You’ve got it Emma. But there is another thing. For loads of people, politics is not central to their lives; nor is government an all powerful force - though on the left we talk as if it is. That really hacks a load of my friends and neighbours off - “will you stop banging on?” is one of the nicer reactions!
Gordon Brown lost because of the global financial crash. That wasn’t the fault of a Labour Government but arguably it was a trap we didn’t spot. Sunak lost because of inflation and interest rates - sure Truss didn’t make it better, but Putin and Pandemic were huge factors beyond the control of government.
We need to calibrate. Government is our response to a chaotic world, but we should make out like it is the cure-all. When the right argue for small govt they are going with the flow for many.
Now to rescue government, and progressive government, from the bin, we need to do a good job and (in opposition) criticise real things. Culture wars it isn’t - good old fashioned wealth redistribution and workfareism is worth a try I reckon. If people feel better off in 2029 they will vote Labour back in.
One thing I didn't add (might do it as a separate post next week but this was already ridiculously long) is that I am very very over political journalists with the 'politics is boring' pose.
Ordinary people not being that engaged is perfectly normal. But if it's your literal job to make sense of how government interacts with our lives and *you* can't get interested in that, what chance do the rest of us have?
A good, honest piece (i'm on the Right myself). The shock about Trumps victory is partly because the genuine grievances of his supporters were never mentioned by BBC and indeed liberal media in the states. Left wing commentators thought when they heard that protecting democracy was a key motivation for people voting that this was automatically a good sign for Harris. But later polling suggested that more people citing this had actually voted for Trump because of fears of censorship, Biden laptop, feeling that Dems were engaged in lawfare etc. i just think LW people find it harder to understand RW views than the other way round.
That particular exchange was about I, Joan but I didn't single it out in the piece as a. I didn't want to get derailed into a narrow discussion on the woman debate and b. It was just an emblematic conversation about so much of the "Legz Akimbo" theatre I have seen. Hardly the only example - just the conversation that I had actually used the 'Rik' terminology in!
Immigration, trans rights, abortion... society needs processes that it can have confidence in... even those who say they don't believe in society.
Left or right.. it has all become libertarian in its self righteousness...and it's the in your face over reach that provides ammo for each side. And that over reach is for a pay cheque....
It's called enshitification in tech.. but it isn't new... it's just being matched by how it's being used and how it coincides with a historical timeframe. We got away with such immaturity in the past.. but not always.
You’ve got it Emma. But there is another thing. For loads of people, politics is not central to their lives; nor is government an all powerful force - though on the left we talk as if it is. That really hacks a load of my friends and neighbours off - “will you stop banging on?” is one of the nicer reactions!
Gordon Brown lost because of the global financial crash. That wasn’t the fault of a Labour Government but arguably it was a trap we didn’t spot. Sunak lost because of inflation and interest rates - sure Truss didn’t make it better, but Putin and Pandemic were huge factors beyond the control of government.
We need to calibrate. Government is our response to a chaotic world, but we should make out like it is the cure-all. When the right argue for small govt they are going with the flow for many.
Now to rescue government, and progressive government, from the bin, we need to do a good job and (in opposition) criticise real things. Culture wars it isn’t - good old fashioned wealth redistribution and workfareism is worth a try I reckon. If people feel better off in 2029 they will vote Labour back in.
I agree with all of that with one caveat.
One thing I didn't add (might do it as a separate post next week but this was already ridiculously long) is that I am very very over political journalists with the 'politics is boring' pose.
Ordinary people not being that engaged is perfectly normal. But if it's your literal job to make sense of how government interacts with our lives and *you* can't get interested in that, what chance do the rest of us have?
Great post, esp the paragraphs about The Guardian. So true, & sad. Any chance you could submit a version to The Guardian comment pages - seriously?
Sadly the Guardian haven't responded to my pitches in years. And I am guessing this won't endear me to anyone there who might have read it.
They are a shadow of the paper they once were. It’s really sad.
A good, honest piece (i'm on the Right myself). The shock about Trumps victory is partly because the genuine grievances of his supporters were never mentioned by BBC and indeed liberal media in the states. Left wing commentators thought when they heard that protecting democracy was a key motivation for people voting that this was automatically a good sign for Harris. But later polling suggested that more people citing this had actually voted for Trump because of fears of censorship, Biden laptop, feeling that Dems were engaged in lawfare etc. i just think LW people find it harder to understand RW views than the other way round.
Very interesting. I am interested to know what the play was?
That particular exchange was about I, Joan but I didn't single it out in the piece as a. I didn't want to get derailed into a narrow discussion on the woman debate and b. It was just an emblematic conversation about so much of the "Legz Akimbo" theatre I have seen. Hardly the only example - just the conversation that I had actually used the 'Rik' terminology in!
Immigration, trans rights, abortion... society needs processes that it can have confidence in... even those who say they don't believe in society.
Left or right.. it has all become libertarian in its self righteousness...and it's the in your face over reach that provides ammo for each side. And that over reach is for a pay cheque....
It's called enshitification in tech.. but it isn't new... it's just being matched by how it's being used and how it coincides with a historical timeframe. We got away with such immaturity in the past.. but not always.