Far from being a "vassal state" of the EU, as Boris Johnson would have it, it increasingly feels to me as if the UK is a vassal state of Eton. Who was the architect of the referendum? A gammon-faced Etonian. Who were some of the strongest voices behind the leave campaign? Etonians. Who's just slimed his way to the top of the pole? An Etonian. I write in advance of Boris Johnson's coronation but there seems no chance at all that he will not be selected.
For one brief shining moment I thought that the principled, articulate Rory Stewart (privately educated again, but not actually an Etonian - you take what you can get) might have been in with a chance, but alas, it was not to be.
Stewart not withstanding, is there not a case for banning the privately educated from high office? They have enough opportunities in life as it is. Why must they run the country as well?
The privately educated only took an interest in the fate of England whenever the EU announced new strict tax avoidance laws.
ReplyDeleteDemocracy is no longer effective, in my opinion. It can be invested in and manipulated by the highest bidders. Cambridge Analytica (still existing under the new name of "Emerdata Ltd") has shown to all of us how easy it is to influence and manipulate entire societies.
ReplyDelete"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others."
DeleteWhat's your alternative?
Indeed; it seems that UK is following USAnian lead more and more by rejecting actually qualified candidates in favour of demagogues and blowhards. I too was a fan of Stewart (insofar as I could be one *without* being a Tory...) and regretted seeing him lose out to other manifestly less qualified people.
ReplyDeleteYou might as well try banning members of House Sylveste from the Glitter Band!
ReplyDeleteI felt the same about Rory Stewart. I feel that, just when we think we've hit rock bottom and are wading through the sludgy mire (think: the bottom of the trash compactor scene in A New Hope) - someone rips out the plug and the UK is sucked down into another level of Hell. It is depressing.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up "gammon-faced."
ReplyDeleteDemocracy is no longer effective?!? Perhaps, but all the alterantives are worse!
ReplyDeleteI hate politics, especially on a science fiction blog. I tell myself I am not replying to that... Then my fingers just start typing as if possessed by a mind of their own. I am like "Stop! STOP! What are you doing?!?" but it's too late the damage is done...
ReplyDeleteI went to a boarding school, but on a nearly full bursary.
ReplyDeleteIt was a military school, whose students were mostly children of working/lower middle class people serving in the armed forces.
Do we also have to be restricted from 'social advancement'?
I can't stand the privileged, self-entitled clique which has been intentionally surpressing the 'lower classes' ever since 1066.
Billy the bastard came over and bullied England into submission and have used the laws they made to subjugate every generation since.
I'm more immediately concerned about their current ploy of betting against the pound to win big if we crash out without a deal.
And the whole being forced out after a great many people have changed their mind (from both perspectives) about what direction we should now take.
If you're going to attack an ideology, attack it. There is no reason to act like an uneducated buffoon by using as hominems.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there is nothing wrong with being rich. To the contrary, the rich produce more goods and services for society than the lower classes. Its the primary theory of wage determination, a persons marginal revenue product.