushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09262372962990418135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-72002701786902417162018-07-30T14:14:54.907+01:002018-07-30T14:14:54.907+01:00Thanks, an interesting article. However, within t...Thanks, an interesting article. However, within the left/right - libertarian/authoritarian matrix, Blair and co. would not be in the centre but on the 'libertarian right'. Their faith in the market to override the traditional functioning of left/right politics (a denial of class) puts them squarely in the neoliberalism camp or as Blair/Brown liked to euphemistically call it: 'globalisation'. Also, they were meritocrats (i.e. that an educated elite should manage capitalism). New Labour no longer believed it was the role of the state to redistribute wealth. The tedious mantra: 'education, education, education' wasn't about culturally enriching or enlightening the general population; instead schools and colleges became the 'centres for self-actualisation' (Giddens). 'Equality of opportunity' replaced equality of resource distribution. If you left the education system with debt and poor job prospects, it was your own fault. The denial of 'class' maintained and reinforced this narrative. Clearly, there were some discriminatory blips in the system (around race/ gender/ exotic identities etc. - see Brown's intervention in the Laura Spence incident) but these could be 'managed' without disturbing the role of the market. The calamitous consequences of the crash of 2008 brought this preposterous narrative to a close. This isn't 'extreme centre', rather it's crash-and-burn, hubristic 'third-wayism': right wing by stealth. Dialectician1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-73143779363450773912018-07-30T09:28:25.388+01:002018-07-30T09:28:25.388+01:00'Extreme centrism sounds weird, doesn't it...'Extreme centrism sounds weird, doesn't it?' No more or less 'weird' than 'radical middle', but the blog's critique of the former makes more sense than the latter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-90611101533828872802018-07-30T01:44:59.882+01:002018-07-30T01:44:59.882+01:00Great post. Agree with every word. If you accepted...Great post. Agree with every word. If you accepted donations I'd make one. But, as you don't, I'll use the money to buy a doner kebab.<br /><br />Cheers.Shai Masothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452453462950704943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-72737675039694765222018-07-30T00:43:23.056+01:002018-07-30T00:43:23.056+01:00It's just Mainstream Oligarchy....
The be...It's just Mainstream Oligarchy.... <br /><br />The belief that ordinary people should not be in Government .. but the Houses of Parliament should be (as Tony Blair said) a talented elite "Meritoracy based on Academic Qualifications" etc... (people like him LOL ! )<br /><br />I believe that's the role of The Civil Service... and House of Lords.... <br /><br />I believe that Parliament should be like a Jury of decent and respectable ordinary people GUIDED (but not governed) by "experts" ... <br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08469002513913905762noreply@blogger.com