On Mon, 21 Apr 2008, Nick Russell wrote:

>> The detachment between people
>> and politicians has reached hugely worrying levels, and that's something
>> which needs to be urgently addressed by the major political parties really
>> reconsidering the way they operate and present themselves, but I don't see
>> any of the three major parties doing that at all. In most cases this will
>> lead to a sullen "all politicians are bad" mentality, but it could lead
>> to more support for the BNP - despite the fact that their level of sleaze,
>> incompetence and nastiness dwarves that of the major parties.
>>
>> Matthew Huntbach

> Do I detect, in the 'zeitgeist', a feeling that whereas, say, fifty years
> ago we relied on government to provide most of the important things in life,
> now it is apparent that we can do them for ourselves, and do them better
> too? Pensions, hospitals, schools, railways, even roads (just today I passed
> a sign on the M6 saying 'M6 Toll - Clear/M6 - Closed at Junction 8'). In the
> public eye, might that leave politicians of any kind in the position of
> burglars or extortionists - deleterious, harmful and unnecessary? I think
> politicians and parties will have to set their sights on higher things, and
> perhaps leave the nuts and bolts of day-to-day living to the people. The
> 'detachment' Matthew detects between politicians and people is a symptom of
> the realization that 'state' and 'people' are no longer synonymous (if they
> ever were) but antagonists.

I think the issue is that people still expect politicians to be in control
of these things even when, as you quite rightly point out, they are not.
Politicians are the fall guys, Aunt Sallys placed up in front so that
people can throw abuse at them, while the real job of running society
is done by big business. What is more, they have not been able to get
to a situation where "there is nothing we can do about that, it is
no longer a government responsibility" is considered an acceptable
response. After all, why should people complain about the state of
the NHS, state schools etc, when, as you say, there are private
suppliers of these things which they can use instead?

Matthew Huntbch