Posted on 12-6-2003
Political
Flavours 99% Fact Free
by Alan Marston
Communitarianism. A big word which politicians will soon be
associating with motherhood, steak pie, oh yes, and democracy.
The spin associated with the next big thing in politics, whatever
the words, will revolve real fast and will be applied thickly
over the `mass media'. Your head will spin, your stomach will
curdle and you'll have to lie down. Mission accomplished.
As we breath `left-centre' political parties of the Anglo-Saxon
sphere are I believe plotting (no other word will suffice) as
to what the new shop-front will be for their respective parties.
The shop-front is as important for politicians as it is for
any salesman. Actually its more important because it not only
has to draw in the unwary, like any advertising, it must also
narcotize the voter immediately on entry and thereby prevent
awkward questions as to the hum coming from the basement. Where,
if the voter were to follow their ears downstairs, they would
find the ancient machinery of capital running smoothly in accordance
with a production plan quite contrary to that portrayed on the
street.
Recently there are signs that the old neo-liberal frontage is
not drawing people in, worse its stupeferous affects are wearing
off and people are starting to hear the hum. `We're bringing
democracy to the world' is so blatantly out of step with life
on the streets that a new political campaign with new words
and new sensations appears to be needed with varying degrees
of urgency. The lead time for a new political manifesto varies
from code red in the UK through code orange in Australia, code
pink in New Zealand to code blue in the USA. I think the USA
code should be at least orange, but then nobody listens to what
I think and the USA doesn't listen to what anybody thinks...
which is why it should be code orange. Sigh.
Prediction, the next batch of political manifestos from the
code red and orange zones will have a brand new flavour called
communitarian, full of tasty pink `empowering communities' and
purple `revitalised democracies' in a 99% fact free smooth creamy
base of law & order, jobs and lower taxes. I feel sick already,
but I'm determined to resist the temptation to lie down.
|