What I think is almost never emphasised enough in the media is what unites Trump, Musk et al in the US and the likes of Farage and Tice in the UK (and their media cheerleaders). Their promotion of far right parties is often portrayed as solely about immigration, but for the billionaire class that support and run these parties it is about something else. It is about the weakening of the EU, the only western entity beyond the US itself, that has the power to fully regulate big business. Without it, states are far less able to legislate to protect workers, consumers, small businesses, competition or the environment. It is a corporate takeover disguised as a cultural project.
Adam, I am hugely impressed that you were able to keep calm and pen this eloquent & sober (and sobering) piece.
I myself find that a red mist descends on me just reading about Trump and his fascist bully boys with their vile and incoherent rhetoric and hypocritical inversion of the truth with almost every utterance.
It is clear that Europe including the UK has no choice but to get its act together to mobilise a cohesive trading bloc with concomitant self-sufficient military power to match the USA, China & Russia.
The new US administration is behaving way outside & beyond any vaguely acceptable norms, but it is entirely our own stupid & lazy fault to have put ourselves in this position.
The US has lost whatever political authority it once had. And it has certainly lost its last vestiges of moral authority. It is now a kleptocratic and increasingly fascist rogue state and is joining those other examples of authoritarian states which are designed purely for the enrichment of a small number of the dear leader’s cronies.
As many others are saying Europe now has to look after itself after nearly 80 years of lazily basking in the comfortable warmth of a US committed to Europe’s defence. For as long as Putin is around, or someone like him, Europe (and what’s called western democracy) is not safe from military attack (although it cannot be predicted when or if) and is certainly not safe from hybrid attack, via troll factories and the like.
We need to get wise with handling the fascist apologists like Farage and Badenoch and develop ways of framing the argument. The “Frame Lab” has some good ideas. We also have to tackle the supposed democrats like Starmer who are drifting further and further to the right.
To an extent this rise of fascism in the US and parts of Europe is a symptom of the neoliberal economic paradigm which, to put it simply, has enabled the rich to get richer and the poor poorer (in relative terms) and the vast majority to stagnate, as public services have been starved of funding, and private enterprise has been less efficient and more costly.
Thatcher’s mantra that government has no money, there is only taxpayers’ money is the most egregious and insidious lie that has caused immense damage. The truth is the exact opposite. In the UK all money is government money and the BoE creates on instructions from the Treasury. Of course there’s more to it than that but we need to get that message out and explain that lack of government spending is a political decision not an economic imperative.
You are of course dead right. And note the front pages of today's Mail and Telegraph effectively endorsing Vance's views on freedom of expression. In spite of Vance explicitly slagging off both England and Scotland over the abortion clinics issue, we have utter and complete silence from our government. Shameful and craven don't even begin to describe it.
What I think is almost never emphasised enough in the media is what unites Trump, Musk et al in the US and the likes of Farage and Tice in the UK (and their media cheerleaders). Their promotion of far right parties is often portrayed as solely about immigration, but for the billionaire class that support and run these parties it is about something else. It is about the weakening of the EU, the only western entity beyond the US itself, that has the power to fully regulate big business. Without it, states are far less able to legislate to protect workers, consumers, small businesses, competition or the environment. It is a corporate takeover disguised as a cultural project.
Adam, I am hugely impressed that you were able to keep calm and pen this eloquent & sober (and sobering) piece.
I myself find that a red mist descends on me just reading about Trump and his fascist bully boys with their vile and incoherent rhetoric and hypocritical inversion of the truth with almost every utterance.
It is clear that Europe including the UK has no choice but to get its act together to mobilise a cohesive trading bloc with concomitant self-sufficient military power to match the USA, China & Russia.
The new US administration is behaving way outside & beyond any vaguely acceptable norms, but it is entirely our own stupid & lazy fault to have put ourselves in this position.
Thanks Adrian, I have to admit that the direction of travel we're heading in is increasingly rage-inducing
The US has lost whatever political authority it once had. And it has certainly lost its last vestiges of moral authority. It is now a kleptocratic and increasingly fascist rogue state and is joining those other examples of authoritarian states which are designed purely for the enrichment of a small number of the dear leader’s cronies.
As many others are saying Europe now has to look after itself after nearly 80 years of lazily basking in the comfortable warmth of a US committed to Europe’s defence. For as long as Putin is around, or someone like him, Europe (and what’s called western democracy) is not safe from military attack (although it cannot be predicted when or if) and is certainly not safe from hybrid attack, via troll factories and the like.
We need to get wise with handling the fascist apologists like Farage and Badenoch and develop ways of framing the argument. The “Frame Lab” has some good ideas. We also have to tackle the supposed democrats like Starmer who are drifting further and further to the right.
To an extent this rise of fascism in the US and parts of Europe is a symptom of the neoliberal economic paradigm which, to put it simply, has enabled the rich to get richer and the poor poorer (in relative terms) and the vast majority to stagnate, as public services have been starved of funding, and private enterprise has been less efficient and more costly.
Thatcher’s mantra that government has no money, there is only taxpayers’ money is the most egregious and insidious lie that has caused immense damage. The truth is the exact opposite. In the UK all money is government money and the BoE creates on instructions from the Treasury. Of course there’s more to it than that but we need to get that message out and explain that lack of government spending is a political decision not an economic imperative.
You are of course dead right. And note the front pages of today's Mail and Telegraph effectively endorsing Vance's views on freedom of expression. In spite of Vance explicitly slagging off both England and Scotland over the abortion clinics issue, we have utter and complete silence from our government. Shameful and craven don't even begin to describe it.
You never miss it until you haven’t got it
When does a collaborator become a traitor? See second World War when French Collaborators became traitors when the war ended.
I am coming to the conclusion that Vance is a not very useful idiot.