The meek adoption of ‘protect the vulnerable’ by the ALP shows the power of framing. Conservatives don’t need…

The meek adoption of ‘protect the vulnerable’ by the ALP shows the power of framing. Conservatives don’t need to win elections to win the political war. They frame all issues so that even the other side continues to do their work, when they win elections. /1

Protecting the vulnerable is pure neoliberal ideology. For neoliberals society doesn’t exist, we’re a free market of individuals, and they’ll throw a few scraps to those who get left behind - the ‘vulnerable’ - as a sop to obvious suffering. But they see these vulnerables as…/2

…only free market individuals who will eventually come good, this support can only be temporary. If they aspire and work a bit harder, all will be OK. If they ‘have a go, they’ll get a go’, that sort of bullshit. They should bootstrap their own way out of entrenched social…/3

…disadvantage. Just as they should now bootstrap themselves out of mass infection. My first choice for getting us out of this compete mess is to get rid of all popularity mechanisms in politics, beginning with elections. The work governments need to do is not contested by…/4

…any fair and objective look at our current situation, it doesn’t need populist Gilderoys to hijack the whole mechanism for their personal promotion. Just put bloody administrators in place, like we do for local councils when everybody is fed up with the local show ponies…/5

…who run for election. My second choice would be for progressive politicians, if we must have them, to start reframing all of our problems. Rather than just meekly become a more compassionate-seeming version of conservative frames. /end