|
August 14, 2011
For the British Conservatives the reaction to the street riots can only be one of law and order. If the police can contain the violence and the government is able to portray the riots as a simple matter of law and order, then the prime minister may avoid any long term political damage. It's a question of zero tolerance, tough on crime (eg., curfew's, water cannons, prison), restricting social media and both evicting families from council houses and cutting the benefits of those who have been caught up in the rioting.
On the other hand, if the violence continues and Labour succeeds in creating the impression that government cuts have – at the very least – created an unhelpful climate, then Cameron's Conservatives may be damaged.
Martin Rowson
Tariq Ali makes an interesting point about the destruction and violence on the streets of London:
The young unemployed or semi-employed blacks in Tottenham and Hackney, Enfield and Brixton know full well that the system is stacked against them. The politicians’ braying has no real impact on most people, let alone those lighting the fires in the streets. The fires will be put out. There will be some pathetic inquiry or other to ascertain why Mark Duggan was shot dead, regrets will be expressed, there will be flowers from the police at the funeral. The arrested protesters will be punished and everyone will heave a sigh of relief and move on till it happens again
Britain is a country that is economically stagnating wages and employment prospects at the bottom have collapsed while those at the top have gone through the roof.
That implies a redistribution of wealth and supporting local communities by offering opportunities as opposed to slashing help from the state and cutting taxes for the rich.
The logic of the latter approach--the neo-liberal one--- in a declining economy is to kick people when they are down. This involves cutting back on the government safety net that is meant to save the poor from spiralling down all the way to destitution, criminalizing the working poor (a feral underclass) and poverty. So there will be laws to drive the destitute off the streets by outlawing such necessary activities of daily life as sitting, loitering, sleeping, or lying down.
|
"There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."
~Warren_Buffett, 26 November, 2006.
But that was a long time ago. They've won.