A short conversation about fighting a killer virus

March 26, 2020

 

1: A war

We are at war.

You know it.

You’ve always known it.

And now even our leaders are saying it too.

But are they talking about the right war, the war that matters most?

 

Because we’re not only at war with a microbial pandemic. We’re also at war with an ideology – a virus of concepts and narratives which has infected every aspect of our world.

 

 

2: Conceptual virulence

This conceptual virus is even more dangerous than the biological one. It’s more dangerous than SARS-CoV-2.

 

“How can that be?” you ask. “A concept more lethal than a dangerous microbe?”

I’ll answer.

It’s because it works in just the way all viruses do – but in the social-psychological realm. It reworks in its own image the very fabric of our lives.

 

This ‘thought’ virus colonises the interfaces between people. It defines others as ‘competitors’ or ‘opponents’, as ‘customers’ or ‘markets’. We become ‘opportunities’, ‘punters’ or ‘marks’. We are not people with needs and feelings just like yours. We are resources to be exploited.

 

 

3: Seduction

This conceptual, ideological virus is seductive. It hides behind firm handshakes, gleaming smiles, a salesperson’s charm. Yet its outstretched hand is not extended in friendship, to raise us up, but to take us in a choke hold, to extract from us everything we can give.

 

 

4: Language

Even our language is infected. Words are deconstructed, untranslated, reduced of meaning. Speech ceases to be a vehicle of communication. It becomes instead a tool for manipulation and control – to enslave us to this single ideology: take-don’t-give.

 

“Be greedy,” the plague whispers. “Consume. Exploit. Don’t worry about others. Take-don’t-give.”

 

 

Killer virus 1 - Cartoon - Luke Andreski

 

 

5: Infection

This virus infects nationality. It infects our sense of identity. It infects our views of women’s rights, of sexual orientation, of human rights. It infects our attitudes towards immigration, abortion, vaccination. It infects our ability to care for others and to see the person behind the words, the human beneath the skin.

 

 

6: Division

Society is a thing we make. We construct our economies, our industries, our corporations, our nations. These are artefacts of human manufacture. But the ideological virus with which we’re faced infects all of this and much, much more: our economies, our courts, our governments, our laws, our very nature.

 

The virus mutates. It excretes enzymes which break down healthy tissue. It creates a suppurating wound from which weeps the pus of power-hunger and greed. As the virus spreads communities dissolve, friendships grow shallow, we are atomised.

 

The thought plague divides us and makes us alone.

 

 

7: TDG

We are at war.

This virus we are fighting – the most dangerous of all viruses – finds its shape in corporations and contracts, in extractive technologies, in industries which pollute and despoil, in kleptocracies, plutocracies and oligarchic states.

Written into its DNA: Take-Don’t-Give.

 

 

8: Our most terrible enemy

Should anyone ask you, “Who is our most terrible enemy, here at the start of the 2020’s? In the midst of a perfect storm of pandemic, recession and debt?” – here is your answer. It’s this. This virus.

 

The most terrible threat to our species, our most dangerous and powerful opponent, is a free-market, deregulatory, neoliberal, power-hungry, greed-centric thought plague.

 

TDG.

Take-don’t-give.

 

 

9: Degradation

So we need a cure.

We need a cure before our civilisation is overthrown – before our species is extinguished.

 

Already the thought plague has degraded our planet’s soil, polluted our seas, warmed our Earth, built walls, invoked wars, corrupted governments.

 

Take-don’t-give.

 

 

Killer virus 2 - Cartoon - Luke Andreski

 

 

10: Eat, eat, eat

We need a vaccine. We need antibodies which neutralise the plague’s destructive power – which fit like a key into the viral lock and invert its cancerous instruction: take-don’t-give. For it will keep taking and consuming, in corporate form, in billionaire form, in authoritarian form, unless it is stopped.

 

That’s its nature. That’s what being a virus means.

 

It will keep taking and taking and taking until there’s nothing left – until our lives and our communities are eaten from the inside out.

 

 

11: Immunisation

It’s a virus which – if we are to survive – we must stop in its tracks.

 

We must immunise ourselves. We must subvert its nature and unravel its DNA.

 

Not take-don’t-give. That’s going to destroy us all.

 

No.

 

GIVE, DON’T TAKE.

 

 

 

www.ethicalintelligence.org  “The ethics of common sense”

Twitter & Facebook: @EthicalRenewal

 

© Luke Andreski 2020. All rights reserved.

 

OUT NOW

 

Short Conversations About Everything That Matters

Volume 1: During The Plague

 

Want answers to the big questions?

Answers that aren’t absolute sh*t?

Then read this.

 

Are all politicians liars?

Is democracy dead?

How do we fix our broken media?

What is populism and how can we resist it?

Is a deadly virus killing our society?

Are governments necessarily corrupt?

What can we do as individuals about climate change?

What should governments do?

Is eating meat wrong?

How can we find meaning in our lives?

Are we truly equal?

Are we truly free?

Is there room for hope?

 

If you read nothing else this year, or this decade, read this.

If you do nothing else this year, or this decade, share this.

 

Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089M5BGGF

eBook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-Conversations-About-Everything-Matters-ebook/dp/B089C3TZHW

SHORT CONVERSATIONS DURING THE PLAGUE - LUKE ANDRESKI

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A short conversation about enemies of the people

March 15, 2020

 

1: The holes in your argument

Let’s talk about enemies of the people.

It’s a great slogan, but it’s a slogan with holes in.

Two big ones.

 

The first is enemies.

 

The second is people.

 

 

2: Meaning

“Why holes?” you ask. “Aren’t ‘enemies’ and ‘people’ rock-solid tangibles? We all know what enemies are – and it’s got to be the same with people!”

 

I like your positivity…. And ‘rock-solid tangibles’? It’s a great turn of phrase. But here’s something I’d like to be positive about. You see, an enemy can’t just be anyone.

 

An enemy’s got to mean something to you. More crucially, you’ve got to mean something to them. An enemy, if they’re truly to be your enemy, has to wish you harm, or want to use or exploit you. They have to have malicious intent.

 

 

3: Hatred and disdain

If an ‘enemy’ has no feelings towards you of enmity or loathing, and no intention to harm or exploit you, if they barely know you exist and couldn’t care less, then they’re not your enemy. You might be their enemy, filled with an abiding hatred and disdain, but they’re not yours.

 

 

Enemies of the people 1 - Cartoon - Luke Andreski

 

 

4: Capability

And here’s another thing: any enemy (who’s really an enemy) must possess capability. Someone who’s too weak and powerless to harm or exploit you in any way…. well, they can’t really be your enemy. A spoiled three year old might momentarily loath you, but until they develop some ability, some power, capacity or strength, they can hardly be considered a threat – and certainly not an enemy.

 

Harmless and incapable, they’re no more your enemy than a feather floating on the wind.

 

 

5: Incapable strangers

So that’s the first big hole in ‘enemies of the people’. You’ve got to show that this enemy really is an enemy, wanting to hurt or exploit ‘the people’. And you’ve got to show they can actually do it. Weak, incapable strangers – well, they don’t quite fit the bill.

 

 

6: The second hole

“You’ve torn one enormous hole in my slogan,” you say, “so what’s the other? Go on, tell me. I can’t wait.”

 

There’s no need for sarcasm: it’s all pretty straightforward. As I mentioned earlier, the first hole is ‘the enemy’, and the second is ‘the people’.

 

“‘The people’?” you almost shout. “WTF’s wrong with ‘the people’?!”

 

Ok, take a breath. Don’t hyperventilate. Let me answer that with another question:

The people?

Well, who the f*** are they?

 

 

Enemies of the people 2 - Cartoon - Luke Andreski

 

 

7: If you were somebody

You see, ‘the people’ can’t just be some half-arsed fag-end of the population. That simply wouldn’t work. They can’t even be half the population…. That’s still not enough.

‘The people’ need to be almost all of us or they’re really not ‘the people’.

 

If ‘the people’ in ‘enemies of the people’ isn’t ALMOST ALL OF US, they’re just ‘some people’…. and ‘enemies of some of the people’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, does it?

 

 

8: Criteria

So, for ‘enemies of the people’ to work:

  • ‘The people’ must be just about all of us
  • ‘The enemy’ must therefore be a fairly tiny minority
  • The enemy must actually want to harm or exploit us; and
  • They’ve got to have the capacity to do so.

 

 

9: Who?

You may wonder where this is taking us….

It’s taking us somewhere fairly important.

I’ll tell you.

 

It’s taking us to the position of being able to say who the best candidate for ‘enemy of the people’ might be…

 

 

10: Sociology

Here’s a golden rule of sociology (which I’ve just invented):

 

> In any society, it is your rulers or government who are most likely to be ‘The enemy of the people’ <

 

No one is better placed.

 

 

11: The government

Your look astonished, so I’ll repeat. YOUR RULERS OR GOVERNMENT – they’re perfect. Who else is better positioned to be an enemy of the people?

 

They fit our four criteria to perfection: a tiny minority – who may wish to exploit us – and who have the capability and power to do so.

 

 

Enemies of the people 3 - Cartoon - Luke Andreski

 

 

12: Delegation

When we delegate power to politicians, we also delegate the opportunity to abuse that power….

 

And sometimes they do.

 

Which is why we need democracy and the opportunity to vote them out1.

Which is why we need an independent judiciary.

 

Which is why we need checks and balances.

 

Which is why we need a written constitution.

Which is why we need proportional representation, with everyone’s vote equally valid and equally weighted.

 

 

13: A worthwhile investment

Which is why we need to prevent wealthy elites or giant corporations from gaining control of our politicians2. Because, through gaining control of our politicians they gain control of us.

 

Which is why we need probity in public office.

And which is why we need the widest possible right to vote within our nations.

 

 

We need all these things in order to prevent our governments from becoming our enemies – in order to stop them becoming enemies of the people.

 

It’s a worthwhile investment, don’t you think?

 

 

 

www.ethicalintelligence.org  “The ethics of common sense”

Twitter & Facebook: @EthicalRenewal

 

References/Notes

  1. For measures to protect and rebuild democracy see ‘A short conversation about democracy’ above or here: https://lukeandreski.wordpress.com/2020/01/22/a-short-conversation-about-democracy/
  2. It’s called a kleptocracy, as we now see in the US and Russia respectively:
  • Kleptocracy Type 1: Politics and politicians in the pockets of the wealthy.
  • Kleptocracy Type 2: Politicians taking ownership of a nation’s property and wealth.

 

 

© Luke Andreski 2020. All rights reserved.

 

OUT NOW

 

Short Conversations About Everything That Matters

Volume 1: During The Plague

 

Want answers to the big questions?

Answers that aren’t absolute sh*t?

Then read this.

 

Are all politicians liars?

Is democracy dead?

How do we fix our broken media?

What is populism and how can we resist it?

Is a deadly virus killing our society?

Are governments necessarily corrupt?

What can we do as individuals about climate change?

What should governments do?

Is eating meat wrong?

How can we find meaning in our lives?

Are we truly equal?

Are we truly free?

Is there room for hope?

 

If you read nothing else this year, or this decade, read this.

If you do nothing else this year, or this decade, share this.

 

Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089M5BGGF

eBook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-Conversations-About-Everything-Matters-ebook/dp/B089C3TZHW

SHORT CONVERSATIONS DURING THE PLAGUE - LUKE ANDRESKI

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Is Boris a decent chap?

February 13, 2020

1: Decent

Is Boris a decent bloke?

Well, he’s a liar. Pretty much everyone agrees about that1. And would you want a liar as a family member or a friend?

 

He’s a slob, too, by all appearances…

Well, ok, you can live with a slob – but the man’s also lazy, or so it’s said.

So… a lazy slob?

 

Not a great combo…

 

 

2: Blokishness

Is Boris a good bloke?

Well, he’s vain, that’s fairly evident, and vanity’s never a good look.

He likes to fake up his hair – pretending he’s someone he’s not.

And he’s insecure – which drives him towards being something of a coward and a bully.

None of which are exactly great adverts for blokishness….

 

 

3: Is he nice?

Is Johnson a nice chap?

Hm…

Well, he treats women like they’re inferior to men. That’s clear from a lot of what he does and says.

Do nice chaps treat women that way?

And we can be pretty sure he’s homophobic. He’s certainly said stuff that suggests as much.

And there’s good evidence he’s racist.

 

A nice chap?

I wonder…

 

 

4: Decent

Is Johnson ‘a decent sort’?

Well, probably not as a father – and probably not as a husband.

He certainly seems inclined toward disloyalty: to wife, children, colleagues, friends. He’s not someone you’d want to be stuck with on a desert island…

And he’s said to be promiscuous too – which might make things even more uncomfortable, alone with him, out there in the sandy heat…

 

 

5: A laugh

Is Johnson a good laugh?

Well, he’s irresponsible –  if you think that’s funny.

He makes a lot of promises he can’t keep, which you could consider amusing.

He makes assurances he’s no intention of keeping. (He probably laughs quietly to himself about that.)

So… a good laugh?

Only if nothing depends on it, I’d say.

 

 

6: Character reference

So is Johnson ‘a decent bloke’?

Well, you can’t trust him. He probably doesn’t like anyone very much except himself. He’s disloyal. He tells lies, makes false promises, seems greedy for power yet lazy too, and, by all accounts, he’s something of a two-timing slob…

 

So a decent bloke?

 

No.

 

I’d say he’s not.

 

 

Notes

  1. See “A short conversation about prime ministerial lying” :

https://lukeandreski.wordpress.com/2019/12/03/a-short-conversation-about-prime-ministerial-lying/

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A short conversation about short conversations

January 2, 2020

1: Answers

Answers… Everyone’s looking for them. Everyone’s giving them.

Answers flood our world in their hundreds and thousands. And most are sh**.

It’s a problem.

It’s a mega-problem.

 

So what’s the answer to this tsunami of answers?

And what’s the question they should always have been answering?

 

 

2: Foundations

Answers depend on  foundations.

Everything needs a foundation – something rock-solid on which to be based.

And everything needs building blocks.

Whenever you build something you build on something or with something or both.

If your foundations are sh** or your building blocks are sh** your answers are going to be sh**.

That much is pretty self-evident, isn’t it?

 

 

3: Democracy, humanism, socialism

The need for foundations applies to everything. It applies to who we are, to what we do, to what we believe in.

It applies to democracy. To humanism. To socialism.

To science.

It applies to every aspect of our civilisation.

 

 

4: An inner voice

If we just pluck answers out of the air, they’re likely as not to be a crock of sh**.

If it’s just a voice in your heart telling you what’s true – well, other people have voices and they’re saying different things.

 

Our answers need to be something more than an inner voice.

They need to be built on foundations that can lift you above the noise and spin.

They need to be made of building blocks that can resist the tsunami of propaganda and lies.

 

 

5: Answers

Well, if you’re looking for answers rooted in reality, answers rooted in something powerful and profound, then look no further.

 

I’m going to offer you some.

 

www.ethicalintelligence.org  “The ethics of common sense”

Twitter & Facebook: @EthicalRenewal

 

© Luke Andreski 2020. All rights reserved.

 

OUT NOW

 

Short Conversations About Everything That Matters

Volume 1: During The Plague

 

Want answers to the big questions?

Answers that aren’t absolute sh*t?

Then read this.

 

Are all politicians liars?

Is democracy dead?

How do we fix our broken media?

What is populism and how can we resist it?

Is a deadly virus killing our society?

Are governments necessarily corrupt?

What can we do as individuals about climate change?

What should governments do?

Is eating meat wrong?

How can we find meaning in our lives?

Are we truly equal?

Are we truly free?

Is there room for hope?

 

If you read nothing else this year, or this decade, read this.

If you do nothing else this year, or this decade, share this.

 

Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089M5BGGF

eBook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-Conversations-About-Everything-Matters-ebook/dp/B089C3TZHW

SHORT CONVERSATIONS DURING THE PLAGUE - LUKE ANDRESKI

 

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A short conversation about Prime Ministerial lying

December 3, 2019

An Introduction

Let’s talk for a moment about Prime Ministerial lying.

It’s not a good look.

You’re running a country and you tell lies?

Why would you do that?

Why would the people who support you want that?

 

Our current Prime Minister (early December 2019) is a serial liar.

He’s well-known for it.

He indulges in all types of lying.

He’s gone through all the stages.

Let’s take a look at the five stages of lying and see if the description fits.

 

Stage 1: Lying to protect yourself

Boris Johnson: Guilty.

We’ve seen Johnson demonstrate this type of lying frequently, particularly during television and radio interviews. The blather. The obfuscation. Then the lies.

His natural, narcissistically-defensive response invariably kicks in.

It’s become a reflex.

He can’t help himself.

(https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/5-lies-half-truths-boris-20986847)

 

Stage 2: Lying to manipulate others and get your way

Boris Johnson: Guilty.

This is perhaps Johnson’s strongest suit. He’s obviously quite good at it.

He lied as a journalist in order to deceive or ensnare readers. (https://leftfootforward.org/2019/08/is-boris-johnson-a-known-liar-heres-five-times-hes-known-to-have-lied/)

He lied to advance his political ambitions. (https://www.ft.com/content/645d8786-d9f2-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1f17)

He lied to the queen. (https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/4760102/boris-lied-to-the-queen/)

Who lies to the queen? Why would anyone do that?

 

Johnson clearly has no compunction. If he wants it, he’ll lie to get it.

 

Stage 3: Lying to distract and confuse

Boris Johnson: Guilty.

Our Prime Minister’s not bad at this type of lying, too.

We see him deploying this technique in the lies he tells about the views or intentions of his political opponents – blurting out sweeping, eye-catching, arm-wavingly unbelievable lies intended to distract and confuse his audience, or to avoid having to give a straight answer. Click-bait lies to hide ugly truths about his own record. (https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/5-lies-half-truths-boris-20986847)

And from the point of view of our Prime Minister, it’s good if the voters are confused…

If they weren’t, they could never possibly vote for this immoral man.

 

Stage 4: Meta-lying: Lying when you know you are lying and so does everyone else

Boris Johnson: Guilty.

This is an expression of power, of impunity and braggadocio. Multiple, overwhelming tsunamis of lies thrown out in speeches or television interviews.

“You know I’m lying. I know I’m lying. But look! I can get away with it! That’s how big I am. That’s my power. And what are you going to do about it? Nothing! That’s what!”

Boris tries this.

His Maxi-Me master, Donald Trump, is better at it.

 

Stage 5: Denying there’s any such thing as truth

Boris Johnson: Guilty.

Facts don’t matter.

Experts are sh*t.

All that matters is his narrative – and he’s going to plaster his narrative all over you until the cracks no longer show…

A good demonstration of this type of lying is given by Johnson’s ugly, Machiavellian twin, Michael Gove, in this interview on Channel 4: https://www.channel4.com/news/michael-gove-interview-on-truth-lies-and-brexit …

For true populists, words are weapons for the manipulation of others – and the truth no longer matters.

 

In conclusion

Being lied to weakens our ability to adapt to and influence our world. If we don’t know the full facts how can we know how to act?

That’s why Johnson lies to us.

He wants to steal our influence and capability. He wants to disempower us.

He’s a user.

He wants to use us.

 

Don’t let him.

 

 

www.ethicalintelligence.org  “The ethics of common sense”

Twitter & Facebook: @EthicalRenewal

 

OUT NOW

 

Short Conversations About Everything That Matters

Volume 1: During The Plague

 

Want answers to the big questions?

Answers that aren’t absolute sh*t?

Then read this.

 

Are all politicians liars?

Is democracy dead?

How do we fix our broken media?

What is populism and how can we resist it?

Is a deadly virus killing our society?

Are governments necessarily corrupt?

What can we do as individuals about climate change?

What should governments do?

Is eating meat wrong?

How can we find meaning in our lives?

Are we truly equal?

Are we truly free?

Is there room for hope?

 

If you read nothing else this year, or this decade, read this.

If you do nothing else this year, or this decade, share this.

 

Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089M5BGGF

eBook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-Conversations-About-Everything-Matters-ebook/dp/B089C3TZHW

SHORT CONVERSATIONS DURING THE PLAGUE - LUKE ANDRESKI

 

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A Cabinet of Horrors

November 26, 2019

In the UK, in December 2019, we have a Conservative Party seeking re-election for a five year term in office.

This Party is strongly represented by a Cabinet of individuals sharing a coherent and clear set of beliefs. They believe in ‘small government’, whose primary aim is to service the corporate sector – delivering what might be called ‘a welfare state for the rich’ (https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2019/11/18/the-tories-run-a-secret-welfare-state-for-rich-people-that-costs-taxpayers-up-to-180bn-a-year/).

This Cabinet believes in individualism and ruthlessness, in a dog-eat-dog world where we should all be able to ‘stand on our own two feet’ (unless of course you are the recipient of significant inherited wealth).

They believe in deregulation, and they believe in privatisation at any cost.

We call this group of Conservative Party ideologues our Cabinet of Horrors.

When you read what follows, you’ll understand why.

 

Prime Minister

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson

Boris Johnson

Johnson, already a millionaire, earns a PM’s salary of £150k per year, £279k p.a. from the Telegraph (which he describes as ‘peanuts’) plus 000s in royalties. (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/oct/03/daily-telegraph-rehires-boris-johnson-on-275000-salary)

He stands accused of touching women under the table at the The Spectator when he was an editor at the newspaper. (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-charlotte-edwardes-allegations-matt-hancock-tory-conference-a9125461.html) He also tends towards the use of misogynistic language: ‘Big girl’s blouses’ and ‘Girly swots’.

His team received tens of thousands in donations from currency speculators gambling on a No Deal Brexit – which, at the time, it seemed Johnson was deliberately enabling. His Hedge Fund donors may very well have been ‘betting against Britain’ – conflicting slightly with the jingoistic rhetoric used by the PM. (https://bylinetimes.com/2019/09/26/cabinet-ethics-probe-into-johnsons-hedge-fund-backers/ )

Johnson is alleged to have given his (again, alleged) mistress Jennifer Arcuri £126,000 of public funds. (https://metro.co.uk/2019/09/29/ex-model-told-friends-affair-boris-johnson-london-mayor-10826960/) A review of this incident is yet to be completed (end Nov ’19).

Johnson also stands accused of all the following:

  • Lying as a journalist (sacked from newspaper role)
  • Incitement to violence (arranging the beating up of a journalist)
  • Racist hate speech
  • Homophobic hate speech
  • Misconduct in public office (sacked from front bench role)
  • Closing down democracy with illegal proroguing of the British government
  • Extensive lying in his public speeches and newspaper articles.

With this dubious level of integrity, there is little doubt that Johnson is a brazen populist, making promises to his various audiences which he is unlikely or unable to deliver (e.g. lying in front of bulldozers at Heathrow or dying in a ditch if Brexit is delayed or, in fact, delivering Brexit to timescales he repeatedly commits to).

Is Johnson a man any prestigious nation would wish to represent them as Prime Minister?

We suggest not.

 

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Sajid Javid

Sajid Javid

Sajid Javid is worth est. £8.5m and earns a Cabinet salary of £141k, plus expenses and benefits (https://www.dreshare.com/sajid-javid-net-worth/). He is a friend to US neocons (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/04/sajid-javid-combative-cpitalist-and-courtier-of-us-neocons), has strong neoliberal views and is also something of a war monger, always voting for military interventions overseas. (https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24854/sajid_javid/bromsgrove).

As with so many of this Cabinet of Horrors, he generally votes in parliament against improving benefits for the poor while also voting for reducing taxes for corporations and the rich.

To date, his performance as Chancellor in the Johnsonian government is broadly seen as unimpressive (at least by non-Conservatives).

 

Secretary of State for the Home Department

Priti Patel

Priti Patel

Co-author of Britannia Unchained, Priti Patel is said to be in favour of the death penalty, against immigration (despite her parent’s origins) and has been criticised for defending the tobacco and alcohol industries, and for apparently suggesting that Ireland should be threatened with food shortages during Brexit negotiations in order to gain their compliance.

She was forced to resign as International Development Secretary in Theresa May’s government following unauthorised meetings with senior Israeli politicians.

Fundamentally, Patel is very much of the small state, deregulatory, free-market, dog-eat-dog, ‘survival of the fittest’ school of thought. Probably not a person to be stranded on a desert island with.

Worth est. £2.5m, she earns a Cabinet salary of £141k plus expenses and benefits, votes AGAINST keeping welfare benefits in line with inflation but FOR reducing corporation tax. She also has a ‘consistent record of voting against basic human rights.’ (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/25/priti-patel-record-human-rights-extreme-concern)

Does compassion feature highly on her agenda?

We suspect not.

 

Leader of the House of Commons

Jacob Rees-Mogg

Rees Mogg

Jacob Rees-Mogg, worth £100m, plus government salary and extensive investment income (https://www.spearswms.com/what-is-jacob-rees-moggs-net-worth/ ), voted against investing in jobs for the young unemployed AND against raising taxes for the rich (https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24926/jacob_rees-mogg/north_east_somerset). “Quelle surprise!”

A self-proclaimed snob, his voting patterns could well be said to reflect a man left behind by time – or the victim of a tragic time machine accident.

Rees-Mogg is a fervent right-winger who meets with dangerous neocon activists such as Steve Bannon, praises Trump, and defended his tweet of a speech made by the co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47770959)

Pocketing £500,000 while working for an offshore investment firm (Paradise Papers) he has also said he finds the increasing use of food banks “rather uplifting” (see similar thought from Esther McVey below).

Meanwhile, on Monday 4th November 2019 Rees-Mogg suggested victims of the appalling Grenfell tragedy lacked “common sense” for not disregarding Fire Service advice and escaping from the burning building – as someone of Rees-Mogg’s unusual intelligence would have done. An unpleasant self-satisfied self-esteem was exposed through these comments, while his subsequent apology bore all the hallmarks of insincerity. (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/08/jacob-rees-mogg-billionaires-labour-values)

Aside from a disdain for homosexuality and gay marriage, and voting against abortion rights even for rape victims, and demanding welfare cuts, Rees-Mogg finds other opportunities to express his bigotry, deploying the ‘far right’s antisemitic playbook’ when singling out Jewish philanthropist George Soros for his ire: https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/jacob-rees-mog-brexit-debate-george-soros-644130.

He is considered by some to be an exemplar of hypocrisy, in one breath  bemoaning the sale of abortion drugs:

https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/09/14/jacob-rees-mogg-dismayed-by-sale-of-4-99-morning-after-pill/….

But in the next admitting to profiting from their sale:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jacob-rees-mogg-abortion-pills-abortion-rape-conservative-party-conference-tory-leadership-leader-a7976386.html.

He is also considered in some quarters to be guilty of the rather antiquated crime of treason. As Privy Councillor he swore an oath of honesty and openness to the queen… but appears to have then sought to manipulate the royal family for party political purposes in the Johnsonian ‘Proroguing’ scandal: (https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/has-rees-mogg-broken-his-oath-britain-precipice-tyranny/)

Rees-Mogg perhaps deserves pride of place in our Cabinet of Horrors.

Unfortunately, he would probably take pride in being so placed!

 

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Michael Gove

Gove

Michael Gove, worth est. £1m, receives a government salary of £141k, was a cocaine user but is now tough on drugs, compares experts to Nazis and is close to Rupert Murdoch.

He is thought to be one of the more intelligent members of the Conservative Party on account of his memory for detail  but it is important to remember that memory is only one aspect of intelligence. Acute understanding, and being able to join up the dots, is also useful. It is not clear whether Gove has this latter skill, given his willingness to cling to a neoliberal ideology which even the IMF are now beginning to disbelieve: https://imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1513.pdf.

Gove is perhaps the slipperiest of the many slippery characters in this Cabinet of Horrors, as evidenced in this video from Channel 4: https://www.channel4.com/news/michael-gove-interview-on-truth-lies-and-brexit – where we clearly see his belief that language is not a tool for communicating fact, truth or understanding, but a means for manipulation and control. This is a common belief amongst authoritarian populists who want ‘truth’ to be an expression of power rather than of fact.

 

First Secretary of State
Dominic Raab

Raab

Dominic Raab, net worth £1.5m (est.) plus government salary of £141k (with benefits and expenses), votes consistently for welfare cuts for the poorest while branding British workers “among the worst idlers in the world” (https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/who-dominic-raab-foreign-secretary-12882420 ).

He has also said that most food bank users are not “languishing in poverty”, with the implication that resorting to food banks is a lifestyle choice. When a disability activist told him “people are dying” under Tory austerity, he described her request for additional support as a “childish wish list”. He has also branded feminists “obnoxious bigots”.

In light of these comments, it’s clear he’s a victim-blaming neoliberal ideologue, given to arrogance and self-congratulation, who demonises immigrants and those on benefits while arguing for radical deregulation of working conditions and the casting aside of equality and human rights.

A man worthy of high office?

Answer that question for yourself.

 

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

Stephen Barclay

Barclay

Another Tory minister involved in Brexit, Stephen Barclay is thought by many to fit the well-used Tory mould of “Brexit cluelessness”, as seen here: https://www.thecanary.co/uk/2019/09/22/stephen-barclay-demonstrated-ground-breaking-stupidity-on-brexit-when-discussing-the-backstop/ and here: https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/stephen-barclay-on-car-industry-and-brexit-1-6245236.

Along with many of his Tory colleagues, Stephen Barclay, est. worth £1.5m, plus £141k p.a. government pay, consistently votes NO to taxing bankers’ bonuses and also NO to inflationary rises for welfare. In other words, he’s in favour of letting the rich get richer and the poor poorer… Whether this is the ultimate purpose of Brexit, we have yet to see. (https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24916/stephen_barclay/north_east_cambridgeshire)

In considering politicians such as Barclay, it often seems perplexing that this narrow segment of society have so little compassion for those less well placed than themselves… That said, Barclay is by no means the worst example of indifference amongst our salubrious Cabinet of Horrors… Our next participant is a much more worthy example.

 

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Andrea Leadsom

Leadsom

Andrea Leadsom earns a government salary of  over £141k yet consistently votes for welfare reduction. A firm Brexiteer, many of her inner circle offshore their wealth, avoiding British tax. (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/tory-leadership-contest-andrea-leadsoms-five-most-controversial-views-a7120591.html )

She is alleged to have misled colleagues and the public about her past career, bigging up her roles with a variety of employers (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/06/andrea-leadsoms-cv-prompts-new-questions-about-career), so perhaps honesty isn’t her strong point.

Despite the increasing effectiveness and cost-efficiency of wind farms, she strongly opposes them.

For reasons known only to herself, she would also like to re-legalise fox hunting. Perhaps the thought of canines being ripped apart by other canines warms the cockles of her heart.

She wants gay adoptive parents to go to the back of the queue; and, at least once, she has maligned single parents.

(https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2016/07/9-reasons-you-should-be-truly-terrified-andrea-leadsom-becoming-prime-minister)

All this, and Leadsom also had the temerity to put herself forward to be our prime minister.

Can you think of a worse contender?

Ah… yes… perhaps we can (see several above).

 

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Matt Hancock

Hancock

Matt Hancock gets a Cabinet salary of £141k and was donated £32,000 by an anti-NHS campaigner. It is perhaps therefore no surprise that the amount of NHS funds going to private healthcare firms has reached unprecedented levels, despite a pledge from Hancock to roll back outsourcing of patient care. (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jul/21/private-firms-nhs-budget-matt-hancock-promise).

As is usual amongst this Cabinet of Horrors, Hancock votes AGAINST benefits but FOR reducing corporation tax. (https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24773/matthew_hancock/west_suffolk)

And, despite the importance of his role in charge of the NHS, he appears to spend a considerable amount of his time on Twitter. Has he nothing better to do with himself?

 

Secretary of State for Defence

Ben Wallace

Ben Wallace MP

Ben Wallace claimed £175k in expenses on top of a £63k salary, fourth highest claimant amongst MPs in 2008: https://www.garstangcourier.co.uk/news/garstang-mp-defends-fourth-highest-expense-claims-1-1852337.

Now Secretary of State for Defence he understandably voted for military action against ISIS but subsequently defended Turkey’s illegal attack (in non-Turkish territory) on our Kurdish anti-ISIS allies. (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/defence-secretary-ben-wallaces-support-for-turkey-surprises-nato-8p9qnx2cg)

Elsewhere, his voting pattern is typical of his less than compassionate colleagues. (https://theyworkforyou.com/mp/11668/ben_wallace/wyre_and_preston_north/votes)

In his role as Secretary of State for Defence, one has to wonder who or what precisely he is keen to defend? Only The Very Rich of Little England, perhaps?

 

Secretary of State for International Trade

Liz Truss

Truss

Gaff-prone Liz Truss (https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/truss-under-mounting-pressure-after-series-of-embarrassing-gaffes) earns a government salary of £141k p.a. but wants to reduce benefits for the poor, while deregulating environmental and food protections and cutting taxes for corporations and the rich.

Co-author of ultra-deregulatory free-market manifesto Britannia Unchained (retitled Britannia Unhinged by wits on social media), Truss has a poor environmental record, lifting (at least temporarily) a ban on two neonicotinoid pesticides despite concerns over serious risk to bees and other pollinators, (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/23/uk-suspends-ban-pesticides-linked-serious-harm-bees) and opposing wind farms.

She is said to be keen on cheese, however – so long as it’s not imported from France.

 

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Thérèse Coffey

Coffey

Cigar-smoking Thérèse Coffey (government salary £154k) is opposed to gay marriage, sex education, human rights and keeping welfare/benefits in line with inflation – but likes corporate freebies, only not for the poor… (https://bylinetimes.com/2019/09/10/therese-coffey-the-worrying-votes-and-views-of-boris-johnsons-latest-right-wing-appointment/)

Enough said. Much more digging here and we’ll be giving you nightmares.

 

Secretary of State for Education

Gavin Williamson

Williamson

Gavin Williamson is a tub-thumping war-monger, consistently votes in Parliament for military interventions, flexes his Popeye-like credentials by telling Russia to “go away and shut up”, and seeks to intimidate China by ordering an aircraft carrier out to the South China Seas (apparently, they were really scared!): https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/16/gavin-williamson-defence-minister-china-visit-gaffes-conservative-anger.

Williamson consistently votes against cost of living increases for welfare and benefits, against human rights, gay rights and equality, and against helping the unemployed young find work. He also votes against taxing bankers’ bonuses but for reducing capital gains tax – and he’s keen on the academisation (privatisation) of schools… (https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24729/gavin_williamson/south_staffordshire)

A suitable person for being in charge of our kid’s education? Hm… let me think…

 

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Theresa Villiers

Villiers

Theresa Villiers, worth est. £1m and in receipt of a Cabinet salary of £141k, claimed £15k expenses for stamp duty and other costs for a home in London, despite already have another home nearby. Yet she sees fit to vote for the ‘bedroom tax’ on the poor, where the additional bedroom being taxed is often a space for stay-over carers.

Too many bedrooms for some, but perhaps not enough for others?

Villiers consistently votes against inflation-proofing benefits AND against taxing bankers’ bonuses or increasing tax on the wealthy.

She also voted AGAINST smoking bans but FOR measures to privatise the NHS: the former like to create new customers for a privatised version of the latter…

Now, what exactly is the Tory agenda for the NHS?

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/11500/theresa_villiers/chipping_barnet/votes

 

Minister without Portfolio (who perhaps shouldn’t have one)

James Cleverly

Cleverly

Something of a loose cannon, James Cleverly earns a government salary of approximately £141k and also rental income. He voted to cut disability benefit and benefits for those both in and out of work but against increasing taxes for banks. (https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/25376/james_cleverly/braintree/votes)

Cleverly is another of the Brexiteer brigade with a poor grip on facts, claiming that Brexit would allow the UK to set up ‘free zones or ports’ once no longer prevented by the EU, when in fact no such prevention was in place and many free zones already exist in the EU, five of which, up until 2012, were in the UK. (https://infacts.org/cleverly-fails-to-live-up-to-name-with-eu-zone-blunder/)

Cleverly stepped in (unconvincingly) in November 2019 to defend the Conservative Party HQ rebranding as “FactCheckUK”. A couple of years earlier he came under fire for suggesting, on Twitter, that Labour’s proposed policies were equivalent to the appalling crimes of Joseph Stalin. (https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2017/09/here-are-29-thoughts-james-cleverly-s-ludicrously-dumb-stalin-tweet)

Cleverly has implied that he would love to be Prime Minister, which seems to indicate that he has either an extremely high estimation of his own abilities or an extremely low estimation of what it takes to run the UK.

 

Attorney General for England and Wales

Geoffrey “Joffrey” Cox

Cox

Here we have another very wealthy man apparently lacking in compassion. Geoffrey Cox, formerly highest earning UK MP, failed to declare his second home but voted for a ‘bedroom tax’ on the poor. (https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/houses/commons/news/102575/geoffrey-cox-forced-apologise-commons-watchdog-over-income-rules).

This wasn’t his first failed declaration: in 2016 he had to apologise for failing to declare in excess of £400,000 of earnings from his work as a barrister before the regulatory deadline. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-49117017

And, of course, he consistently votes in parliament for the further enrichment of the rich and further impoverishment of the poor (https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/11541/geoffrey_cox/torridge_and_west_devon/votes) – despite evidence now widely accepted that inequalities in wealth in fact damage the overall economic success of a country’s economy. (https://imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1513.pdf)

Perhaps he needs to catch up with the times?

 

Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth

Kwasi Kwarteng

Kwarteng

Kwasi Kwarteng is another of the co-authors of Britannia Unchained, branding UK workers “among worst idlers in the world”. Despite this apparent concern for the work ethic of others, he has consistently voted against creating jobs for long-term unemployed young. (https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24770/kwasi_kwarteng/spelthorne)

Kwarteng has also accepted funding from secretive neoliberal and formerly Apartheid-supporting group Le Cercle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwasi_Kwarteng). He votes consistently against gay rights, equality and human rights and against keeping benefits in line with prices. This said, he also consistently votes not to tax bankers’ bonuses or increase taxes more generally for the rich…

Kwarteng courted controversy in appearing to question Scottish judges integrity during the Johnsonian ‘Proroguing’ row, when these judges reached the conclusion that the prorogation of Parliament by Boris Johnson was unlawful. This recent tack by Conservatives to criticise or attack the UK’s judicial system is a curious turnaround for a party which once prided itself as being the party of law and order.

The Conservatives commitment to Crown and Country also came under scrutiny at this time, given the appearance (at least) of them having manipulated or lied to the queen.

Treason, anyone?

 

Minister of State for Housing

Esther McVey

McVey

We have little to say about Esther McVey.

As with all her colleagues in this Cabinet of Horrors, she consistently votes against equality or human rights while also voting for the ‘bedroom tax’ on the poor and for reducing welfare benefits. Also typical of this breed of politician, she generally votes against increased taxes for bankers, for the wealthy or for corporations.

At this point in this list we would have been surprised if it had been otherwise. (https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24882/esther_mcvey/tatton)

Despite being on a £141k p.a. government salary and billing the taxpayer £8000 for a professional photographer, she has suggested that the rise of foodbanks is “positive”.

This sentiment, plus her antipathy for gay rights, perhaps explains why she is a favourite amongst the elderly Tory Party membership, who would rather “hang ‘em and flog ‘em” than spare an iota of taxpayer’s money for the poor. (https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/esther-mcvey-housing-minister-record-11831140)

 

Minister of State for Security

Brandon Lewis

Lewis

Brandon Lewis stood for MP on a ‘clean expenses’ ticket but claimed £30k hotel costs in two years, despite owning two houses less than one hour by train from Westminster. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Lewis)

It’s also been alleged he used £37,000 of taxpayers’ money for inappropriate party political purposes, something which Labour asked to be investigated. (https://politicalscrapbook.net/2015/03/tory-minister-brandon-lewis-37000-expenses-for-consultant-living-400-away/)

As Minister of State for Security, one can’t help but wonder how secure you’d be if he had access to your bank account details…. Utterly secure, we’re sure!

 

Minister of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and International Development

Zac Goldsmith

Goldsmith

And last but not least we come to ‘Green’ Zac Goldsmith, a Brexiteer despite a Johnsonian deregulatory Brexit being likely to risk environmental protections, and a Tory, where Tory policies on the environment are consistently poor. In fact, the Party which has taken him under its wing seems to discredit any claim he might make on environmental concern. (The same can also be said, of course, of ‘Plastic Straws’ Gove.)

As we come to the end of this list, we feel compelled to ask why very rich people who have inherited fortunes so often hate sharing a little of what they have with the poor?

Goldsmith is a good example of this conundrum. A ‘non-dom’ for years (almost certainly for tax reduction reasons), he generally voted for reducing housing benefit for social tenants deemed to have excess bedrooms (which Labour describe as the “bedroom tax”), consistently voted against raising welfare benefits at least in line with prices, consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability, almost always voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits and consistently voted against spending public money to create guaranteed jobs for young people who have spent a long time unemployed…

A ‘trust fund’ babe of limitless generosity?

It seems not.

(https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24911/zac_goldsmith/richmond_park/votes)

 

To conclude

This brings to an end our visit to the Conservative Party’s Cabinet of Horrors. The above list is not complete: the tedium of thinking about and even more writing about some of the less venal members of the Cabinet deterred us. But the message we hope you will take away with you is this:

Do any of this miserable shower of egotists and ideologues care about ordinary, decent people trying to live ordinary decent lives?

Do they f***!

 

 @EthicalRenewal on Tw/Fb

www.ethicalintelligence.org

The ethics of compassion

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A short conversation about propaganda

November 13, 2019

1: An Introduction

Let’s talk about propaganda.

Democracy can only thrive on clear thinking and facts.

Deceit, lies, misdirection and misinformation undermine clear thinking – distract us from the facts.

For our decisions to be sensible, we need to see what’s truly in front of us: we need to be observers of the real world.

Propaganda blurs the real world.

Propaganda, through its lies and disinformation, is an enemy of democracy.

 

 

2: A functioning democracy

It is not propagandistic to say that any enemy of democracy is an enemy of the people.

The purpose of democracy is to devolve power to the people, to us.

It is a mechanism for removing power from authoritarians, dictators, demagogues and bullies.

Propaganda disrupts that mechanism. It seeks to give authoritarians, dictators, demagogues and bullies free rein.

 

 

3: A sensible vote

How can we vote sensibly without clear thinking and facts?

Propaganda ignores facts, hinders clear thinking.

Propaganda uses language manipulatively: to coerce us; to trigger decisions or beliefs we would not otherwise adopt.

It is a tool for control.

 

 

4: Taking back control

How does propaganda work?

It hijacks our instincts and psychology for the purposes of others.

It attacks our autonomy by sidestepping our powers of analysis.

It activates automatic and predictable responses.

It makes us a pawn in someone else’s game.

Do we want to be controlled? Do we want to be pawns?

 

 

5: Detecting propaganda

What does propaganda look like?

It:

–  manufactures ‘enemies’

–  polarises viewpoints: “Are you with us or against us?”

–  it’s emotive

–  it doesn’t want you to think: it wants you to react

–  it oversimplifies, giving answers so simple they rapidly become stupid

–  it hypes up and exaggerates, attempting to trigger your automatic response.

 

 

6: Other traits

Propaganda is often dishonest, aggressive or abusive. Name-calling, denigration and smearing are its calling card.

It exaggerates grievances, shouts about ‘offence’.

Propaganda pretends it’s ‘one of us’.

It likes to be folksy when really it’s a tool for manipulating ‘folk’.

And, because of its disconnect from fact,  it is often absurd.

 

 

7: Idols and their enemies

Propaganda inverts victimhood. The propagandists may be part of an elite; they may be powerful, rich and well protected; but they will still assert they are being ‘picked on’, they’re the ‘scapegoats’, they’re victims of other people’s conspiracies.

Since propaganda doesn’t like facts (it’s aim is control, not communication) it fixates on personalities rather than their actions. Some it puts on pedestals. They can do no wrong.

Some it smears and denigrates. They can do no right.

But from a moral perspective actions are what counts. Personality is irrelevant if what you’re doing is wrong.

 

 

8: Countering propaganda

How do we counter propaganda?

We:

 – Recognise (its nature as propaganda)

 – Analyse (its manipulative intent)

 – Publicise (the fact it’s propaganda)

 – Identify (its sources and their motives)

 – Demolish (with ridicule, clear thinking and facts)

The RAPID acronym helps us react to propaganda rapidly. Don’t wait. Act.

 

9: An alternative message

Propaganda appeals because it’s simple.

We would all like to live in a simpler world.

Yet there’s an alternative with an equally simple message.

Morality.

A message as simple as:

  • Integrity 1st
  • Honesty 1st
  • Compassion 1st

And

  • Make Humanity Great Again.

 

 

These words are effective, humane and moral. When you’re faced with propaganda, bring them to the forefront of your mind. Assert your freedom and identity. Resist.

 

 

 

 

www.ethicalintelligence.org  “The ethics of common sense”

Twitter & Facebook: @EthicalRenewal

 

OUT NOW

 

Short Conversations About Everything That Matters

Volume 1: During The Plague

 

Want answers to the big questions?

Answers that aren’t absolute sh*t?

Then read this.

 

Are all politicians liars?

Is democracy dead?

How do we fix our broken media?

What is populism and how can we resist it?

Is a deadly virus killing our society?

Are governments necessarily corrupt?

What can we do as individuals about climate change?

What should governments do?

Is eating meat wrong?

How can we find meaning in our lives?

Are we truly equal?

Are we truly free?

Is there room for hope?

 

If you read nothing else this year, or this decade, read this.

If you do nothing else this year, or this decade, share this.

 

Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089M5BGGF

eBook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-Conversations-About-Everything-Matters-ebook/dp/B089C3TZHW

SHORT CONVERSATIONS DURING THE PLAGUE - LUKE ANDRESKI

 

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A short conversation about Jacob Rees-Mogg

November 9, 2019

1: Introduction

Let’s talk about Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Rees-Mogg – the fag-end of a failing aristocracy – is known by some as the tragic victim of a time machine accident, by others as ‘Salamander Slithers’ – the venomous and cold-blooded incumbent of the ERG reptilarium.

A self-proclaimed snob, his voting patterns reflect a man left behind by time:

 

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24926/jacob_rees-mogg/north_east_somerset).

 

 

2: Beliefs

RM, though posh as can be, nurtures cheaply recycled right-wing beliefs, meets with Bannon, praises Trump, and defends his tweet of a speech made by the co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47770959

 

 

3: Wealth vs. poverty

Mogg (worth £100m+, with a govt salary and extensive investment income) voted against investing in jobs for the young unemployed AND against raising taxes for the rich. Pocketing £500,000 while working for an offshore investment firm (Paradise Papers) he also finds the increasing use of food banks “rather uplifting”.

 

 

4: Malevolence

On Monday 4th November 2019 Rees-Mogg suggested victims of the appalling Grenfell tragedy lacked “common sense”. His unpleasant self-satisfied self-esteem was exposed; while his subsequent apology bore all the hallmarks of insincerity.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/08/jacob-rees-mogg-billionaires-labour-values

 

 

5: Bigotry

Aside from a disdain for homosexuality and gay marriage, voting against abortion rights even for rape victims and demanding welfare cuts, RM finds other opportunities to express his bigotry, deploying the ‘far right’s antisemitic playbook’ and singling out Jewish philanthropist George Soros for his ire:

 

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/jacob-rees-mog-brexit-debate-george-soros-644130

 

 

6: Hypocrisy

Meanwhile, ‘Hypocrisy’ could be Rees-Mogg’s middle name:

  • Voting against May’s deal then for Johnson’s, which is May’s but worse
  • A Brexiteer who disloyally shifts his finances out of the UK
  • An alleged patriot who appears happy with the break-up of the Union
  • A proclaimer of sovereignty keen to sell the UK to the highest bidder.

 

 

7: Pro and anti-abortion

Speaking of hypocrisy, in one breath RM moans about the sale of abortion drugs:

https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/09/14/jacob-rees-mogg-dismayed-by-sale-of-4-99-morning-after-pill/….

In the next he admits to profiting from their sale:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jacob-rees-mogg-abortion-pills-abortion-rape-conservative-party-conference-tory-leadership-leader-a7976386.html

 

 

8: Treason?

Rees-Mogg, as Privy Councillor, swore an oath of honesty and openness to the queen.

Rees-Mogg, as politician, presents as loyal supporter of the Crown.

But can anyone be a royalist who seeks to manipulate the royal family for their own purposes, who lies to the queen?

Isn’t such behaviour ‘treason’?

 

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/has-rees-mogg-broken-his-oath-britain-precipice-tyranny/

 

 

9: Conclusion: Cold-blooded, venomous, smug

RM is mean-spirited and grubby beneath his posh veneer.

He believes in subhumans: those who are not rich or posh.

He believes in supermen: the aristocracy and the rich.

The subhumans should be grateful to their Übermensch rulers.

They should – astoundingly – even vote for them…

 

Do not vote for them. They are not Übermensch.

They are merely despicable.

 

 

 

www.ethicalintelligence.org

“The ethics of honesty”

 

Twitter & Facebook: @EthicalRenewal

 

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A short conversation about Brexit

October 20, 2019

 

1: An Introduction

Let’s talk about Hard or No Deal Brexit.

What’s its purpose?

To stop immigration?

To assert sovereignty?

To take back control?

But what control can we take back?

When billionaires own our media, when lobbyists buy our politics, how much control do we really have?

Perhaps, if we really want control, we should tackle these issues first?

 

2: Billionaires vs us

And why do billionaires, Old Etonians, hedge fund managers and bankers like Brexit?

Is it too cynical to suggest it might be so THEY can ‘take back control’?

But they already have a great deal of control. Why would they want more control than they already have?

So they can look after ordinary people like us?

Really?

Or is it so they can better exploit ordinary people like us?

 

3: Be careful who you climb into bed with

The far right like Brexit.

A variety of unpleasant press barons, US lobby groups, Russian oligarchs and foreign billionaires like Brexit.

They’ve helped fund it.

Trump likes Brexit. He likes it A LOT.

Do we really want to climb into bed with Trump, foreign billionaires, press barons and the far right?

Shouldn’t we be a little more careful about who our friends are?

 

4: Sovereignty

As for sovereignty: sovereignty = independence & power

Will we be more sovereign outside the EU trading bloc?

Or will we exchange sovereignty for trade?

China will want political yea-saying.

India will want immigration.

The US will want deregulation and asset stripping.

How sovereign will we be then?

 

5: Treason

So, No Deal or Hard Brexit

– harms the economy

– unravels our nation’s unity

– is likely to harm working people’s lives through deregulation

– is likely to jeopardise the environment through deregulation

– puts us in the hands of big business (which is not a good place to be)

– threatens our children’s future (for the reasons above).

 

In essence, the outcomes of a Hard or No Deal Brexit are all bad.

Yet, if the outcomes are all bad for our as yet United Kingdom, then surely only a traitor to our country would vote for No Deal or a Hard Brexit?

If someone truly cared about our country and about our future, wouldn’t they campaign and vote for a better alternative? A ‘sensible’ or a ‘soft’ Brexit? Or Remain?

 

Please don’t be a traitor.

 

 

http://www.ethicalintelligence.org

“The ethics of common sense”

 

Twitter & Facebook: @EthicalRenewal

 

Ps. ‘Traitor’ is a harsh word…

It’s not the way we like to speak.

It’s the populist language of the champions of Brexit.

But is it perhaps time we used their own language against them?

 

 

 

 

 

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A short conversation about populism

October 13, 2019

1: An Introduction

Let’s talk about populism.

Populists pretend complex problems have simple answers. They like things so simple they become stupid. They like binary choices.

Populists demand you ‘take sides’. But isn’t it better not to take sides? Or at least not sides predefined by someone you may not wish to trust?

 

2: Divide and Rule

Polarisation is an authoritarian tool. It allows the manipulative to divide and rule.

But do we want to be divided, or ruled by immoral people?

Surely we have better things to think about, like:

–   Asserting our shared humanity

–   Reversing environmental breakdown

–   Creating a just and sustainable world?

 

3: Victimhood

Yet populists love division.

They like to polarise.

They like an enemy.

If no enemy’s handy, they’ll make one.

They like to act the victim, no matter how rich or powerful or privileged they are.

But, by creating ‘an enemy’, victims are precisely what they tend to produce.

 

It’s one of the ironies of modern politics: pretend victims, mostly powerful, privileged and wealthy, creating real victims: usually the powerless and the poor.

 

4: Base Instincts

Populism appeals to our worse instincts.

It appeals to emotions of hatred, resentment, rage, tribalism,  ‘us’ and ‘them’.

Some instincts are good – but not all of them. They were developed over millions of years for a hunter gatherer existence…. but we are no longer hunter gatherers. Now we live in cities and inhabit virtual worlds. We exist within a complex web of connection, communication, interaction, participation.

In this complex modern world we need our better instincts to be brought into play:

  • Caring
  • Cooperation
  • Empathy
  • Creativity
  • Compassion

Populism doesn’t care about caring. Compassion isn’t on its agenda.

 

5: Facts

Populism ignores facts. Predictably, therefore, populists dislike experts.

Experts know stuff. People who know stuff are a nuisance if you want to manipulate others rather than inform.

Populists, on the other hand, exaggerate, hype up, overblow, dissimulate and deceive.

For the rest of us this can be confusing. It distracts from the facts.

But for the populists it’s useful. It keeps them in the public eye. It all makes news.

 

6: Distraction

“Forget facts!” populists declare. “Just LOOK AT US.”

Into our eyes… Not around the eyes… Into our eyes.

Soon we are mesmerised by the show. We can’t see that they’ve got their hands on our voting cards or their spiteful little fingers scrabbling at the grey matter within our skulls.

While we’re distracted populists get on with achieving what they want to achieve.

 

7: Lies

Populists like to smear, slander, denigrate and accuse.

They love to lie. Why not? They’ll say anything to make themselves popular.

And the tribalism they encourage forgives lies. Being part of the tribe becomes more important than integrity. The tribalised forget their own morality. They forget the importance of being honest.

Of course, for the populists, the lie’s not the thing.

They don’t care about lying – in fact, they like it.

The lies not the thing… The objective’s the thing:

–   Grubby ambition

–   Ugly greed

–   Pretending to serve others while serving only themselves.

Why let the truth interfere with objectives like these?

 

8: And more lies

And yet…. would you be happy if your brother, sister, father or mother were a liar?

Would you be keen to be known to be a liar yourself?

Is lying the example we want to set our children, our colleagues or our friends?

And, if not, we have to ask ourselves, “Is it truly acceptable – if we think about it for just a moment – for a President or a Prime Minister to be a liar?”

  

9: Morality

I’m sure it’s becoming clear from this discussion that populism is immoral.

Populists are serially dishonest, serially unreliable, serially self-serving, serially in it for number one.

They deny equality, kindness, our shared humanity, our compassionate human nature.

They create dissension, division, hatred, bloodshed, even war.

How can that possibly be moral?

How can it be moral to manipulate others rather than seek to explain – and, with honesty and accuracy, seek to persuade?

 

10: Resisting Populism

How do we resist populism?

At present it seems all-powerful – in the ascendant. It’s everywhere.

Populist leaders seem able to get away with anything…

One thing we can try is morality.

Not an old-fashioned, out-of-date, archaic morality – but a morality designed to tackle the issues of the 21st Century.

And the advantages of morality?

It’s hard to attack, slander or smear.

How can you condemn someone for being moral?

Morality is about caring for others.

How can you attack someone for caring for others?

Morality is about our shared humanity. Populism is about divide and rule.

 

11: A simple message

And morality’s message is simple:

  • Morality 1st
  • Integrity 1st
  • Honesty 1st

And

  • Make Humanity Great Again.

How can populism compete with that?

 

www.ethicalintelligence.org  “The ethics of common sense”

Twitter & Facebook: @EthicalRenewal

 

OUT NOW

 

Short Conversations About Everything That Matters

Volume 1: During The Plague

 

Want answers to the big questions?

Answers that aren’t absolute sh*t?

Then read this.

 

Are all politicians liars?

Is democracy dead?

How do we fix our broken media?

What is populism and how can we resist it?

Is a deadly virus killing our society?

Are governments necessarily corrupt?

What can we do as individuals about climate change?

What should governments do?

Is eating meat wrong?

How can we find meaning in our lives?

Are we truly equal?

Are we truly free?

Is there room for hope?

 

If you read nothing else this year, or this decade, read this.

If you do nothing else this year, or this decade, share this.

 

Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089M5BGGF

eBook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-Conversations-About-Everything-Matters-ebook/dp/B089C3TZHW

SHORT CONVERSATIONS DURING THE PLAGUE - LUKE ANDRESKI

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