The government issued new guidance on planning school relationship, sex and health curricula this week. Included in the advice is this instruction:
Schools should not under any circumstances use resources produced by organisations that take extreme political stances on matters. This is the case even if the material itself is not extreme, as the use of it could imply endorsement or support of the organisation. Examples of extreme political stances include, but are not limited to:
- a publicly stated desire to abolish or overthrow democracy, capitalism, or to end free and fair elections
- opposition to the right of freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of assembly or freedom of religion and conscience
- the use or endorsement of racist, including antisemitic, language or communications
- the encouragement or endorsement of illegal activity
- a failure to condemn illegal activities done in their name or in support of their cause, particularly violent actions against people or property.
Any reasonable reading of that would suggest that schools should not be teaching about anything that this government is doing and that they should not be using their materials because they are :
- refusing to respect democracy in Scotland;
- challenging parliamentary sovereignty;
- Advising the Queen to break the law;
- seeking to restrict the democratic mandate;
- underMining capitalism by off3ring government contracts without tender and by choosing which businesses they think viable;
- opposing free speech;
- restarting freedom of association;
- creating divisions in society based on race;
- explicitly supporting law breaking
- supporting democide by not putting in place a functioning track and trace system, and by failing to protect care homes, yet again.
Quite literally, by their own standards, our government is an extremist organisation.
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I think it would be reasonably fair to add to this list those who believe in the mythical beast of “free markets” which should effectively exclude most of the members of this Libertarian “Britannia Unchained” government!
The reason why there is no such beast as “free markets” is simply because in reality prices are determined by firms with market power but a very strong force helping them to do this are governments. Politicians do this because achieving office and staying there is highly dependent on creating jobs and decent paying ones wherever possible. China is an obvious example of this partnership with its currency rigging and this has finally resulted in the Americans kicking the WTO into touch because as organisation responsible for ensuring equitable global trading conditions it’s failed for years to do anything about it!
Of course, countries use other methods to help their country’s firms achieve market power, they use state subsidies, taxation benefits and the drawing up of standards to minimise import competition. The EU over the years has been active in drawing up regulations for these last three areas.
Finally, of course, countries also use taxation in the form of tariff barriers and with the WTO being knobbled by the Americans in terms of its final appellate process tariffs are likely to be moving away from WTO standardisation.
In summary there has been global financial breakdown going on for years but typically this Libertarian “free market” or “market fundamentalist” UK government has failed to recognise it believing the curtailing of economic migration to the country is substantially the be all and end all of Brexit!
This is quite odd. The first two contradict each other. Are we not allowed the freedom to discuss whether capitalism is optimal for human well being? Or whether democracy is more important than capitalism? Or whether non democratic states that lift their citizens out of poverty are still evil?
It really is very bizarre stuff…
With more than a hint if McCarthyism to it
Well to emphasise my point in a nutshell what exactly is wrong with wanting to get rid of “free market capitalism” when there’s no such thing as a genuinely “free market” yet? There’s been a global financial war going on forever to show that human beings haven’t yet reached this stage yet so many politicians in denial over this including our current Brexiter government which simply can’t recognise that achieving a genuine “free market” requires compromising the country’s sovereignty to acquire equitable trading relationships with other countries especially the EU!
This all reminds me of my really excellent teacher, a self-declared anarchist, who taught “Comparative Government.” I spent so much time arguing with him in the politest of ways trying to prove him wrong that I learnt a great deal in the process about democracy and government. I still think he was wrong in his political outlook to this day but he always gave me good grades bless him for making the effort to think up counter arguments! That I think was telling because he recognised that “hate” couldn’t be part of his political creed and he would certainly draw the line at “hate creeds” being promoted in schools.
Thanks to Helen Schofield for so many comments, like this one, that extend or clarify Richards posts. She would get my vote for a significant role in the government that we need and deserve.
Another example of dog whistle politics. Stop people thinking, make them frightened of any discussion, develop the idea of a multiplicity of enemies of the state, and get re-elected.
SO owns it that the Government is allowed to endorse and support Saudi Arabia for example- or have a “special relationship” with America?
The list of what the government has done will be greeted with a shrug by the tories. They are in power & as you have repreatedly observed that is the only thing that has ever mattered to them. Use & abuse of power – it’s all the same to thm. Which is why I am advocating in the only newspaper that allows substantive comment (the Independent – forget about the Guardian), that groups of citizens should now visit their tory MPs when they are at home with the purposes of “having a nice chat”. Groups should ideally be around 200 or 300. Ditto visits to the local chairman of the tory party.
The tories have never feared UK serfs – why would you when you have your own private security force (the police) in your back pocket. This needs to change. Something needs to give & the only way forward is direct action of the type outlined above. Doubtless Starmer will wring his hands – frightened at the prospect of Uk serfs finally doing something. The boot is on the wrong foot – Uk citizens frightened of the gov & its boot boys the police – it should be the other way around – as Voltaire observed nearly 250 years ago.
I think this will be happening remarkably soon
Students and their parents will be the trigger
and it would seem, this government is appointing Dacre and Charles Moore to head the BBC and Ofcom. Both with hard right wing views, a record of bigotry and, in Moore’ s case, he is reported to be a climate change denier.
Of the newspapers sold, some 80% are Conservative supporters.
We also see the removal of top civil servants (and in Patel’s case bullying behaviour) and a promise to limit the power of the Supreme court.
It is so similar to the blatant undermining of democracy we are seeing in Trump’s America.
Primitive country now what else can be expected except more pig-ignorance?
We’re back to the anything right of Stalin is ‘hard right’ are we? This blog gets more preposterous by the day.
Surely one day you’ll wake up and realise that your opinions are very much in the minority, as evidenced by recent elections etc, thus you shouldn’t be surprised when you don’t agree with any of the government’s policies.
That will save you having to create a new blog each morning about how the government are ‘wrong.
I propose ideas that thirty years ago were middle Labour, at most, and probably decidedly LibDem at the time
Your problem is you have moved so far right you do not realise how extreme you are
Every government action continues to indicate an inexorable move towards a totalitarian state with Covid 19 providing a perfect cover for it. How else can such as the proposal to put Dacre and Moore into prominent media-controlling positions be explained. If Stuart Braithwaite can’t see it, well there’s none so blind as those who don’t want to see.
Nothing to see here.
Hugs from,
George Orwell
I think the story of Dacre and Moore is a “dead cat” for the weekend to narrow and avoid discussion of lockdown and Sunak’s disastrous week.
Here’s some more thinking on the concept of the “free-market” namely it’s a Double Lie:-
https://evonomics.com/why-free-market-ideology-is-a-double-lie/
As the author says:-
“We are social animals who compete as groups. For our group’s sake, it’s best if we act altruistically. But for our own sake, it’s better to be a selfish bastard. How to suppress this selfish behavior is the fundamental problem of social life.”
But not just human life the issue is the fundamental problem for all life:-
“So for groups to be successful, they must suppress the selfish behavior of individuals. There are many ways of doing this, but the most common is probably punishment. To encourage altruistic behavior, groups punish self-serving individuals. Human groups do this. Animal groups do this. Even cell groups do this. Right now your immune system is killing off deviant cells (nascent cancer) that would, if let alone, kill you.”
The current failing in the UK but especially amongst the English is not to recognise this!
Hmmmmm…………………….let’s not forget that this is a Government aping Henry VIII principles, therefore your list is not meant for the Government itself but those it rules over.
That is where we are.
Haha… “a publicly stated desire […] to end free and fair elections”
Maybe I am an extremist for wanting a start to free and fair elections?
Stuart Braithwaite said ‘one day you’ll wake up and realise that your opinions are very much in the minority‘
He probably isn’t aware that it was a minority who had the absurd belief that Hitler’s plan was to create a totalitarian state. Someone needs to wake up, but it isn’t Richard Murphy.
I think that when a government wants to silence any critique of capitalism, you know that capitalism’s days are numbered. Why else shut down the debate? If you are confident in capitalism, why kill the debate?
What comes after is the interesting bit.
Neo Feudalism or Socialism?
Shame my daughter won’t be able to discuss it at school.
She will at home though! ( for the time being!!!)
Good for you
I think preparing young people on such issues is essential
And when the state outlaws debate it’s near the end of its current iteration’s usefulness
That may be where we are
The neoliberal state is dying
I won’t mourn its demise