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It’s odd how a simple question seems to be interpreted as an implicit statement of intent.
But, since you ask, I would most certainly not wish to live in a society of unbridled capitalism, where things like universal health provision did not exist and where the old, the infirm and the otherwise handicapped were thrown on the scrapheap and where vital public utilities are the playthings of big business.
Fortunately, due to the election of several Labour governments in recent decades, we have been spared the worst excesses of right-wing dogma, with the notable exception of the Thatcher years, and live in a pretty civilised society IMO.
Rather than CAPITALISM or SOCIALISM, perhaps there really is a "third way". Many of the current Tories seem to have woken up belatedly to this possibility.
Marb, I suggest you consult your dictionary. Dogma, as every fule kno, is the veterinary term for a pregnant pooch.
The problem is that politicians just say what they think we want them to say, not what they really believe. Think the last time a political speech was at all sincere was when Robin Cook resigned over Iraq. Tony Benn signed a book for me a few months ago, and I told him that I was completely cynical these days when it came to politics, he told me to be ‘critical’ not ‘cynical’. I do actually think that Gordon Brown is sincere, unlike Tony Blair, and David Cameron would be more credible if he stopped trying to be a man of the people, when he is obviously very very rich. What I don’t understand is why everything is constantly being reviewed [nhs, education etc] re organized and then eventually put back to how it was in the first place.
…What I don’t understand is why everything is constantly being reviewed [nhs, education etc] re organized and then eventually put back to how it was in the first place.
It provides a nice little earner for politicans’ friends in management consultancies.
Marb, you’ll find that the political debate in this here Lounge is quite mature, and covers a very broad spectrum of opinion. If you are to participate effectively, your arguments must be both coherent, and extend beyond the "I’ve joined a party and now know all the answers" theorising you have so far displayed on this thread.
For me, I have moved from a position of misplaced hope in the "left-wing" (which I incorrectly identified as ‘New Labour’ laughably enough), to one of complete contempt for all political parties.
I therefore choose to sit on the sidelines, rubbishing everyone’s opinion – especially those who think one party has more validity than the other (you know who you are).
Don’t take that wrong.
Therefore you have no idea what your talking about, but hey, i’m just a arsehole who used to take drugs.
No………you’re just an arsehole.
Don’t take that wrong.
No need to fear Marb – it’s easy to become the victim of Tory bashing, not just on here, but across the web
Bring the election on I say! We will see how much conviction Gordon Brown has over the coming week…
First of all with regards to "right-wing dogma", if I may take your quote in this sense, labour have had just as much sleaze and scandal not to mention cock-up as the tory’s had
At the risk of repeating myself, that isn’t what dogma means.
Mesh, it’s equally easy to withdraw into the "It’s mere Tory-bashing" mindset, don’t you think?
I’ve been quite equivocal in my position that I view the Tories and Labour as one and the same: entities that want power for it’s own sake.
The only arguments I have no time for, are those which propose that one Party is superior to the other, so consider yourself in the cross-hairs alongside the now clearly-devout and uninformed Marb.
Don’t take that wrong.
what is needed is young people to join party’s and try to get their views across, any party, does’;nt matter.
Personally I’ve long viewed with deep suspicion those secure (blinkered) enough in their beliefs to feel comfortable aligning themselves with any one political party, let alone joining one.
Much better the outsider looking in who questions the ideologies of both ‘right’ and ‘left’ and the words of politicians of all creeds.
The two-party, non-proportionally representative political system we have in this country is essentially divisive and joining one of the two tends only to condense and narrow your outlook and beliefs e.g. ‘left is bad, right is good’
Forty years pondering…still pondering
I wonder whether the "this country’s gone to the dogs" brigade feel that the decline in educational standards that is so evident in some walks of life can be traced to pre-1997 or post-1997.
I am concerned about the decline in the standard of education painfully apparent in certain areas, however.
Perhaps the country really has gone to the dogs.
In 20 years I want the tory party to be a party of the people for the people, a party that is about personality and charisma not just policy and agenda’s. .
The Tories are welcome to you. If you thinkt the tories will become a party of the people for the people. There is more chance of me picking the Cambridgeshire winner
And the bit about personality and charisma? WTF does that matter? POLICIES are the IMPORTANT point!!!
A few days ago, an election was apparently a good thing for the people of this country. One swing in the polls later, it isn’t.
Conviction politicians, what are they like?
Steve
Good on you marb. I can see why people take the view that parties are just out for their own ends and power (and inevitably some people are), but there are also people, past and present, in politics, who have endeavoured to change things because they believe in them. There is no shortage of people I could mention.
I’m interested in politics because I have my own set of ideologies and beliefs that are yes, mostly conservative and based on philosophies and musings from the classical liberalists of the 18th/19th century, mixed in with a bit of Thatcherism etc. Obviously not everyone is going to agree, but I find the Conservative Party best matches my views. OK, maybe UKIP takes them a bit further, but if we’re going to change something, or aspire, then one has to take the line where action is most likely, and the Conservatives are the most likely to form a government.
Most people probably have their own versions of utopia, or how they think things should be, and its difficult ever trying to initiate change or get things done, no matter whether you thing Left or Right, or Right and Wrong . But I’d rather see a million people sign up for a dodgy cause than a million people sit on their arses moaning about it.P.S – as I suspected, no conviction from Mr.Brown!
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