As the FT reports this morning:
Once upon a time there lived a noble and chivalrous group of knights in a great big castle called the Stock Exchange.
It may sound like a children's fairy story, but these were the words used by John Redwood in 1984 as he outlined the radical ideas underpinning what was to become the “Big Bang” — the most fundamental overhaul the City of London has seen.
Now, whilst it has to be said straight away that John Redwood has been telling similar fairy tales ever since, as have the vast majority on the political and economic right, there is something important to note in this story, and that is the power of simple narratives.
Redwood undoubtedly knew this; he spun a yarn of right against wrong and privilege preserving wealth by denying access to others. It was utter baloney; all he did was shift the locus of privilege to a new group in society, but that is not the point I want to make here. By reducing his demand to such apparently simple story telling he pretty much got his way.
We've learned the power of that in the tax just narrative although we have avoided the need for fiction: the reality of what happens in tax havens, big business and the shadow economy is all too real to require invention. All we need to do was tell it as it is to make real progress.
But that story still needs to be told and so do others, not least when it comes to the need for a level playing field for all business to compete upon when it comes to the need to beat domestic small business tax evasion and the need to create greater equity in society by ensuring that all pay their fair share in taxes.
It's vital that we do not let the right keep possession of the economic narrative, not least because we have a vastly better moral tale to tell, and all good narratives are based on that at the end of the day.
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Richard
I strongly agree. I think the worst example of this relates to climate change. The scientists who are, undoubtedly, right, have focussed on, mostly, silly challenges to their findings while all the other people who support them, the politicians, ecologists, campaigners have haplessly allowed themselves to be categorised as ‘puritans’ & ‘killjoys’. BUT the Puritans forebade dancing & singing, not driving & shopping, & what ‘joy’ can there be in conspicuous consumption?
I do think the ‘Green movement’ could’ve done much more to leverage the enormous success of Peter Jackson’s films, which brought Tolkein to an enormous audience. Now, I wouldn’t say JRR was a great writer, in fact, in some respects, even a good writer, but he did have this theme throughout his work that a sunny day, a grassy meadow, a clear stream, a bee buzzing by a buttercup; these were wonders beyond anything man could create & it were a foul & ill man who bethought them not (one finds the language catching).
I find it distressing that, at the same time as many millions of people are pouring into see Hobbit2, there are foul, ill men like Jeremy Clarkson, Nigel Lawson, that absolute arse from the Telegraph, all saying “they are ours to befoul, that we may have trinkets that we like, my precious” & the Green Movement isn’t grabbing what looks, to me, like a wide, open goal.
“throughout his work that a sunny day, a grassy meadow, a clear stream, a bee buzzing by a buttercup…”
Fair comment but how does that keep me and millions like me in a job?
Allan
what do you actually do ?
Without that it’s a bit hard to know, isn’t it?
Richard, this is an excellent post. I have been following the way political parties tell ‘stories’ on the economy for a while now. Here’s an example of what I think on this: http://www.progressonline.org.uk/2012/12/05/resetting-the-frame/
George Lakoff, whom I refer to, spoke at a TUC seminar in the Autumn. The right has clearly been more successful in communicating a clear message. In devising communication strategies I believe we need to do more to use the scientific knowledge in linguistics that’s already out there. I am currently guest editing a publication on Language and Economics – do drop me a line if you’d like to know more.
@ Tanweer Ali
In the words of my father – the right are unhampered by the facts. The telling of blatant lies by this government is astonishing… No top down reorganisation of the NHS/Protecting front line staff from cuts/ The mess Labour left and so on. At least in the past, tory politicians had the decency to make their statements half-truths.
But it isn’t just the way Labour tells the story… it is also the role of the corporate media (and the terror of the BBC) in colluding with the government narrative. Doubtless, Labour can learn the PR/hypnotic/NLP framing but it will still have the hurdle of a largely hostile MSM to overcome.
syzygysue
you’re right about the ‘media’ being mostly v right-wing biased. Even the BBC is, on economics, mostly right-wing biased, but does it matter? Who reads newspapers these days anyway ? The only paper anyone reads on my bus is Metro, given away free & taken mostly for the sports pages, letter pages &, in my case,
rather good cat cartoon, oh, & Sudoku.
This idea that the left is doomed because of media influence is very 1980s. The right tell good stories;
“Your neighbour never works but has as much as you”
“Eastern European Romanies will flood in & claim benefits”
“Green taxes are an excuse to fleece the hard-working British”
“The City of London is keeping us all afloat”
“When house prices go up we all get richer”
They’re obvious lies that have become truth to some people because they are seldom, if ever, rebutted.
I’ll tell you someone on the left who tells a good story, George Galloway. If he was leader of the Labour Party they’d be about 20% ahead in the polls. Not that I’d want him.
I’ll tell you someone else on the left who tells a good story, The Pope. What use has anyone in Milliband Towers made of him?
“The telling of blatant lies by this government is astonishing….”
Shock news – all versions of HMG lie – after all the previous Red Mob HMG lied completely and cynically over the amount of immigration and why it was taking place as even previous members of that HMG have now openly admitted.
Then of course we saw a Blue Mob HMG state that only a limited number of mines were at risk – papers clearly show that not to be the case….
…..but before that other versions of HMG (Wilson’s govt. springs to mind) – shut even more mines despite saying that they would not.
Perhaps I’m being cynical but as NOTA voter, I really can’t see what difference it would make if all the parties swapped over tomorrow. Very little of the policies would alter.
You are certainly right about the Pope. He’s proved to be the best economic comentator on the centre-left of 2013.