The sight of the profoundly illiberal Jeremy Corbyn preaching to the young-and-ignorant at a music festival moved Christopher Barrow to pen some remarks
Just in case anyone missed it, Jeremy Corbyn gave a speech at Glastonbury last Saturday. Tens of thousands of British young people, high on a false sense of community and overpriced hash, lapped up his vision of a wonderful future. Why shouldn’t they? Just about everyone is apparently due to benefit, all at the expense of an unspecified ‘elite’.
Of course it was a vague speech offering goodies to young people, old people, sick people, students, European residents and ‘refugees’. The plan would actually mean higher tax for all working people (who the Labour Party are supposed to prioritize) and a vast raising of our National Debt, as Obama did.
The really concerning matter however is the lack of logic and common sense that lies beneath current leftist and ‘liberal’ (in the US sense of the word) ideologies now prevalent in our societies. There are huge dangers that cannot be overstated, though they remain hidden in Corbyn’s recent advertisement for Leftism, especially to young people.
As I see it the main problem with leftist rhetoric is that it is solely focused upon “what it is not”. Granted it is anything but the stereotypical mindset of a bigoted white male; the wolf-whistling, England for the English brigade (who would actually be virtually impossible to find these days). Let’s call this “Retro Racism”.
The left have decided that as long as they vehemently oppose anything approaching this, then anything goes: they’ve achieved ideological enlightenment. The danger of this leftist viewpoint, the source of their strength and smugness, is that opposition to Retro Racism is actually all its got. It fails to understand that there are higher and more sophisticated points of view than just a strong distaste for Retro Racism. The are important paths of logic and sense that it doesn’t allow itself to explore.
This is precisely what Political Correctness is. It makes everyone hypersensitive about going anywhere even close to the vilified Retro Racism. This becomes the total scope of the political toolkit of active ‘liberal’ leftist. Facing the many and varied problems of the world principally tied to an aversion to anything not Politically Correct is irresponsible in the extreme. Political Correctness shuts down sophisticated discussion, at a time in the world when it is needed most. There are far more levels of sophistication beyond being “not racist”! Naivety isn’t the pinnacle of intelligence, nor is it of kindness.
Perhaps the most glaring example of this is the question of immigration. Corbyn glows with smugness and vanity as he proclaims “bridges not walls for refugees”. One question of actual reality (a place where leftists don’t like to venture) is at what point would you erect a wall instead of a bridge? A 100,000,000 population for Britain? 150,000,000? Maybe a population like this is the best thing for the country, but at least lets talk about it! It isn’t racist.
However aren’t leftists are a shining example of tolerance, love and unity? Well yes to everyone BUT white males who don’t cower to their ideology. If not, you’re fair game for abuse, violence and assassination if they had their way. The strong white male is anathema to the feminized West. Leftism appeals to repressed aggressive individuals and offers a safe environment to direct their anger. This is so dangerous for our future. Jungian Shadow anyone!?
It is not an exaggeration to state that we see shades of the violence of Communist Russia in the leftist pursuits of the modern Western world. Namely people believing they are correct to defend an ideology with violence when they are so convinced about it. This is a slippery slope indeed…
Of course we all want a world somewhat like the one described by Corbyn at Glastonbury. But the key point is to understand human nature. We have to be open and honest with ourselves as a starting point. Leftism is a dangerous meeting of repression with naivety. It we start out falsely misjudging ourselves, we are heading for deep trouble.
The problem is that understanding the problems of leftism is a sophisticated endeavour. You can’t communicate this to 50,000 young people in a field. There is always hope for the future. Lets just hope the youth discover truth over platitudes. Wisdom over naivety. And Love over vanity.
– Christopher Barrow
No, not even somewhat 😉
Actually that’s an interesting point I’ve not picked up before that comes out of Perry’s comment. Normally I’m very happy with the vision of socialist friends for a utopian future – I disagree with them over the mechanics, not the end game. But I’ve never felt comfortable with Corbyn’s view of the future, which seems to be so socialist that it is about the mechanics not what they lead too (it might just be his own stupidity means he is focussed on the means not the end). His popularity does seem vulnerable to an optimistic approach with an attractive vision – this was the key thing missing in the Conservative election campaign (and indeed the remain campaign in the referendum), simply because it becomes about his vision of a mechanistic future as opposed to a real optimisim.
Perhaps the most glaring example of this is the question of immigration. Corbyn glows with smugness and vanity as he proclaims “bridges not walls for refugees”. One question of actual reality (a place where leftists don’t like to venture) is at what point would you erect a wall instead of a bridge? A 100,000,000 population for Britain? 150,000,000?
Firstly there is a huge difference between refugees and economic immigration. The two seem to be intertwined in your comments. Secondly the Labour party back ending of freedom of movement in their manifesto. The discussion that is really needed; is why the United Kingdom needs immigration due to various demographic changes and a failure to invest in it’s people over decades. Its an economic question.
Corbyn and the Labour party manifesto is quite explicit in what it is for. Improved workers rights pay and conditions, universalism across age groups and increasing the supply and quality of housing and investment in public services. Not forgetting an anti interventionist approach to foreign policy.
I’m a high rate tax payer and I am happy to be a bit more. I benefited from free education and buying a home that has increased in value by 500%.
And I could not care less if you would be happy to pay more. What pisses me off about your views is you will vote to me to also pay more. Stop being generous with other people’s wealth.
Yeah, pull the other one. I lived through the 1970s the first time, not keen to do it again under a man who thinks Venezuela is an inspiration rather than a warning. Oh, and your party has done more to mainstream anti-Semitism in the UK than any in living memory. And no, your education was not ‘free’ but clearly did a good job of indoctrinating you.
You can do. Nothing to stop you paying more tax. Just send them a cheque.
You don’t have to look too deep to see the evil in scum like Corbyn.
Let alone his sidekick McNasty. That one might even take part in your beating himself if you were an important enough enemy of the people.
These two and the zealot scum who surround them might get voted in once.
They will never allow themselves to be voted out again.
Corbog will bring in 2 or 3 million of our bearded chums to vote for him, And will care nothing about the German/Swedish style attacks on (adults as well this time) women this would bring . Or all the other violence.
Five ruinous years of this stupid twats Venezuelan-style bungling will do such damage that even 2 or 3 million more imported ZaNu votes still won’t be enough to stop him being voted out.
But he won’t go. He’ll say the election was hacked by the CIA or “Corporations” or whatever. He won’t stand down–no more than Chavez and Maduro ever would or will.
He is a clear danger who must be prevented from getting into power.
Even with all that said Dress Up May and the moribund Blue Labour are the issue.
Corscum won’t win–but they could lose.
Send cheques payable to ‘HM Paymaster-General’ to HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road London SW1A 2HQ.
It would help if you add a note saying that it is a donation to the Consolidated Fund. Everyone likes a funny letter on the office noticeboard.
Mr Ecks,
Whilst Corbyn would probably like that plan, frankly he couldn’t pull it off. He’s an incompetent, and the danger is simply the normal socialist devastation of work, opportunity and society due to incompetence and blatantly stupid ideas.
And I suspect a dose of socalist government would get the Muslim community voting Conservative pretty quickly – remember that on average a muslim is far more likely to be self-employed than a ‘white’ person, and the inevitable clash between the very conservative ‘community leaders’ (I’m using a hell of a lot of terms I don’t believe today…) and the ‘progressive liberals’ with their childish enthusiasm would also help break the block vote.
I said on the morning after the election that this was almost the best result Corbyn could get – him winning would be a disaster for him and the Labour Party, as well as the country, as he disappointed group after group of his supporters.
Corbyn has become another of these left-wing figureheads hasn’t he – a person who regardless of what they say has become the vessel for a lot of hopes and dreams. Just like Hugo Chavez or Julian Assange. This looks to me like it will end equally well.
Why do our leftwing friends like having a figurehead to movements so much anyway though? So much so that they try and assume that we all follow the teachings of May or Gove or Trump or Rand or someone…
Yeah, pull the other one. I lived through the 1970s the first time, not keen to do it again under a man who thinks Venezuela is an inspiration rather than a warning. Oh, and your party has done more to mainstream anti-Semitism in the UK than any in living memory. And no, your education was not ‘free’ but clearly did a good job of indoctrinating you
The Labour manifesto was basic Keynesian. It wasn’t a Bennite Solution as Humpy would say. Rolling back Corporation Tax to the rates of 2011 and taxing people on 80k a wee bit more were a substantial part of the investment plans. That you refer to the 1970s seems you fail to understand what is going on around the country and around the so called developed world. Real wages have fallen and more working people than ever are receiving in work benefits in the United Kingdom.
A bit crass to throw these anti-semitism comments up. Actually quite funny in the comments section of an article that talks of hypersensitive, political correctness and retro racism.
The Daily Express (do not mock – it is more consistently pro liberty than the Daily Mail is, which is sometimes actually anti liberty) had a good attack on Mr Corbyn at Glastonbury today.
Here is a person, Mr Jeremy Corbyn, who is from a wealthy background – and he is addressing people who are all wealthy (ordinary people do not have hundreds of Pounds to spend on standing in a field in Somerset – ordinary people would find it hard even to get there) and what was this wealthy man (his house is worth close to a million) saying to his wealthy audience?
He was saying that the wealthy were no good – that they gave nothing to the masses, and that all good things came from below…. so even wealthy socialists (such as Mr and Mrs Webb) do not get a look-in, only the proletariat.
I have been to homes of some of he people connected to this blog – and I was treated as an honoured guest (even though I am dirt poor). The only function I would have at Glastonbury would be to clean the toilets. And the only way I would ever be invited to the homes of Mr Corbyn or his rich “Radical Chic” admirers would be to mop their floors.
I am not using a figure of speech – my mother mobbed the flows of rich socialists in north London. They had copies of A.J. Ayer and Karl Marx on their bookshelves, and they regarded my mother as an object (no more a person than the mob she held).
The one thing that “Stalin” did that I do not condemn was his slaughter of the Communist Party – he killed most of them.
“Stalin” killed tens of millions of innocent people – but the Communist Party membership were not innocent. They were often people from comfortable homes who demanded (who screamed for) Proletarian Revolution. Well “Stalin” was from a humble home and he gave the rich socialists the Proletarian Revolution they had demanded for years, i.e. the torture and death they (the comfortable socialists) so richly deserved.
If the Proletarian Revolution promised by Jeremy Corbyn and “the Conservatives are murderers” John McDonnell arrived – the rich socialists of Glastonbury, who demand this Proletarian Revolution – who scream for it, would find themselves in box-cars going on a way trip to Death Camps.
And one would have to have a heart of stone – not to laugh.
90% tax on footballers, pop stars etc some might actually fuck off like elton john did when harold wilson did the same in the 70’s. Probably get a better national team because of it. National debt is irrelevant everyone if playing the same game http://www.nationaldebtclocks.org Corbyn is a Glastonbury regular i believe, he shares a tent with Billy Bragg so let him promise the earth and never deliver that’s what politicians are famous for mostly, well apart from tory sex scandals and big cyrils molesting habits, tony blairs warmongering. The tories are far worse the NHS will be gone in our kids lifetime if they keep clawing away at it, austerity was thrust on us as an excuse national debt will never disappear. I think politics needs to revolutionary hes a little along that way, slowly slowly. what are you so scared of? Whats all this neo racist stuff anyway?
The difference between economic migrants and genuine refugees is one talking point that PC aims to shut down – by intent in the rare case where there is any understanding, but usually because the difference is one of the many things they don’t know. (Thomas Sowell’s long but informative work “Migrations and Cultures” is one place to find the answer. An excellent diagnostic is the ratio of young males to old men, women and children. The higher the percentage of young males compare to the norm, the more surely this is an economic migration – whether looking for work or for benefits. The lower their proportion is relative to the norm, the higher the chance these are genuine refugees fleeing genuine oppression.)
Even less discussable under the tyranny of PC is how far beyond any retro-racism the incomers are in their attitudes, racist and otherwise. Anti-Jewish sentiment is being normalised in the UK to a degree unthinkable only a few decades ago days where PC myth history locates oceans of this retro-racism, but, as my poem says
A third task of PC – which it may find hardest – is silencing discussion of whether promised benefits to people here can be paid at the same time as giving them to a million immigrants who will cross the bridge with no wall. They hope no-one will dare be so ‘racist’ as to ask the question. I think the Corbynistas may need “good luck with that” – and hope they will not get it.
No it isn’t. In genuine Keynesianism, you spend in bad times and save in good times. In Corbyn’s socialist version, you spend in bad times and spend in good times. Have you ever actually read The General Theory? Personally I think it is full of errors and preposterous assumptions but at least I know what Keynesian economic theory actually is.
Except it happens to be true, sorry if you find that a bit crass. Under the mask of anti-Zionism, anti-Semitism has flourished within the Labour Party, which is now full of crank conspiracy theorists.
I would be happy to vote Tory if I thought that was actually true, but sadly it ain’t. If the NHS is the ‘envy of the world’ as some seem to think, then why has the rest of the First World not copied it? Even France, hardly a bastion of free market laissez faire capitalism, does not have a full blown socialist healthcare system like the NHS! And I would much rather get sick in France (or pretty much anywhere) than Britain.
😡 WHAT AUSTERITY? 😡 Serious, what… the… fuck? Public spending is down 0.2% since 2009. Yes, zero point two percent.
I grew up in the 1970s when the state just pissed everyone’s money down the plughole the way Corbyn most certainly would. Plus he is actively hostile to property rights, is just as opposed to freedom of speech and freedom of association as Theresa May, and thinks Venezuela is somewhere to be emulated, a place where people break into zoos to eat the animals, property is just appropriated and political opponents are beaten and arrested.
We the United Kingdom are in bad times. Hence extra spending needed. I suspect the Tories are about to go on an unprecedented spending spree of their own. First they used some Miliband ideas now some Corbyn ideas
There are equal crank conspiracy theorists in all parties
I would not say these are ‘bad times’ but they certainly could be a lot better (but then as I said before, I grew up in the 1970s and so know what ‘bad times’ actually look like). But what you say about spending assumes that spending by the state is actually what causes “bad times” to go away, in spite of copious evidence to the contrary.
Not even close. I am a long time critic of the
Stupid PartyTory Party but over the last few years, theEvil PartyLabour Party has become the hands down ‘winner’ when it comes to gonzo conspiracy theories and mainstreaming out and out naked anti-Semitism. Sorry mate but you are in denial if you cannot see that.“Dave” is a troll. ZaNu are pulling out all the stops everywhere as they think this is their chance to seize power.
To be as big a fool naturally defies the limits of possible.
What we have to lose is both our freedom and our lives.
Just like 150 million who have already been murdered by socialism.
Got anything to say about them “Dave” or don’t you give a shit? Or perhaps a comment about the 80 Venezuelans shot dead in the last 3 months by socialist thugs armed by Corbyn’s hero Maduro.
If you are fond of risk get yourself over to Venezuela and see what a marvellous place socialism has made of it.
Watchman–You views are naïve at best and gloss over a very great danger that now threatens this country.
Corbyn is indeed a bungler. But he only has to be less of a bungler than that Fish-Faced Hag May.
Perry de Havilland (June 27, 2017 at 2:42 pm) is correct that Keynsianism is a more interventionist form of the old counter-cyclical-central-bank theory – and in many ways bad – but not a ‘More government spending is the answer, what’s the question?’ theory. Keynes told governments to spend, not just lend, but the counter-cyclical aspect – spend when the private economy is saving, rein in when private investors are spending – remained.
We last saved at the end of Margaret Thatcher’s time in office when a chunk of the national debt was paid off. Labour spent and spent and saved nothing from 1997 – 2008, so when that struck, Gordon’s huge blow-out was with money he had not saved.
This behaviour is normal for socialists. As Robert Conquest remarks in ‘The Harvest of Sorrow’
Inherent unrealism is the essence of socialism.
How much does a ticket to Glastonbury cost? These people he was adressing are the bloody élite. He might as well have been at Ascot, talking to those kids’ parents. Next stop Glyndebourne, eh, Jeremy?
“The tories are far worse the NHS will be gone in our kids lifetime if they keep clawing away at it”
Yeah, that’s what you lot have been saying for the last 65 years, since the post-war Churchill government introduced prescription fees. And we’re still lumbered with the damn thing.
“WHAT AUSTERITY?”
I think he’s talking about this: per-capita public spending falling back to a little less than six times the level of the Atlee government’s, instead of exactly six.
A brilliant article. His comment “Leftism is a dangerous meeting of repression with naivety” is as succinct and accurate a description as any I’ve seen.
The rather non-diverse elitist crowd don’t seem to find fault in McDonnell’s logic, admitting that government controlled accommodation was responsible for the “murder” of residents, and the answer is … more government controlled accommodation?
How many (free-market not government contracted) privately-owned tower blocks have the same combustible cladding, so far it seems to be a list of council run accommodation, and NHS and university buildings.
and thinks Venezuela is somewhere to be emulated
Oh come now, Chavezutopia is a hot bed of innovation, where else would you get an app for finding toilet paper?
Traditionally, yes. But traditionally refugees went to the nearest safe country and they were repatriated when the the war or flood or earthquake or whatever had run its course. Does anyone really believe Syrian refugees in the UK are going anywhere when the war ends? Even the tiny percentage who are genuinely Syrian and genuine refugees?
A fair question, Eric, but it doesn’t diminish the importance of the distinction.
perry dh wrote:
There are quite a few anti-semites in the labour party, a good example being the creepy Ken Livingstone.
But you are in denial if you think racism is more pervasive on the political left than the right.
in the present day ethnic nationalism and so called ‘race realism’ and are almost exclusively features of the political right.
Love that cartoon, Perry. It’s going into my archives.
You can have free movement of people.
You can have Political correctness and welfare.
But you cannot have both.
I am talking mainstream politics, and in mainstream political parties in Britain, ‘race realism’ (i.e. balls out racism pretending it is not racism) is pretty much unutterable in any party. And in Tory circles you would just get looked at like you were a nutter if you started quoting a wanker like Steve Sailor (not that many would even know who he was). Anti-Semitism on the other hand is pervasive on the left.
And having recently hung out with Syed Kamall at Helen Szamuely’s wake, might I suggest you really know jack shit about the Tories these days (fuck I cannot believe I am having to defend the Conservative Party).
And in America, racism like Black Lives Matter (who have been terrible for the fight against police thuggery, and I think the police are horrid) and all the shit from college campuses is almost exclusively a phenomenon of the left.
Amen.
PdH: “I suggest you really know jack shit about the Tories these days (fuck I cannot believe I am having to defend the Conservative Party).”
All that is needed to be known of them is that they can’t fight socialism because they are full of it themselves.
Take Dress Up May who you deny is a cultural Marxist.
Well she may not know the words but her track record as Home Secretary was one of limitless support for CM feminist propaganda.
She endorsed the femmi-created Jimmy Saville hysteria by giving free run to the CPS and BluBottles to create the disgraceful Operation Yewtree and a subsequent series of evidence-free show trials. Not to mention the outright “trafficking” farce of Operation Pentameter. All on her watch and with her say so.
Any doubt about her credentials as a supporter of leftist bullshit (and her own stupidity) was of course removed by her fatuous “under-age Viet girls” statement in the HoC.
Such a creature has no answer to the lies of Corbyn and the gang because she believes much of the same garbage they do.
It looks like a few tories want increased public spending. Even sharing their views on social media.
Heidi Allen @heidiallen75
New DUP cash must surely mean funding will be urgently reviewed for pub sector wages, schools, social care, Univ Credit across whole UK too?
Tim Loughton MP @timloughton
Just used my short contribution in Queens Speech debate to urge Education Secretary to get on with sorting out genuinely fair school funding
BluLabour scum are an internal cancer in the Tory party.
The hazard of constant socialist propaganda without experience of the results of actual socialism.
Western Leftism has been a parasite on markets all along. Even so inflation, massive tax thievery and vast borrowing have all been needed to maintain the socialist gravy train.
In truth the more socialism a nation has the less handouts it can afford. That the instruments of socialist tyranny have largely been kept off the West’s neck is paradoxically what has enabled leftists to hand out the greatest pile of loot in all history.
Thus convincing mugs with short memories ( and the new young and dumb)everywhere that there must be something to socialism. That and a shit-load of propaganda via the Western MSM
The other paradox being that entire shitshow will rapidly unwind as soon as “real” socialism gets on the job.
I suggest this Peter r is likely another ZaNu troll. TorY MPs tweet?
Whilst in normal times ZaNu would hardly waste the time/effort on places like Samizdata, I suspect Grandpa Death and his minions realise this is likely their one and only chance to go for it. PM in 6 months he says–because any longer then the façade will fall and the freak circus of the left will be at each others throats.
We should therefore expect Peter R’s turning up almost everywhere in an attempt to make it look as if there exists a mighty tsunami of omnipresent Corbynista trash, even reaching so far as obscure blogs.
I’m not a troll I like to read opinions that differ to mine.
It is what rational people do.
I enjoy reading Peter Hitchens and Oborne; then again I do agree with much of their foreign policy stuff.
Quite funny that a lot of Labour and Conservative voters despise much of the mps.
Opinions are one thing.
Falling into the grip of the kind of tyranny Grandpa Death will bring should he get any sort of power is another.
Mr Ecks, context, for Eris’ sake, context! Your reply to what I wrote has zero to do with that I wrote. I was replying to the notion there is widespread racism on the mainstream political ‘right’ (whatever that means) in the UK.
Quite, hence my remark “fuck I cannot believe I am having to defend the Conservative Party”. Tory party is just as full of klepto statist shits who despise the notion of civil liberties as the Labour party, but being openly racist gets you dropped like a hot potato, whereas being openly anti-Semitic in Labour might (but usually not) get you temporarily suspended, maybe perhaps and only for a while. But apparently it is crass to point out that the main opposition party has been mainstreaming anti-Semitism.
Anyone else noted that Peter r and Mr Ecks have very similiar posting styles – lots of short sentences and no paragraph structure?
Not saying they’re the same person (clearly not – I doubt Ecks is going to do sock-puppet socialism as it really doesn’t fit with his normal modus operandi).
But interesting way of thinking – and actually quite difficult to write.
It’s like doing a telegraph rather than a letter…
Watchman, we are all working on behalf of Putin…
Ah right – how do you sign up? He seems remarkably broad-minded in the range of causes he supports (for example, in the UK he is clearly backing both UKIP and Corbyn, and was at one point apparently both wanting us to leave and stay in the EU), so I’m sure my brand of classic liberalism tinged with libertarianism and a strong dose of “what happens if I do this?” should be worth him funding.
And I can write the signature structure.
At least if someone pays me (my poor English teachers (evil socialists to a woman, but great at developing my writing) are probably rolling in their beds (I’m not old enough for them to be dead yet) at the lack of paragraphs.
Watchman
June 28, 2017 at 2:38 pm
Ah right – how do you sign up?
Keep it quiet, but send a dm to the below address.
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Peter r (June 28, 2017 at 4:18 pm), in today’s fast-moving world, one needs to keep up. 🙂
PdH: “Quite, hence my remark “fuck I cannot believe I am having to defend the Conservative Party”.”
I think it was Charlie Martin at PJM who wrote a post called ‘Stop making me defend Trump’. I feel his pain, and yours. I don’t know how to ground discussions in facts these days, because it’s just going to end in name-calling.
I’m shocked by the comment ‘overpriced hash’.
I believe the price of hash is more than reasonable these days, especially with the amount of work involved to get it to the customers. Couple this with the increase in quality, (compared to the likes of slate and rocky from the yesteryear) I think the people are getting a great deal.