What we see now in the UK is a huge bare-knuckle fistfight in the family, i.e. the establishment that is running the country.
First the banks went bust in 2008, had to be rescued and became the wipping boy of the public: public enemy number one. So to counteract this, the expenses scandal sprung up out of nowhere. These things - that the politicians were on the take - have been know for years. But conveniently for the banks the scandal erupted and moved the role of the whipping boy onto the politicians. It seemed to work but the politicians had just enough of it and, conveniently for the politicians, the hacking scandal erupted. (The practice of hacking by the media had been very well known for years: from the primitive sifting through the rubbish of celebrities to most technologically advanced spying technologies). The resulting public inquiry into the practices of the media hit the entire media. So these guys had just enough of it. Hence now, when the Leveson Inquiry is getting into its final lap, conveniently for the media folk, new scandals around the banks have erupted this week. We turned the full circle.
Clearly it is a mafia-style bare-knuckle fistfight in the family. There is a war within the British establishment. It is interesting to watch where it will all end. Thus far we have to sponsor this pathetic and extremely expensive spectacle with our taxes.
Not convinced - you'll have to define more and conspiracise less I think. However base premise is worthwhile. Definition of establishment? Or is it the 'top 1%'?
ReplyDeleteHi Apicius
DeleteThis post is really an observation of the sequence of events and not a thorough analysis. Such analysis I leave to others, epsecially historians in the future. I am not suggesting, implying or excluding in any way a conspiracy. I have no view on that.
Best, Greg
An interesting take on events, Greg, and one I haven't heard anywhere else. However, I'm still not convinced that the British establishment is riven by infighting just yet, although I've been thinking for some time now that this is a prerequisite for any steps to be taken against the bankers and the corporate/financial elites. We no longer have the power, bottom up, to do anything (did we ever?) so our only hope is that the corrupt system collapses in on itself.
ReplyDeleteThe only clear evidence of the in-fighting you refer to that my radar has picked up on so far is the hacking scandal. It's clear to me that this is primarily an exercise to get News International, with the added bonus of intimidating what's left of the free press, otherwise why would the reports I've seen hidden on the inside pages of a couple of newspapers implicating the Guardian and the Mirror Group (Piers Morgan) in hacking have been largely ignored by the BBC and the Leveson inquiry?
I pray your suggestion that in-fighting is breaking out at the top proves to be true. Unfortunately, the corruption and crony capitalism goes way above our establishment, extending even above the Eu and the US increasingly authoritarian regimes. Will infighting destroy the corrupt and greedy at the top of the pyramid? I hope so, but it might take WW3 to do it, which isn't much of a prospect to look forward to.
Hi John
DeletePlease do not read too much into my brief take on these events. But fistfights in families do happen, especially when they are at the pinnacle of their power and feel to be above the law.
Whether it is the case in the UK I do not know but I think it is worthwhile to observe and analyse the events from this perspective.
Best, Greg
What I read is just the fat cats getting out before the whole brown smelly think really hit the fan. No surprise if other ceo`s start resining one after another. They already stole what could be stolen.
ReplyDelete