Australians went to the polls recently and cast their votes. The majority of the populace, who are not wealthy, who are not privileged, elected a government committed to the erosion of living and working conditions of ordinary citizens in order to advance the interests of the ultra rich. This is bemusing. Why would anyone vote to take away the quality of their life? The election result clearly illustrates the ignorance and malleability of the general public.
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| Australian politics; One step forward, two steps back. |
The installment of a right wing conservative government, despite the proven success of the incumbent progressive regime, (Chakrabortty, 2013, p.1) demonstrates the recidivist tendencies inherent within Australian society. A great deal was at stake, not the least being marital equality for all. Fundamentally Australians traded basic human rights for the promise of fiscal reward. This is known as mercenariness. Unfortunately for the mercenary, once it fulfills it's contract it's employer is no longer obliged to support it. In the case of an electorate, once a conservative government is elected the constituency is, to a large degree, expected to cope on it's own. This is the basic flaw in conservative politics from a social perspective. Rousseau (1762) put it well:
"The English people believes itself to be free; it is gravely mistaken; it is free only during election of members of parliament; as soon as the members are elected, the people is enslaved; it is nothing. In the brief moment of its freedom, the English people makes such a use of that freedom that it deserves to lose it."
As Raj Patel (2007, p.1-3) comments, the planet is one big fat contradiction. One walks past the homeless and hungry on the way to supermarkets full of plenty. Millions of tons of grain were destroyed in India while the population starved. Why does this occur? Why are farmers withholding crops despite having laboured so intensively over them? (Patel, 2007, p.10). How are market conditions more important than people? In Facebook group Very Democratic Socialism Sudipta K. Sarkar posts an article on inhumane living conditions in Hong Kong, (Tomlinson, 2013, p.1) despite that city being one of the most affluent locations in the world. Sue Jones (2013) pens a pertinent article on the regression of social reform, and lambastes the current conservative government in Great Britain. The concept of money was developed as a tool to sustain human life and yet humanity has been harnessed to sustain money. Greed is the apparent cause.
Reference List
Chakrabortty, A. (2013, September 10). Tony Abbott's election victory and Labor's braindead politics. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/09/tony-abbott-election-victory-labor
Jones, S. (2013) kittysjones. Retrieved from http://kittysjones.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/3427/
Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed & starved : markets, power and the hidden battle for the world food system. London: Portobello.
Rousseau, J-J. (1762). The Social Contract (Du Contract Social). Amsterdam.
Tomlinson, S. (2013, February 22). Hong Kong's human battery hens: Claustrophobic images show how slum families squeeze their lives into the tiniest apartments. Mail Online. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2282764/Hong-Kongs-human-battery-hens-Claustrophobic-images-slum-families-squeeze-lives-tiniest-apartments.html
Very Democratic Socialism. (2013). Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/groups/verydemocraticsocialism/
Image Credits
Groening, M. (n.d.) Homer Simpson. Retrieved from http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard
It's interesting to think about the election (and contemporary representative [capitalist] democracy in general) in terms of what Patel said about the illusion of choice. We're presented with a choice between two different brands of neo-liberal capitalist ideology and the capacity to even imagine alternate forms of social organisation is virtually non-existent.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Zizek's Plague of Fantasies? I'd definitely recommend it.
Everyone has their own opinion on politics, right or wrong, left or right. When you say "the majority of the populace elected this new government", you are right, it is called democracy. When you say "The election result clearly illustrates the ignorance and malleability of the general public", you are wrong. But thanks to our wonderful system of democracy, you are entitled to that opinion. I could continue, and meticulously counter argue ever point you made, but I won't.... I respect your opinion, as I hope you do mine.
ReplyDeleteRegards.
Thank you Mr Robertson, you have made my point for me.
ReplyDelete