The present government is puzzling. Huge chunk of millionaires, public school educated. Flash back to the 1600's and we are looking at Royalists.

But they are preaching austerity. Classic puritanism, waste not. Roundheads.

Cromwell.


We have had a few light skirmishes and there are plans for things called "strikes".

The supporters of the crown have used some violent techniques - something called kettling in the Battle of Westminster Bridge.

But what are the royalists doing pushing puritan ideas? Are they explicitly splitting Britain - (England?) - into wealthy Cavalier land and austere Roundhead land? Ending the civil war by dividing us?

And we even have a Digger in the MP for Brighton!

Sigh.

I wanted a serious discussion - we do seem to have confused contradictory philosophies. James Naughtie is currently debating the King James Bible.

The English Civil War was fought around the Geneva Bible, the KJB did not take off until the restoration and explicitly toned down the Geneva Bible's radical edge - the KJB replaces love with charity for example, a word about equality and reciprocity with a hierarchical deserving word.

And now we have royalists preaching puritanism and austerity....

it would seem unlikely. most people are too time-poor after scratching for a living to sum up the energy to get indignant enough. i feel that the growing grey brigade could do more, but most are now too rich and busy enjoying themselves. that leaves the students, paupers and handicapped to carry the burden and it's doubtful that there are enough of them.

mass quiet civil disobedience might work if it's planned properly. a flash 'go-for-a-walk' down by the houses of parliament to coincide with parliament chucking our time has the potential to seriously inconvenience the prats supposedly having our best interests at heart. such flash initiatives, designed to engage a cross-section of society, to include all walks of life and ages, would be much harder for the police to brutalise with impunity.

Is there a real confusion of ideas causing apathy? Cavaliers acting like round heads? Billionaires preaching austerity?

If we tease out the issues clearly people will get off their back sides.

It is to do with commonwealth versus everyone for themselves, but the tories with the big society and austerity are pretending to be puritan commonwealthers.

Millionaires became billionaires in three posts. Most be impressive inflation over that way.

People preach what benefits them.

In the 17th Century rich people were rich because of their links to the ruling class. They wanted to concentrate more power in the 'goverment's' hands because those hands were their hands.

These days the rich are wealthy independent of the government. The more money that goes into the government's hands, the less that goes into theirs. Thus they preach austerity on behalf of the government.

Panderos wrote:People preach what benefits them.

In the 17th Century rich people were rich because of their links to the ruling class. They wanted to concentrate more power in the 'goverment's' hands because those hands were their hands.

These days the rich are wealthy independent of the government. The more money that goes into the government's hands, the less that goes into theirs. Thus they preach austerity on behalf of the government.

In the 17th Century the rich were the ruling class and things have not changed since then.

pensioner wrote:

In the 17th Century the rich were the ruling class and things have not changed since then.

I agree with you. But because their wealth comes from a different source, they preach differently on how much money government should have to spend.