shocking video of British Labour leaning toward Socialism over Capitalism
A curious note of horror from the libertarian magazine Reason about a “balls in the booth” poll of British Labour politicians — “Socialism” beating out “Capitalism”. Â And…
It is hardly a surprise that the majority of Labour Party members shown in the video voted for socialism. However, there are some particularly disturbing parts of the video, namely the young woman who said, “I don’t think anybody benefits under capitalism” and the two young men who mention their support for something called “responsible capitalism,†as if “capitalism†wasn’t quite good enough or entails some degree of irresponsibility.
How do I parse this? Â I don’t see this quick jump from “hardly a surprise” to the somewhat boilerplate explanations. Â Also, the horror of the young men calling for something called “responsible capitalism” — which strikes me as a fair statement, as capitalism is indeed not good enough, tends to suggest some degree of irresponsibility, and in parts and places has to be regulated.
It’s not even that I expect the Reason blogger to agree with that sentiment; I just don’t expect it to god-smack him that someone would suggest it — particularly when he’s already come out on record and in a blase way of non-shock as not being surprised that Labour Party members would vote for Socialism over Capitalism. Â (What’s this I hear about Scandinavian countries and their peculiar love for something called “Democratic Socialism”? Â Well, that’s a ways north and a different political culture altogether.)
Two more notes on this issue — reading the New Statesman recently, counter-arguing the points of “look what the Labour Party is advocating right now” — I see some suggesting that a few long since abandoned in practice measure and relic of the party’s pre-“New Labour” neo-liberal Tony Blair reformation past that smacks of socialism principles have now been stricken-ed from the Party charter. Â Whatever the horrors of American libertarians looking abroad to Labour Party decisions on their economic policies, it can’t measure up to it’s Thatcher – era charter, when conventional wisdom holds the party retreated to its liberal bases and drew up something some members of the party described as a “Suicide Note”. Â (Though, as these things go, this brings us to the withering criticism of Blairite / Gordon Brown New Labour as soulless and Nixonian — see Christopher Hitchens.)
Which brings us to issue number two.  To situate the politics of the leaders of the two nations.  Who’s advising the current British Prime Minister David Cameron, your leader of the Conservative Party, as he moves to his re-election campaign?  Barack Obama adviser Jim Messina.  And why not?  They both stand for not dismantling their country’s health care programs.