Yes, the UK economy is weak and it is rigged. Of course it is. It has been decades since economic prosperity was actually a part of the agenda of any of the UK's political parties.
At one time, the Conservatives valued economic growth and prosperity -- and during that era, occasionally when they gained power, they achieved it.
But the modern UK, like so much of the West, just doesn't value prosperity any longer. Everybody would rather fight over getting a bigger slice of a shrinking pie than to fight for actual prosperity and growth.
Survey the public (or read the results of surveys that have been done). People don't want the things that make prosperity. They don't want a vibrant economy, lots of growth and opportunity, new companies forming and crashing, and all the attendant consequences of a vibrant, growth-oriented society.
They want to preserve what they have, not seek new things. And preservation is all about managing the decline.
I agree with 99% of this but with one caveat - the people at the top are simply unaffected by any of this, so don't need to do anything about it and they don't see or think about people that the decline does affect. My father recounts when he met someone who was very private and mindbogglingly rich - my dad asked the question "do you ever feel guilty when you meet poor people?" and his response was "I don't ever meet them" - because he didn't and so he never thought of it.
I work in Fitzrovia and every day I walk past rich people in the cafes and restaurants just chatting the day away- the food is good, the company similar, the expensive car parked illegally close by (parking tickets are a minor inconvenience, rack up on their windscreens and those types of cars never get towed) and for some reason, the homeless and poor aren't visible (perhaps the police deal with that).
Elysium does exist, but it's tiered - there's nice parts of London which are suitable at the moment, and if it starts to feel like that's a bit too gritty or real, they'll move to the South of France or Monte Carlo which really is Elysium on Earth.
The need to do something about this exists within the middle and working classes and they don't have much of a chance to do so.
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[ 0.17 ms ] story [ 18.0 ms ] threadAt one time, the Conservatives valued economic growth and prosperity -- and during that era, occasionally when they gained power, they achieved it.
But the modern UK, like so much of the West, just doesn't value prosperity any longer. Everybody would rather fight over getting a bigger slice of a shrinking pie than to fight for actual prosperity and growth.
Survey the public (or read the results of surveys that have been done). People don't want the things that make prosperity. They don't want a vibrant economy, lots of growth and opportunity, new companies forming and crashing, and all the attendant consequences of a vibrant, growth-oriented society.
They want to preserve what they have, not seek new things. And preservation is all about managing the decline.
I work in Fitzrovia and every day I walk past rich people in the cafes and restaurants just chatting the day away- the food is good, the company similar, the expensive car parked illegally close by (parking tickets are a minor inconvenience, rack up on their windscreens and those types of cars never get towed) and for some reason, the homeless and poor aren't visible (perhaps the police deal with that).
Elysium does exist, but it's tiered - there's nice parts of London which are suitable at the moment, and if it starts to feel like that's a bit too gritty or real, they'll move to the South of France or Monte Carlo which really is Elysium on Earth.
The need to do something about this exists within the middle and working classes and they don't have much of a chance to do so.