17 May

Modern conservatives for decades have sold the idea that government is a barrier to prosperity and aspiration. The dreaded ‘red tape’ of government bureaucrats, with their taxes and regulations. They claim to ‘free’ us all from this dead weight on aspiration. No need to argue this one, the experiment has been done in history. Without government, there was no prosperity or even civilisation. And certainly no aspiration. There were just warring gangs fighting for status. Government *emerged* from the chaos and violence of those times, to make life better. The original conservatives in politics like Edmund Burke saw this, that institutions are emergent and correct for the disaster of life without them. That was the original meaning of conservative - to CONSERVE these institutions. To conserve government. The fact modern conservatives say the exact opposite simply tells you they’re not conservatives. They’re useful idiots representing vested interests. Without institutions, without government, human life is just everybody fighting for status. It’s gang warfare, feudal lords fighting each other for supremacy. Like life in some of Africa and South America right now, where gangs patrol in Hiluxes carrying machine guns, to control their territory. Notice none of these modern conservatives offer to go and live in countries with no government or regulation. They live in the expensive leafy suburbs of heavily regulated rich countries, with strong governments. Even the poor lap this shit up, because they like everybody aspire to have higher status. People don’t vote for policies that help the poor because even the poor don’t want to be thought of as poor, as low status. They aspire to higher status, which most won’t achieve. They bankrupt themselves affording things like private education and private health, and huge McMansions and wankpanzers, because they think it gives them higher status. Status runs societies, and that’s why this rubbish wins elections. Throw in inflammatory nonsense about migrants stealing everybody’s status too, as Australians, and you canter to victory.