A system wherein privatisation/underfunding is married with the need to push the citizenry to avail of the private insurances, private homes and everything else that has been substituted for the gamut of social services. With the obvious result that those who provide the replacement services make a lot of money and the lives of the people who can't afford them diminish.
What isn't as obvious but what was planned for and expected by the ideologues behind Thatcher and Reagan, is the effect privatisation has had on the psyche of large swathes of the electorate. Namely the switch from identifying with and as working class, to instead identifying with the business class. And then taking that new identity to the polling booth.
But that wasn't enough. After 35 years the membership of one of the main political parties managed to elect a leader who threatened to disrupt the apple cart. And for those of us with eyes the system very blatantly reacted to paper over the cracks.
The US is a little ahead, having become a fully fledged oligarchy some years ago but the UK isn't far behind and elements of greater authoritarianism are emerging quickly as the whole neoliberal edifice - and US hegemony that props it up - crumbles. Fascism is surely just around the corner. Something that the coming recession will hasten, and as we've seen, neoliberalism prefers the far right to the mildly socialist.
As per my original reply, IMO the state-corporate media has a lot to answer for. It is the dreamweaver, Mother, the opium and the gatekeeper.
So, given that taxing rich people and corporations is unpalatable to our politicians, and taxing lower earners is unpopular with said lower earners, it's more politically astute to eviscerate public services, and blame them being broken on "scroungers", "feckless single mothers" and "immigrants coming here and putting too much pressure on the system".
Nothing that British (and particularly English) people like better than punching down...
I'd suggest that the larger issue is that those who influence UK government policy most: corporations, very wealthy individuals and various sources of political donations, aren't keen on paying for it.
People in Britain are very much in favour of free healthcare, decent schools, efficient public services, reliable transport infrastructure and so on.
They are less keen on actually paying for it through taxation.
Undoubtedly the USA could by withholding their funding. They're obviously not going to do that though. They could also stop vetoing UN motions but they're not going to do that either it appears.
I think I found the Justin Lewis quote most interesting, in particular with reference to this forum as PaulC and others have I think suggested that a left wing government isn't possible because the electorate just isn't left wing.
"‘Majorities [in the US and other western countries] consistently support increased government spending in traditionally “liberal” areas such as healthcare, education, environmental protection, and even – when the word “welfare” is not used – programs for assisting the poor. This has been well documented in a number of comprehensive studies. And yet the media’s interpretative frameworks tend to suppress the leftist leanings of opinion poll responses, creating a picture of a moderate to conservative citizenry that matches a moderate to conservative political elite.’"
the old saying is history is written by the winners, and the logical extension of that, is the news is written by those in power
the reporting on Ukraine / Russia has been incredibly one sided, especially when it comes to stories wanting a sympathetic view etc. whilst I'm obviously against the invasion and Putin, I have a couple of friends in Russia, and have immense sympathy for them. There is barely a mention for the people in Russia who are against the invasion but suffer due to sanction which themselves havent made an impact... its 2 years on.
Although with this recent death of Navalny, perhaps some more complex pieces will be reported / written. Although its clear there is a will to return to the days of Russia BAD, for some folk.
likewise, the british public might well want a ceasefire in Gaza, but I dont think Netanyahu gives a fuck what the british government think, let alone what you, or I, or anyone else sickened by the continued actions, think.
USA is probably the only nation that can pressure Israel. Even then, I'm not sure. Certain people in Israel have wanted this for a long time, and they now have their 'reason'.
To cap it all
AI is gonna proper fuck shit up in the next few years
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