Useful

An interesting article by Anne Applebaum in the Spectator raises the spectre of right-wing propaganda and invokes the notion of a legion of useful idiots, duped into backing a position which may be contrary to their real beliefs and harmful to their fortunes. The Tories are so addicted to Brexit, she says, that they’re making horrific new alliances in Eastern Europe and don’t realise that they are being taken for fools. Says who?

Given Applebaum’s credentials in this area do we believe her? Steeped in the study of Marxism-Leninism and being a visiting professor at that hot bed of socialist thought, the LSE, is she genuinely warning of a grave danger, or this a cheeky, sneaky foray into propaganda on her own part? Is it mischief, or is it genuine or is it – and here’s the rub - driven by her own myopia? I mean, is it more likely that there are many useful idiots, or just the one?

I’m not for one second saying that she’s wrong. The fact is, I just don’t know. And neither do you. We can’t even rely on our own direct experiences because they are seen through the distorting prism of our own beliefs. Faith, social class, education, upbringing and the political background of our formative years all play a part. Give me the child until seven, sayeth the Jesuit, and I will give you the man. Basically, when it comes to separating fact from fiction in the socio-political arena, we’re fucked.

Who do you trust? Michael Gove, from relatively humble beginnings, should resound with the hoi polloi and was probably doing so until he clumsily leapt aboard the Brexit charabanc only to then disembark in equally ungainly fashion when he saw his bread buttered on a different side. As a result he is political poison now. Boris, on the other hand is clearly out for Boris and Boris alone, nobody doubts it; yet he is somehow more credible as a Brexiteer. He has decided to cling to the charade of being a man of the people when he is clearly anything but. And it seems to be working.

It’s all about perception; and that, of course is the entire problem. Do you perceive that you have more freedom as part of the EU, or are you merely accepting restraint in return for the illusion of liberty? Or do you believe that Brussels wraps its red tape around your liberties and freedom can only come with total independence? Will we be poorer or richer outside the EU? The debate currently seems to be between those who believe they will be richer in and those who genuinely don’t care and would rather be poorer out, so long as they are out.

As Theresa May has been firmly told, there are no half measures. In or out, take it or leave it. We voted to leave, but we are now being told different stories. The older people who did so are now dead. The young demand their say and will resoundingly vote to stay. Remainers enraged at the EU’s intransigence will switch to Leave. Almost all politicians want to keep the decision making out of the hands of the populists... except for the populists. And why does the EU ‘care’ so much about whether we stay or leave?

Seriously though, who knows?

Nobody knows the future and anybody who claims to so do is a charlatan. Our own position relies not on facts, but on belief. So, do we know we are being manipulated and are happy to jog along, or do we not know and believe we have autonomy? Is the propaganda really effective, or does it only affect them, those others, the willing dupes? Or maybe, we are quite happy to let the Viktor Orbáns run the show because it plays into our hands, we who see through all the shenanigans? If you’re not confused, maybe you don’t understand the game at all. Who’s the useful idiot now?

Booted up

Democracy has been served and Viktor Mihály Orbán stays in power in Hungary. But what’s this I hear, the wrong sort of democracy? The ‘D’ word is often used to denote freedom, a form of decision-making where even the lowliest has his say. But should the will of one person be exactly equivalent to that of another person? Should an employer of many people, provider of many livings only have the same clout as those who serve him? Should a nurse’s priorities carry the same weight as a soldier’s, a judge’s as those of a petty thief? Come to it, what do you mean by democracy?

The people who didn’t like the outcome of the referendum nevertheless generally support proportional representation, under which system we would still have narrowly voted for Brexit. Our first-past-the-post system is a form of democracy, but is widely open to fraud and gerrymandering; would that have returned the ‘correct’ referendum vote? Was a simple majority enough and if not, what margin would be acceptable? In Britain we are so neatly split down the middle that practically any referendum on any issue who’s outcome isn’t clear beforehand is going to have a narrow outcome.

Winston Churchill said in 1947 “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time...” And he was right. Elevate a despot to power and your precious freedom is gone. Make it a free-for-all and much the same outcome ensues. We value our freedoms and our protections and our democracy gives us them, but...

Democracy is divisive; it produces winners and losers. In Britain it means that most of the time, close to 50% of the population are pissed off, the only consolation being that from time to time we get to swap the misery. But this is the game we’re in and it almost always better to make a decision than to muddle along without one, even though large-scale opposition to those decisions is inevitable. One thing noticeable in the divide, however, is that when the broadly right are in opposition they moan a bit but then get back to work because, after all, they’re paying for everything and moaning doesn’t get the work done.

When the left are in opposition, however, bitching and moaning takes on a whole new meaning. Largely freed of the need to keep the economy afloat – public sector jobs are a cost, not a contribution and many on the left are unemployed, students, etc – they can launch demonstrations, go on strike, flood social media with commentary and generally make a nuisance of themselves. They may be in the technical minority, but boy do they have a loud voice!

The rise of the right? Let history judge.

Right now the left, although preternaturally vocal, are fighting for their survival. The socialist EU super state is being challenged and the sucklers on its teats are not happy. They call democracy ‘populism’ in order to discredit  it and warn of ‘the rise of the far right’, by which they mean you and me. And Orbán’s re-election is – in their propaganda – one step away from Mussolini. But have a good look at the left. Listen to their words, see their actions. Whose feet are the jackboots really on?