The Frustration Of The Left

Reading this article I had a few thoughts.


The Iraq War showed the power of the state, how much power can be deployed when everyone joins together. The aftermath too showed how much the state was needed. Those on the right thought that having deployed the might of the state to destroy Iraq that private enterprise was the best agent to restore Iraq, that argument was also left destroyed.

From the eighties onwards the state withdrew from its command and control extremes and in its place left private enterprise to take care of itself and the voters as much as possible. As we turned in to the new century it was becoming clear that something was out of control, that inequalities and imbalances where on the rise. When the crash came it was once again clear that the state did have a stronger role to play, that unrestrained extreme wealth was a danger to the well being of the majority.

These two lines of thought confirmed to the left the serious failings of the right, and the assumption was that this would be clear to all and left wing governments would become the norm.

They misunderstood one crucial point, when the public are most threatened they vote most selfishly and that means they lean to the individualism of the right. Only when the left can offer hope for the future, a guarantee that the majority will not just be protected but actually have their life improved, only then will they be able to govern.