The new Coalition government in Britain is a Thatcherite project by another name, as can now be seen - with its main goal to make the State wither away - the total opposite of the Marxist aim of having Capitalism dissolve. As such, it is a purely market-driven (and ideological) construct, no matter how liberal or fair it claims to be. There is something thrilling and caustic, being in the hands of such clearly driven engineers. But also dangerous. Many people will be hurt by this, and some corporations not enough. To attempt to replace government spending with export as a large chunk of the economy in three years is wildly ambitious. Canada did it in the 90s. And turned sharply right ever after. 33 years after The Sex Pistols (as poet Tony Lewis-Jones has reminded me) we all have something to shout about again.
A poem for my mother, July 15 When she was dying And I was in a different country I dreamt I was there with her Flying over the ocean very quickly, And arriving in the room like a dream And I was a dream, but the meaning was more Than a dream has – it was a moving over time And land, over water, to get love across Fast enough, to be there, before she died, To lean over the small, huddled figure, In the dark, and without bothering her Even with apologies, and be a kiss in the air, A dream of a kiss, or even less, the thought of one, And when I woke, none of this had happened, She was still far distant, and we had not spoken.
Comments
Don't blame me! My wife and I both voted Labour. This outcome was entirely predictable and everyone who is too young to remember Mrs Thatcher will be able to experience at first hand the privation and misery of life under a Tory administration.
Best wishes from Simon