Goebbels' advice, when it came to propaganda, was to accuse your enemies of that which you were actually doing.
The Guardian seems to be drawing attention to this ploy from the National Socialists Conservatives this morning when publishing this in their morning newsletter:
We are, apparently, the haters of society, and yet it is they who seem entirely driven by hate.
And it is not just notorious figures like David Starkey or utterly distasteful backbenchers like Miriam Cates MP who are saying this. I noted this of Michael Gove:
Gave said the exact opposite of what is true. The term 'woke' might have originated on the left, but it is now almost entirely used by the right, and I am certain he knows that.
The march of the Tories to the far-right continues, unabated.
When will Starmer realise he has the duty to address this and to prevent them (at least in this form) ever getting power again, instead of following in their wake?
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The problem is that the Left and Right traditionally use the same tactics to generate divisive politics in this country because fascism is unthinkingly hard-wired into it. We failed to learn the lessons of World War II at home.
The other problem we now face is the adoption of market principles into the Labour party which I worry will dilute what we really need which is a politics and politicians that serve ALL interests.
Having read Simon Kuper’s ‘Chums’ (2022), Kuper concludes that Gove and his ilk are really gifted people who ended up serving themselves rather than society. It’s hard not agree with that nor Karl Schmitt’s observation ‘Sovereign is he who decides on the exception’.
In other words, if you open your gob first, you can be the accuser – not the accused.
My impression after reading “Chums” was that the likes of Johnson, Gove and Nick Robinson arrived at Oxford as fully formed Tory-boys who were star performers at the Oxford Union, but never grew up.
I also remember the Author saying that for most courses at Oxford for every 15 applicants 1 person was awarded a place. whereas in the case of Johnson for the course he got on, for every 15 applicants 12 were awarded places. Mostly because so few schools taught Latin and Greek.
More like the success rate for cycling proficiency than a gifted individual.
The key thing I got from Kuper’s book is how much the Oxford Debating Society seems to have affected political discourse in this country. According to Kuper, the ability to just think on your feet and duck and dive was valued more than erudition – the Society was more about entertainment than debate.
Now look at parliament; listen to R4; look at the Alt Right. Our politics is no longer serious – it’s pure theatre. Except that of course it is serious at a deeper level. Marketisation for example – the march of AI, the march of internet providers, the environment – all just not subject to enough debate. We are sleep walking into a nightmare and have been doing so for some time.
On TV last night there was a programme about couples wanting to have threesomes. Now, I’m broad minded enough to know that that happens – it’s not my thing. But to turn it into entertainment?
I can’t help but think that something really disturbing is happening in our culture. People should be talking about the Tories and their policies – not last night’s salacious TV. Soma for the masses, mass distraction so that certain people can get away with murder – the Tories (NHS), car manufacturers (choking us to death) etc.
There is a deep evil to all of this.
The most important and only consideration is to stop the Tories returning to power to further wreck the country in the future. This means voting tactically to achieve PR and if this means not voting Labour so be it!
Do you think PR will be achieved?
For some time now I’ve thought how much the right in this country resemble the Nazis in their actions, though not of course their murderous extremism or propensity to violence.
And this Goebbels propaganda tactic is a prime example. As is the use of repeatedly lying until the lie is seen as the truth, and the appeal to/provocation of base emotions rather than reason or balanced judgement.
Accusing the left of cancel culture when the right is shouting down opposing views and cancelling the right to protest. Accusing the left of spreading division when it is apparently all this government itself now does.
And now, whilst they’ve been accusing their opponents of hating Britain, we get the above.
As leavers and monarchists like to say to remainers and republicans, if ‘you hate the UK so much, leave the country’.
Please do, Conservatives.
Time theyleft
I am saddened by the belief that anything right wing, improves lives. It creates violence against innocents. ‘Pure ‘capitalism drains our monetary contributions from what we imagined taxation was for.
This government is despicable enough to question human rights.
Again, America found it useful to drain the wealth of public services built by the tax payer for profit. Now they are over here.
Even the National Conservatives own abbreviation of their name, NatCon, is heading in towards the more appropriate one of NatC.