Sunday 28 March 2010

What Democracy? Whose Democracy? When choice is no choice.

“Who wields power is not important, provided that the hierarchical structure remains always the same”

Much of this article may rehearse well-known lines of thought. But it is important, in a time of elections, to reflect on the nature of the “choice” we are given. My inspiration for writing came when standing on a party stall; a member of the public criticised me for being a Communist and therefore not believing in democracy.

The quote at the top of the page comes from Orwell’s 1984. Many people read this as a direct criticism of communist systems. It actually forms part of Emmanuel Goldstein’s The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism – Ignorance is Strength. This fictional work is not a diatribe against communism, but a scathing attack on any system that keeps the same elite in power. Sound familiar?

Saturday 27 March 2010

No No NO!

Blogging has always seemed a bit odd to me. Why on earth should I spend my time writing about the world, and why (more to the point) would anyone want to read it? After all, I'm already getting bored of facebook, and that has pictures and games.

Over the coming months the country is going to be engulfed with media speculation, propaganda, soundbites, promises, lies, and an ever increasing race to the bottom. With Alistair Darling's recent BBC interview (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2010/03/chancellor.html), we now know that even the Labour Party is going to get over the current crisis in the Capitalist system by taking it out on the Public Sector and ordinary workers of this country. The ruling class are either too scared too consider the socialist alternative, too deep in the pockets of the business world, or too stupid to acknowledge the truth.

I'll try not to make it too bombastic, but I often can't help myself!