A demonstrator protests the 2015 election result (David Cliff/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“The world is controlled by a secretive elite.” This claim will strike some as conspiratorial nonsense and others as an obvious statement of fact. Either way, it is now beyond doubt that a large minority of the adult population believes it to be true. The latest data from UnHerd Britain reveals that 38% of the British population agrees, while 33% disagree and 30% are not sure.
It is a useful phrase to measure core beliefs because it takes us beyond the idea of conspiracy theories, with all their distracting details and absurdity, to the underlying intuition that fuels them. In this world view, the “elites” are faraway and malevolent, exercising control in self-serving ways; meanwhile, democratic politics and the mainstream media are regarded as little more than distractions, likely in the service of powerful secret masters.
Whatever people believe about specific conspiracies — and this week offered no shortage of them, from UFOs over North America to hushed-up explosions in Ohio — our findings reveal how widespread the underlying mindset is that propels them. Thanks to our partner Focaldata and a statistical process called MRP, we can now see which constituencies are the most and least conspiratorial in the country. The results shed new light on how these voters should be viewed by the main political parties.
First, it is clear that conspiratorial thinking is not a “Right-wing” phenomenon. Voters who believe in a controlling secretive elite are much more likely to vote Labour than Conservative, and much more likely to live in a safe Labour constituency. By this measure, the 10 most conspiratorial constituencies in the country are all safe Labour seats, whereas the 10 least conspiratorial constituencies are all Tory (except Chesham and Amersham, which switched to Lib Dem in the 2021 by-election).
As the above table shows, the “most conspiratorial” list is made up of poor and highly diverse inner-city constituencies, which may explain why people come to feel so alienated and suspicious. In these places, a conspiratorial world view is the norm — in Birmingham Ladywood, for example, only 14% of people disagree with the statement. Meanwhile, in the rolling Chiltern hills of Chesham and Amersham and the affluent enclaves of Henley and Mole Valley, where the elites likely seem less distant and more on your side, few are concerned. It is a useful reminder to politicians of all parties that, while they may find conspiratorial voters troublesome, many come from the most disadvantaged communities.
Second, the results should encourage new anti-establishment parties on both the Left and Right. Thanks to our unusually large sample size of more than 10,000 respondents, we were able to measure the attitudes of voters who chose even the smallest parties in 2019 with a high degree of confidence. More than any of the mainstream parties, including Labour, the voters most prone to a conspiratorial outlook come from the anti-establishment parties: 54% of Brexit Party voters agree with the statement, alongside 45% of Plaid Cymru voters and 43% of SNP voters. So, while the Brexit binary pushed a larger proportion of voters towards the two main parties in 2019, it seems there are millions of voters who remain potentially open to new populist appeals.
There is a specific lesson here for the Labour Party. When I first tested this phrase at YouGov during the Labour leadership election of 2015, the belief that “the world is controlled by a secretive elite” was revealed to be a defining characteristic of supporters of Jeremy Corbyn: 28% of Corbyn’s backers strongly agreed with it, compared to 16% of Yvette Cooper’s and just 7% of Liz Kendall’s. Today, 42% of Labour voters agree with it, of whom 18% strongly agree. Antisemitism may have finally been dealt with in the Labour Party, but the mindset that drove it has not disappeared.
This suggests that, rather than Brexit or the election of Trump, the shock outcome of the 2015 Labour leadership election was the first real marker of the new era of low-trust and high-volatility politics; and the best way to understand it is by looking at the general election that took place immediately before. Today, it seems almost comic to recall, in the context of the eye-watering sums borrowed by successive Conservative governments, that the 2015 election was dominated by technical discussions of exactly what percentage point of austerity was appropriate to cut the deficit. Tory strategist Lynton Crosby calculated — correctly, as it turned out — that if nothing more interesting were discussed, the Tories would win by default. It was a cynical way to treat an electorate, for which he was rewarded with a knighthood. Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, meanwhile, frightened of seeming weak on economics, committed a Labour government to “austerity-lite”.
Come the election, the differences between the main parties were marginal; voters sensed a stitch-up in which the Tories and Labour had colluded to starve them of a more meaningful choice. It is hard to say they were wrong: 2015 saw the UK’s highest ever immigration numbers, for example, but this topic was hardly mentioned in the campaign. A rejection of this non-choice sowed the seeds not only for Corbyn’s election but for the Brexit result the following year.
The story of what happened in the years since 2016 is well-known. First came the attempts to frustrate the Brexit vote, which confirmed voters’ worst suspicions about cross-party collusion and elite disregard for the democratic process. And then came the rolling Covid lockdowns, which in turn radicalised a whole new constituency. There has perhaps never been a policy so life-altering and so little-debated, with a cross-party consensus parroted throughout much of the media. In those dystopian months and years, millions of people lost trust in authorities and turned to alternative explanations. These were not Right-wing activists or spotty teenagers in basements: they were mothers, grandparents and people who had never before been political. It’s hardly surprising that Google recorded the all-time high of searches for “conspiracy theory” in March 2020.
The pattern, from the 2015 election through to the pandemic, is that whenever views are suppressed, distrust and alienation follow. It is when the “Overton Window” is too narrow, not too wide, that politics feels fake and conspiracies abound. The distrust that now cuts across society is not the fault of a few small-time cranks and bad-faith opportunists — it is overwhelmingly the creation of elites who consistently tried to deny the electorate real choices.
Fast forward to the past few months, with the ejection of Liz Truss as prime minister and the rehabilitation of pre-2015 figures such as Jeremy Hunt, and many will be hoping that the era of political turbulence is finally coming to an end. It certainly feels it; for the first time since 2015, there are two technocrats at the helm of Britain’s major political parties. Centrists in both parties are hoping that as Corbynism and Brexit recede into history, the “grown-ups” will be back in charge.
But today’s UnHerd Britain data suggests that, beneath the surface, voter distrust and suspicion are more present than ever; and that the currents that propelled both Jeremy Corbyn and Brexit still run right through Labour’s heartlands. If the 2024 election is anything like 2015 — with the mainstream parties becoming harder and harder to tell apart — it could be the beginning of a whole new wave of democratic revolts.
Freddie Sayers is the Editor-in-Chief & CEO of UnHerd. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of YouGov, and founder of PoliticsHome.
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SubscribeIt is hard to disagree with much of this. I’ve been voting for 47 years and I have never known the current level of distrust in our entire political and governmental system. I agree that much of this has resulted from the continuing attempts to overturn the referendum result, and from the ridiculous authoritarian response to the pandemic.
It was always the British way to poke fun at leaders while also having quite considerable respect for them and reasonably high levels of trust and obedience.
I think those days are gone – at least for a while – as those who lead us, along with those who aspire to lead us, appear to have become universally utterly despised by huge swathes of the population.
It is quite hard to see how this can be anything other than very unhealthy state of affairs, or to see how our completely shattered trust in our political class might ever be repaired. For centuries they were protected from their own shortcomings by an aura and a mystique which was broadly able to survive newspapers, radio, and television. But it was never going to survive the internet. And it has not.
The internet gave the political class a voice – with which, to our horror, it demonstrated its bigotry, its ignorance, and its contempt for the rest of us. And it gave the people a voice to discuss their monstrous shortcomings. The result is now evident to us all.
I also wonder if Brexit as far as the UK is concerned, has also demonstrated just how inept many of our leading politicians and civil servants are. They can no longer blame their failings on the EU so it is all on them now. In time, this may result in a better quality of government, but like most things as a result of Brexit, it’ll likely take till the end of the decade before we see the tangible benefits.
Very much so, as the article on the car industry makes clear.
I read that after seeing your comment, so infuriating.
I read that after seeing your comment, so infuriating.
Absolutely. Regardless of whether we ever see any benefits of Brexit or not, its proponents no longer have the EU to scapegoat for their own ineptitude. I still believe FPTP has delivered us two near identical parties, fighting over the centre ground. PR might reward the likes of Farage and Corbyn but at least it would be more representative. But then I suppose that’s the last thing the “secretive elites” would want.
Two near identical parties that don’t know what they’re doing. There are going to be a lot of unhappy people on Twitter in 2025-26 when Labour get in and they’re likely to be just as inept. PR is one potential way out of this rut, but we need to transform this country top to bottom in many cases.
The first, and most important, step must be to wrest control of education away from the blob. The extent to which young people’s attitudes are now based on entirely unquestioned authoritarian assumptions and the almost total absence of diversity of opinion in education is the greatest obstacle to a revival of democratic values.
The first, and most important, step must be to wrest control of education away from the blob. The extent to which young people’s attitudes are now based on entirely unquestioned authoritarian assumptions and the almost total absence of diversity of opinion in education is the greatest obstacle to a revival of democratic values.
I think our New Zealand experience suggests it probably doesn’t make much difference on a macro level.
Two near identical parties that don’t know what they’re doing. There are going to be a lot of unhappy people on Twitter in 2025-26 when Labour get in and they’re likely to be just as inept. PR is one potential way out of this rut, but we need to transform this country top to bottom in many cases.
I think our New Zealand experience suggests it probably doesn’t make much difference on a macro level.
All agreed, John.
As the real responsibility for running our country leaves the EU and descends on the shoulders of our unexpectedly feeble politicos, some mayhem was always likely to occur. They are going to have to get a grip.
Correct. The only – but fundamental – achievement of Brexit was to get us out of the Empire; to re assert the basic principle of sovereignty and rule by elected representatives. Our problem is that our 40 year life as an EU Province saw power transferred away from national Parliament to a vast supposedly neutral (ha!) non elected technocracy (or NMIs). That was the Brussels Plan and it worked. Our tiny Executive has lost grip on most of the key levers of power and – worse – a shabby political Establishment used to being spoon fed laws by their superiors in Brussels have lost the ability to initiate and govern. Our public sector is in freefall. Let’s hope the habit of governance returns in time. We sorely need Action This Day conviction politicians to lead us out of the maze.
Although many of our public servants are indeed terrifyingly inadequate, I think their failures are more a consequence of the over-centralisation that’s been accelerating for forty years.
Brexit really should be seen as the beginning of a reversal of that process. Of course the Westminster class will resist – even to the point of employing lawfare on a large scale against dissidents, as we’re seeing now – but the opening up of debate brought by the Internet makes a return to pluralism inevitable in the long term.
The establishment has morphed seamlessly from blaming the EU to blaming the voters themselves. The establishment is incapable of accepting that – to paraphrase Ronald Reagan – it is not the solution to the problem, it IS the problem.
Very much so, as the article on the car industry makes clear.
Absolutely. Regardless of whether we ever see any benefits of Brexit or not, its proponents no longer have the EU to scapegoat for their own ineptitude. I still believe FPTP has delivered us two near identical parties, fighting over the centre ground. PR might reward the likes of Farage and Corbyn but at least it would be more representative. But then I suppose that’s the last thing the “secretive elites” would want.
All agreed, John.
As the real responsibility for running our country leaves the EU and descends on the shoulders of our unexpectedly feeble politicos, some mayhem was always likely to occur. They are going to have to get a grip.
Correct. The only – but fundamental – achievement of Brexit was to get us out of the Empire; to re assert the basic principle of sovereignty and rule by elected representatives. Our problem is that our 40 year life as an EU Province saw power transferred away from national Parliament to a vast supposedly neutral (ha!) non elected technocracy (or NMIs). That was the Brussels Plan and it worked. Our tiny Executive has lost grip on most of the key levers of power and – worse – a shabby political Establishment used to being spoon fed laws by their superiors in Brussels have lost the ability to initiate and govern. Our public sector is in freefall. Let’s hope the habit of governance returns in time. We sorely need Action This Day conviction politicians to lead us out of the maze.
Although many of our public servants are indeed terrifyingly inadequate, I think their failures are more a consequence of the over-centralisation that’s been accelerating for forty years.
Brexit really should be seen as the beginning of a reversal of that process. Of course the Westminster class will resist – even to the point of employing lawfare on a large scale against dissidents, as we’re seeing now – but the opening up of debate brought by the Internet makes a return to pluralism inevitable in the long term.
The establishment has morphed seamlessly from blaming the EU to blaming the voters themselves. The establishment is incapable of accepting that – to paraphrase Ronald Reagan – it is not the solution to the problem, it IS the problem.
Well said indeed Sir!
Additionally:
The Iraq war saw Blair lead us into a conflict that resulted in .5 ~ 1M deaths, the rise of ISIS, the migrant crisis and rise in terrorism in Europe. No one is held to account.
The financial crisis saw the banking sector commit vast fraud that has for more than a decade strangled much of the western world with debt. No one is held to account.
A complex has formed around the political institutions, the corporate sectors, (particularly tech), the media and a variety of NGOs. This is a network of aligned interests and those interests aren’t yours.
Of course – how on earth could it ever be any different?
I agree with you. People vote for a party, if they vote at all, and this party is a group of professional politicians. If they are good at anything it is talking : talking without saying anything, without appearing to agree or disagree with the questioner, without any sense of responsibility for what they say.
Amazingly, the people who are sophisticated enough to comment on UnHerd, the top 1% of the country, those with a combined experience of thousands of years – think that these politicians will actually do something good.
The same is true in business. People who ‘talk the talk’ get key jobs and they just don’t have a clue what to do.
I would imagine the top 1% of the country have more exciting things to do than post on here all day.
But you are not taking age into account. Everyone on UnHerd is old, trying to keep the old ways.
Not trying to keep to ‘the old ways’, merely trying to preserve the freedoms we once enjoyed.
Perhaps the ‘old ways’ were better. Thirty years ago most young people in this country could at least aspire to owning a home, had job security and a reasonable standard of healthcare, could afford to have children, could assume their kids were getting a broad education instead of the intensive indoctrination provided now and were not liable to be banged up for saying something innocuous.
Don’t forget: Venezuela was once a free country with a fast-growing economy. It CAN happen here.
In my family group all these life aspirations are still true and being achieved – marriage, kids, home ownership. Maybe we are a lucky family…..or maybe we ARE the elite!!
In my family group all these life aspirations are still true and being achieved – marriage, kids, home ownership. Maybe we are a lucky family…..or maybe we ARE the elite!!
Not trying to keep to ‘the old ways’, merely trying to preserve the freedoms we once enjoyed.
Perhaps the ‘old ways’ were better. Thirty years ago most young people in this country could at least aspire to owning a home, had job security and a reasonable standard of healthcare, could afford to have children, could assume their kids were getting a broad education instead of the intensive indoctrination provided now and were not liable to be banged up for saying something innocuous.
Don’t forget: Venezuela was once a free country with a fast-growing economy. It CAN happen here.
Ah but us decrepit old fossils it is a pleasant diversion from ‘waiting for death’.
So please indulge us!
But you are not taking age into account. Everyone on UnHerd is old, trying to keep the old ways.
Ah but us decrepit old fossils it is a pleasant diversion from ‘waiting for death’.
So please indulge us!
I would imagine the top 1% of the country have more exciting things to do than post on here all day.
I agree with you. People vote for a party, if they vote at all, and this party is a group of professional politicians. If they are good at anything it is talking : talking without saying anything, without appearing to agree or disagree with the questioner, without any sense of responsibility for what they say.
Amazingly, the people who are sophisticated enough to comment on UnHerd, the top 1% of the country, those with a combined experience of thousands of years – think that these politicians will actually do something good.
The same is true in business. People who ‘talk the talk’ get key jobs and they just don’t have a clue what to do.
Yes, but much of that might have happened anyway. ‘Tectonic’ forces are at work among human populations everywhere, and some of what you mention is more the result of them.
I am not by any means a fan of Blair (I’m extremely conservative; small c, unlike he current Conservatives), but I think it’s unfair to load the blame on him.
I think most of what we observe is emergent, not a planned system or construct. To me, this is a more realistic explanation than the typically offered dichotomy of conspiracy or coincidence. It does not preclude either, though.
I only use Blair as an example (okay, I also don’t particularly like him) of a political elite who may act with impunity. The US neocons could certainly be added to the list.
Chaos trumps conspiracy every time.
Chaos trumps conspiracy every time.
If he had been arrested I’m sure he would have blabbed his head off so we could have nabbed those on this side of the pond
Blair was just another in a series of lying low life who could, did and does lie with consummate ease who was never called to account for any of his crimes against the British people. However he was not the only one Heath was another one.
Didn’t you see his pitch at Davos about digital id/vaccine passport. He is very much the problem
I think most of what we observe is emergent, not a planned system or construct. To me, this is a more realistic explanation than the typically offered dichotomy of conspiracy or coincidence. It does not preclude either, though.
I only use Blair as an example (okay, I also don’t particularly like him) of a political elite who may act with impunity. The US neocons could certainly be added to the list.
If he had been arrested I’m sure he would have blabbed his head off so we could have nabbed those on this side of the pond
Blair was just another in a series of lying low life who could, did and does lie with consummate ease who was never called to account for any of his crimes against the British people. However he was not the only one Heath was another one.
Didn’t you see his pitch at Davos about digital id/vaccine passport. He is very much the problem
As the late, great George Carlin memorably put it: “It’s a big, f*****g private club…and you ain’t in it”.
I very much like your use of the excellent term “a network of aligned interests”, as an efficient way to show the distinction from a conspiracy viewpoint.
People are fillu capable of acting in unison without any conscious understanding of the forces and incentives influencing them.
As we saw during Covid and contine to see with the climate hysteria
As we saw during Covid and contine to see with the climate hysteria
Of course – how on earth could it ever be any different?
Yes, but much of that might have happened anyway. ‘Tectonic’ forces are at work among human populations everywhere, and some of what you mention is more the result of them.
I am not by any means a fan of Blair (I’m extremely conservative; small c, unlike he current Conservatives), but I think it’s unfair to load the blame on him.
As the late, great George Carlin memorably put it: “It’s a big, f*****g private club…and you ain’t in it”.
I very much like your use of the excellent term “a network of aligned interests”, as an efficient way to show the distinction from a conspiracy viewpoint.
People are fillu capable of acting in unison without any conscious understanding of the forces and incentives influencing them.
“continuing attempts to overturn the referendum result”
Utter nonsense.
Fact: Britain has left the EU. Fact: No party is seeking to reverse this. Probable fact: The EU doesn’t want Britain back in.
What planet are you on mate?
Well, “mate”, The entire establishment would rather the UK “re-aligned” with the EU. You don’t have to reverse a decision, you merely have to re-align it. I don’t blame them – self-interest is a powerful driver.
I’m on Planet Reality, Frank. The planet in which our political class first tried to cancel the referendum, failed and has ever since done nothing but attempt to discredit it, sabotage it, and eventually to try to reverse it.
Anyone who can’t see that must be living on the planet Zog.
Perhaps not continuing as of this week, but it went on for a long time after the result was announced. I am sure that there are more than a few who would reverse it now, were such a thing possible.
The rejoin terms and conditions would be thrillingly severe and expensive for us, so I think they would like it very much. We would of course have zero power.
Second best from their point of view might be with the UK as a firmly tethered milchcow, which is clearly what the remainer campaigners want.
Well, “mate”, The entire establishment would rather the UK “re-aligned” with the EU. You don’t have to reverse a decision, you merely have to re-align it. I don’t blame them – self-interest is a powerful driver.
I’m on Planet Reality, Frank. The planet in which our political class first tried to cancel the referendum, failed and has ever since done nothing but attempt to discredit it, sabotage it, and eventually to try to reverse it.
Anyone who can’t see that must be living on the planet Zog.
Perhaps not continuing as of this week, but it went on for a long time after the result was announced. I am sure that there are more than a few who would reverse it now, were such a thing possible.
The rejoin terms and conditions would be thrillingly severe and expensive for us, so I think they would like it very much. We would of course have zero power.
Second best from their point of view might be with the UK as a firmly tethered milchcow, which is clearly what the remainer campaigners want.
First 3 paragraphs of your comment are spot-on.
Your last 2 paragraphs are a sentimental attempt (typical of the populist hard left and hard right alike) to absolve the hoi polloi for their mass credulity, semi-literacy and willingness to latch onto any simplistic them-and-us type “answer”.
MPs are ‘of the people’ too. Blaming people you vote for is a bit, er, thick.
Face it, we’re shaved apes, floating in space.
Don’t expect too much.
“To absolve the hoi polloi for their mass credulity, semi-literacy and willingness to latch onto any simplistic them-and-us type “answer”.”
Look in the mirror, “mate”.
No THE is not necessary, hoi means the!
Not my quote, “mate”! Straight from the horse’s mouth! From he who berates others for semi-literacy.
My sincere apologies!
Accepted!
Accepted!
My sincere apologies!
Good spot, but your target is “mate” McCusker rather than polidori.
Thank you, I shall adjust my aim accordingly.
Thank you, I shall adjust my aim accordingly.
Not my quote, “mate”! Straight from the horse’s mouth! From he who berates others for semi-literacy.
Good spot, but your target is “mate” McCusker rather than polidori.
No THE is not necessary, hoi means the!
You speak for yourself old lad – not for me.
“To absolve the hoi polloi for their mass credulity, semi-literacy and willingness to latch onto any simplistic them-and-us type “answer”.”
Look in the mirror, “mate”.
You speak for yourself old lad – not for me.
Distrust in the current political and governmental system.
When I get depressed about all this (frequently) I cheer myself up by going to Parliamentlive.tv to watch some of the select committees at work.
Two uplifting / interesting examples are the griling of Simon Thompson from Royal Mail recently :
https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/6d6c6d30-93b4-4555-a8fc-d7c9d6644c2a
and Dominic Cummings making a passionate case for a UK DARPA in front of the Science and Technology Committee in 2021 and the manner in which the members questioned him :
https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/0e6bc08b-5aee-47c7-af4d-57bea66d7d7f
Great comment. There is no controlling secretive elite however. What exists are numerous (perhaps thousands) powerful people who have significant influence in their field of of affairs, some of which is limited other perhaps more expansive. This shouldn’t be considered as conspiratorial however, it’s merely the machinations of humanity and our society.
“I agree that much of this has resulted from the continuing attempts to overturn the referendum result, and from the ridiculous authoritarian response to the pandemic.”
Absolutely, but I would also add two more factors:-
i. The elite’s enthusiastic adoption of woke.
ii. The elite’s institutionally racist anti-white pandering to Pakistani paedophile rape gangs.
Precisely, well said!
Precisely, well said!
Interesting to compare the impact of the Internet with that of the printing press and the efforts of the elites of that time to maintain their ideological hegemony: in 1515 alone the diocese of Geneva burnt more than 500 ‘witches’.
I also wonder if Brexit as far as the UK is concerned, has also demonstrated just how inept many of our leading politicians and civil servants are. They can no longer blame their failings on the EU so it is all on them now. In time, this may result in a better quality of government, but like most things as a result of Brexit, it’ll likely take till the end of the decade before we see the tangible benefits.
Well said indeed Sir!
Additionally:
The Iraq war saw Blair lead us into a conflict that resulted in .5 ~ 1M deaths, the rise of ISIS, the migrant crisis and rise in terrorism in Europe. No one is held to account.
The financial crisis saw the banking sector commit vast fraud that has for more than a decade strangled much of the western world with debt. No one is held to account.
A complex has formed around the political institutions, the corporate sectors, (particularly tech), the media and a variety of NGOs. This is a network of aligned interests and those interests aren’t yours.
“continuing attempts to overturn the referendum result”
Utter nonsense.
Fact: Britain has left the EU. Fact: No party is seeking to reverse this. Probable fact: The EU doesn’t want Britain back in.
What planet are you on mate?
First 3 paragraphs of your comment are spot-on.
Your last 2 paragraphs are a sentimental attempt (typical of the populist hard left and hard right alike) to absolve the hoi polloi for their mass credulity, semi-literacy and willingness to latch onto any simplistic them-and-us type “answer”.
MPs are ‘of the people’ too. Blaming people you vote for is a bit, er, thick.
Face it, we’re shaved apes, floating in space.
Don’t expect too much.
Distrust in the current political and governmental system.
When I get depressed about all this (frequently) I cheer myself up by going to Parliamentlive.tv to watch some of the select committees at work.
Two uplifting / interesting examples are the griling of Simon Thompson from Royal Mail recently :
https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/6d6c6d30-93b4-4555-a8fc-d7c9d6644c2a
and Dominic Cummings making a passionate case for a UK DARPA in front of the Science and Technology Committee in 2021 and the manner in which the members questioned him :
https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/0e6bc08b-5aee-47c7-af4d-57bea66d7d7f
Great comment. There is no controlling secretive elite however. What exists are numerous (perhaps thousands) powerful people who have significant influence in their field of of affairs, some of which is limited other perhaps more expansive. This shouldn’t be considered as conspiratorial however, it’s merely the machinations of humanity and our society.
“I agree that much of this has resulted from the continuing attempts to overturn the referendum result, and from the ridiculous authoritarian response to the pandemic.”
Absolutely, but I would also add two more factors:-
i. The elite’s enthusiastic adoption of woke.
ii. The elite’s institutionally racist anti-white pandering to Pakistani paedophile rape gangs.
Interesting to compare the impact of the Internet with that of the printing press and the efforts of the elites of that time to maintain their ideological hegemony: in 1515 alone the diocese of Geneva burnt more than 500 ‘witches’.
It is hard to disagree with much of this. I’ve been voting for 47 years and I have never known the current level of distrust in our entire political and governmental system. I agree that much of this has resulted from the continuing attempts to overturn the referendum result, and from the ridiculous authoritarian response to the pandemic.
It was always the British way to poke fun at leaders while also having quite considerable respect for them and reasonably high levels of trust and obedience.
I think those days are gone – at least for a while – as those who lead us, along with those who aspire to lead us, appear to have become universally utterly despised by huge swathes of the population.
It is quite hard to see how this can be anything other than very unhealthy state of affairs, or to see how our completely shattered trust in our political class might ever be repaired. For centuries they were protected from their own shortcomings by an aura and a mystique which was broadly able to survive newspapers, radio, and television. But it was never going to survive the internet. And it has not.
The internet gave the political class a voice – with which, to our horror, it demonstrated its bigotry, its ignorance, and its contempt for the rest of us. And it gave the people a voice to discuss their monstrous shortcomings. The result is now evident to us all.
“Last year, the claim of a migrant to be a ‘child’ was not accepted by Border Force and they classified the individual as an adult – a decision proven correct by an age test which confirmed the man was, in fact, over 25. The man’s lawyers argued that the officers were not qualified to make that decision and he should have been treated as a minor until the tests proved otherwise. The judge agreed. Costs were awarded against Border Force and the migrant was awarded compensation despite the fact he knowingly made false claims.”
Nothing secretive about this elite judgement that means that the Border Force henceforth are supposed to accept clear lies about an immigrant’s age until they can obtain a positive test showing the true facts.
I understand that teeth are a fairly accurate guide to age for ages up to 21. I very much doubt that it is rocket science to get an accurate age within 2 years from some simple medical checks.
It’s astonishing that we’re making this seem so complicated and difficult. And expensive and slow.
There are some people of strongly negative value who’ve got themselves embedded in these processes who need firing. Now.
I may be wrong (again?) but didn’t tne British Dental Association ask/tell/advise it’s members not to take part in that sort of activity.
I may be wrong (again?) but didn’t tne British Dental Association ask/tell/advise it’s members not to take part in that sort of activity.
I understand that teeth are a fairly accurate guide to age for ages up to 21. I very much doubt that it is rocket science to get an accurate age within 2 years from some simple medical checks.
It’s astonishing that we’re making this seem so complicated and difficult. And expensive and slow.
There are some people of strongly negative value who’ve got themselves embedded in these processes who need firing. Now.
“Last year, the claim of a migrant to be a ‘child’ was not accepted by Border Force and they classified the individual as an adult – a decision proven correct by an age test which confirmed the man was, in fact, over 25. The man’s lawyers argued that the officers were not qualified to make that decision and he should have been treated as a minor until the tests proved otherwise. The judge agreed. Costs were awarded against Border Force and the migrant was awarded compensation despite the fact he knowingly made false claims.”
Nothing secretive about this elite judgement that means that the Border Force henceforth are supposed to accept clear lies about an immigrant’s age until they can obtain a positive test showing the true facts.
There is nothing secretive about elite rule. It is entirely open.
Ah, you get there first. It was my first thought upon reading the first line of the article.
Ah, you get there first. It was my first thought upon reading the first line of the article.
There is nothing secretive about elite rule. It is entirely open.
I worked in and around government for 25 plus years and always worked on the old saw ‘never ascribe to malice what you can explain by stupidity’. Yes, there’s a ‘Deep State’ (in my experience) but it is (was?) more of a shared set of assumed and unchallenged values amongst a subset of powerful people. ‘The ghost in the machine’. Things could change, but slowly and incrementally, managed by ‘grown-ups’ in the Civil Service (and having worked with them, I assure you they’re profoundly unaware of their own inadequacies).
Then came Covid. Anyone who doesn’t think the whole thing was not just a shambles but a deeply sinister shambles needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Nudge units. PsyOps. Masks. Virtual house arrest. “Look into her eyes” adverts. Banging pots and pans. Captain Manwaring would be proud at the petty overreaction of 2020-2022.
I would never have thought ‘That Could Happen Here’. It’s what happens when incompetence meets power (I still don’t believe in conspiracies in the tin-foil hat sense). I hope people realise the difference – governments thinking they are doing good can (and have) do the complete opposite.
Great post.
It is not without reason that I sometimes feel that “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions” should be tattooed on everyone’s forehead. The current widespread societal crumbling is, I reckon, precisely the result of too much ‘good intentions’.
It’s enough to make this non-religious person pine for the days of religion. ‘Back in the day’, people had a certain intellectual humility, fostered in part by their awareness of G-d’s limitless power and knowledge, compared to their feeble own. A catastrophic loss.
I understand where you’re coming from as perceiving the loss of religion, or perhaps more precisely the intellectual humility that may have been lost, as catastrophic. I’m more inclined to see it as a necessary step towards a future where we start to come to terms with our humanity without the need for a comfort blanket. I see our current travails as being in the early stages of that process.
Many things can go wrong of course, but providing we don’t destroy ourselves i see no reason not to be positive about this change in our perception of ourselves, and that the necessary adjustments to our intellectual and more importantly, spiritual life will come about.
I’d expect the peers of those aquatic creatures that first crawled upon land, gasping for a different way of breathing until the adaptation took hold, looked upon those making a seemingly foolish existential decision with horror whilst they remained swimming around in the ocean. (I’m not imputing consciousness to them, just using this as a comparison).
I am of mixed minds on your thoughts here (and shame on the person who down-voted, without explaining what they saw as the problem with this comment).
If things don’t crumble a la the end of the Roman Empire (and maybe even if they do, as long as the Dark Ages – and, yes, I know, modern thinking is that they weren’t so dark – which follows doesn’t loose too much [as we have mostly lost e.g. the work of the Oxyrhynchian historian], and is followed by a New Renaissance), I would agree.
But what will the future hold? Will we instead find the solution to Fermi’s Paradox? Who knows!
Thanks for your intelligent reply, this is what the Comments section is about, even if veering off-topic occasionally.
Could you please give another link for the Oxyrhynchian historian, my ‘Safari’ seems to have a problem with it.
Additionally I disagree, the Dark Ages were very dark indeed, in fact a complete catastrophe for humanity from which we have yet to fully recover.
Thanks for your intelligent reply, this is what the Comments section is about, even if veering off-topic occasionally.
Could you please give another link for the Oxyrhynchian historian, my ‘Safari’ seems to have a problem with it.
Additionally I disagree, the Dark Ages were very dark indeed, in fact a complete catastrophe for humanity from which we have yet to fully recover.
I am of mixed minds on your thoughts here (and shame on the person who down-voted, without explaining what they saw as the problem with this comment).
If things don’t crumble a la the end of the Roman Empire (and maybe even if they do, as long as the Dark Ages – and, yes, I know, modern thinking is that they weren’t so dark – which follows doesn’t loose too much [as we have mostly lost e.g. the work of the Oxyrhynchian historian], and is followed by a New Renaissance), I would agree.
But what will the future hold? Will we instead find the solution to Fermi’s Paradox? Who knows!
I understand where you’re coming from as perceiving the loss of religion, or perhaps more precisely the intellectual humility that may have been lost, as catastrophic. I’m more inclined to see it as a necessary step towards a future where we start to come to terms with our humanity without the need for a comfort blanket. I see our current travails as being in the early stages of that process.
Many things can go wrong of course, but providing we don’t destroy ourselves i see no reason not to be positive about this change in our perception of ourselves, and that the necessary adjustments to our intellectual and more importantly, spiritual life will come about.
I’d expect the peers of those aquatic creatures that first crawled upon land, gasping for a different way of breathing until the adaptation took hold, looked upon those making a seemingly foolish existential decision with horror whilst they remained swimming around in the ocean. (I’m not imputing consciousness to them, just using this as a comparison).
Good post. Thanks.
Totally agree. Don’t ascribe a conspiracy to a group of people who are hopelessly inept.
Agreed. Allow me to suggest that you google “Hanlon’s Razor” for a formalised statement of your principle.
Agreed. Allow me to suggest that you google “Hanlon’s Razor” for a formalised statement of your principle.
Indeed. The “c**k-up” theory of political decision-making, combined with Taleb’s naive interventionism or the need to be seen to be “doing something”. Where incompetence meets unintended consequences.
Great post.
It is not without reason that I sometimes feel that “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions” should be tattooed on everyone’s forehead. The current widespread societal crumbling is, I reckon, precisely the result of too much ‘good intentions’.
It’s enough to make this non-religious person pine for the days of religion. ‘Back in the day’, people had a certain intellectual humility, fostered in part by their awareness of G-d’s limitless power and knowledge, compared to their feeble own. A catastrophic loss.
Good post. Thanks.
Totally agree. Don’t ascribe a conspiracy to a group of people who are hopelessly inept.
Indeed. The “c**k-up” theory of political decision-making, combined with Taleb’s naive interventionism or the need to be seen to be “doing something”. Where incompetence meets unintended consequences.
I worked in and around government for 25 plus years and always worked on the old saw ‘never ascribe to malice what you can explain by stupidity’. Yes, there’s a ‘Deep State’ (in my experience) but it is (was?) more of a shared set of assumed and unchallenged values amongst a subset of powerful people. ‘The ghost in the machine’. Things could change, but slowly and incrementally, managed by ‘grown-ups’ in the Civil Service (and having worked with them, I assure you they’re profoundly unaware of their own inadequacies).
Then came Covid. Anyone who doesn’t think the whole thing was not just a shambles but a deeply sinister shambles needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Nudge units. PsyOps. Masks. Virtual house arrest. “Look into her eyes” adverts. Banging pots and pans. Captain Manwaring would be proud at the petty overreaction of 2020-2022.
I would never have thought ‘That Could Happen Here’. It’s what happens when incompetence meets power (I still don’t believe in conspiracies in the tin-foil hat sense). I hope people realise the difference – governments thinking they are doing good can (and have) do the complete opposite.
We don’t need conspiracy theories anymore, the elites, like the finest sickos in horror movies, tell us what they are going to do to us before they do it…
.”“What we are very proud of now is that the young generation like Prime Minister Trudeau and the President of Argentina and so on, that we penetrate the cabinets.” Klaus Schwab
We don’t need conspiracy theories anymore, the elites, like the finest sickos in horror movies, tell us what they are going to do to us before they do it…
.”“What we are very proud of now is that the young generation like Prime Minister Trudeau and the President of Argentina and so on, that we penetrate the cabinets.” Klaus Schwab
OK, when I talk of the Lizard People running the Davos, and thus: WEF (and so influence: WHO, BIS, IMF, FED,MI-6,DHS, NIH, CDC, CCP, FDA, CIA, FBI, NHS, DOD, et al) I do not actually mean 5th dimension alien lizards disguised as humans like Davide Icke does (and 12 Million Americans believe it as well) I mean it as code for the secretive Elites who own the Deep States, the Education, Entertainment, Social Media, MSM, and all Government Parties, Corporatocracy, Biden, Boris and (the Uniparty) basically Lizard People being the code for: Elites.
Because if I wanted to be literal, to actually call the Elites as they are; and thus all the world’s ills, by name – to say what actually is in charge of so many things now days – I would say it is Satan. Lizard people is just code so I get less down votes, as people here cannot handle the truth.
The world is getting all F***ed Up! and it is Darkness which is spreading over the world. Evil is loose, it is worse than imaginary Lizard People….. Ethics, Morality, Honour, Charity, Family, Faith, Sacrifice, Duty, Decency, Courage, are dieing…… and replacing then is postmodernist Nihilism…..as belief in good and evil is lost….and so Evil may succeed. The Devil’s greatest strength lies in people not believing he exists….
Yeates,
”Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
Although Freddy would call that a conspiracy theory….. I wonder if Giles would……
While I upvoted you because you said important things that ring true, most of the people of the world are actually good, moral, ethical, family oriented etc.
ALL of us have the capacity & tendency to overlook our own failings, first small ones, then when not mindfully acknowledged and corrected, bigger & worse transgressions happen, and then one starts to justify oneself as overall a good person by turning a blind eye to all the evil one unknowingly or knowingly committed . Then apathy creeps & we turn a blind eye to bigger and bigger evil in societies & everyone overlooks these small to big failings, the societies are a mirror image of the individuals that form it. We start accepting failures as norm and project blame at someone else ( society), partly due to lethargy to self correct & partly due to despondency at the society.
Perhaps what conspiracy theorist are feeling is that things are just not right, there is no desire to self censor, hypocrisy is rife, no governmental or societal body that shouts out the “evil”. Too many self centred individuals, for whom wealth and passions are the new god.
Science was meant to be pure and have sound reason behind it, now is conduit to serving an end, no longer a journey of discovery. Its purity has been polluted with greedy & egocentric loud voices who think they represent the society’s best interests.
The world seems, more than ever before, in a state of flux. There is indeed awakening as well. Awakening can cause confusion when new ideas are abounding, some truly visionary, others even more devious. Old & new ways are being challenged . Individually, to stay on a good path, we need to be able to recognise what’s actually good . I feel it can be achieved by self control and self awareness. All religions try to contain those messages. But as is our nature, there are confused individuals who have the tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water. Even atheists are good & have a moral code that govern them.
Self awareness and self control are the best way to keep the “devil” at bay. I feel I can make a difference if I act as I should, with true inner reflection and brutal honest assessment of myself.
Are you referring to the descendants of the Medieval Lizard Union?
As I recall it was dedicated to throwing the Teutonic Knights out of Poland.
I agree with your basic points (things are crumbling at a deep level, etc), but I was struck by your use of “Satan”. Do you mean that literally (as in, what’s going on is the result of his handiwork), or metaphorically?
I ask because I myself am entirely non-religious (somewhere between agnostic and atheist – as in, I suspect G-d does not exist, but cannot prove that He doesn’t), so to me, Satan exists only as a metaphor (albeit a very useful and valuable one).
Still, if you are, do be aware that you may have intellectual/ideological allies outside the boundary of ‘religious people’ – as I see that I may have such allies within (at least, those within who are prepared to accept me without insisting that they cannot accept me unless I conform).
Agreed, I’m not remotely religious, yet I do think that (metaphorically; allegorically) some kind of evil is rising that is manifesting itself in chaos, incivility, greed, brutality, corruption, and a sort of psychopathic transformation of all our institutions.
I appreciate that might sound overblown, but it’s just what I think. And I don’t mean it in any literal kind of angels vs demons way, but simply that the capacity for all the things I mentioned above does exist in humans, and does arise from extreme centralisation of power, as has happened across the west — power is being funnelled ever upwards into the hands of the totally unaccountable and unreachable (in the massive bureaucracies, the mega-corporations, and the supra-national entities). They are behaving like psychopaths, and that is very dangerous and damaging for us all, given how much power they’ve managed to concentrate, and the manner in which they’ve merged with each other.
Incidentally, the merger of the power bases of State and Capital/Business is a dictionary definition of fascism. It’s totalitarian; total… in that both power bases merged and the resulting concentration results in psychopathic levels of brutality, inhumanity and corruption… and that saturates and surrounds everything in a kind of inescapable way. Total capture, of markets, of culture, of levers of power.
…When I look at Davos, and what groups like the WEF are/do, to my eye this is just plainly a revival of fascism — they are arranging mergers of the power bases of State and Capital, and proposing to make them one (“Public / Private Partnerships”). And they want to do all this behind closed doors, out of view and reach of the public who this power will be exercised upon. In some respects, I wish we’d all just start calling it what it is.
Klaus isn’t proposing a new economic model. He’s proposing fascism. Again. This time he’s adding some “green” window dressing and has access to frightening tech tools that will make the 2.0 version a lot more feudal and a lot more global than the 1.0 version, but the core proposition is the same.
Your comment is absolutely spot-on. Western institutions are turning psychopathic. However I believe it doesn’t take a lot to stop them. Just a few people to call it out when they encounter it.
I believe you are wildly optimistic. The rot is already deeply entrenched. Goebbels seduced a nation with ease with his relatively primitive propaganda machine. We are now 90 years of sophistication in social psychology, psy-ops, surveillance and other technologies of manipulation further on. Dissident voices have been teased out of the crowd and are now marked men. Our world is already an intriguing mix of 1984 and Brave New Worlds.
For a remarkable glimpse of currently unfolding events, the serious student should dust off their Bible and refresh their understanding of its prophetic literature, particularly the books of Daniel, Revelation, Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2. The history of the future is clearly on display.
As the Aussies say “you’re dreaming”
I believe you are wildly optimistic. The rot is already deeply entrenched. Goebbels seduced a nation with ease with his relatively primitive propaganda machine. We are now 90 years of sophistication in social psychology, psy-ops, surveillance and other technologies of manipulation further on. Dissident voices have been teased out of the crowd and are now marked men. Our world is already an intriguing mix of 1984 and Brave New Worlds.
For a remarkable glimpse of currently unfolding events, the serious student should dust off their Bible and refresh their understanding of its prophetic literature, particularly the books of Daniel, Revelation, Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2. The history of the future is clearly on display.
As the Aussies say “you’re dreaming”
Do not exclude the UN from this totalitarian cabal. Agenda 21 has a lot to answer for. Beware Greeks carrying gifts people
Your comment is absolutely spot-on. Western institutions are turning psychopathic. However I believe it doesn’t take a lot to stop them. Just a few people to call it out when they encounter it.
Do not exclude the UN from this totalitarian cabal. Agenda 21 has a lot to answer for. Beware Greeks carrying gifts people
Agreed, I’m not remotely religious, yet I do think that (metaphorically; allegorically) some kind of evil is rising that is manifesting itself in chaos, incivility, greed, brutality, corruption, and a sort of psychopathic transformation of all our institutions.
I appreciate that might sound overblown, but it’s just what I think. And I don’t mean it in any literal kind of angels vs demons way, but simply that the capacity for all the things I mentioned above does exist in humans, and does arise from extreme centralisation of power, as has happened across the west — power is being funnelled ever upwards into the hands of the totally unaccountable and unreachable (in the massive bureaucracies, the mega-corporations, and the supra-national entities). They are behaving like psychopaths, and that is very dangerous and damaging for us all, given how much power they’ve managed to concentrate, and the manner in which they’ve merged with each other.
Incidentally, the merger of the power bases of State and Capital/Business is a dictionary definition of fascism. It’s totalitarian; total… in that both power bases merged and the resulting concentration results in psychopathic levels of brutality, inhumanity and corruption… and that saturates and surrounds everything in a kind of inescapable way. Total capture, of markets, of culture, of levers of power.
…When I look at Davos, and what groups like the WEF are/do, to my eye this is just plainly a revival of fascism — they are arranging mergers of the power bases of State and Capital, and proposing to make them one (“Public / Private Partnerships”). And they want to do all this behind closed doors, out of view and reach of the public who this power will be exercised upon. In some respects, I wish we’d all just start calling it what it is.
Klaus isn’t proposing a new economic model. He’s proposing fascism. Again. This time he’s adding some “green” window dressing and has access to frightening tech tools that will make the 2.0 version a lot more feudal and a lot more global than the 1.0 version, but the core proposition is the same.
While I upvoted you because you said important things that ring true, most of the people of the world are actually good, moral, ethical, family oriented etc.
ALL of us have the capacity & tendency to overlook our own failings, first small ones, then when not mindfully acknowledged and corrected, bigger & worse transgressions happen, and then one starts to justify oneself as overall a good person by turning a blind eye to all the evil one unknowingly or knowingly committed . Then apathy creeps & we turn a blind eye to bigger and bigger evil in societies & everyone overlooks these small to big failings, the societies are a mirror image of the individuals that form it. We start accepting failures as norm and project blame at someone else ( society), partly due to lethargy to self correct & partly due to despondency at the society.
Perhaps what conspiracy theorist are feeling is that things are just not right, there is no desire to self censor, hypocrisy is rife, no governmental or societal body that shouts out the “evil”. Too many self centred individuals, for whom wealth and passions are the new god.
Science was meant to be pure and have sound reason behind it, now is conduit to serving an end, no longer a journey of discovery. Its purity has been polluted with greedy & egocentric loud voices who think they represent the society’s best interests.
The world seems, more than ever before, in a state of flux. There is indeed awakening as well. Awakening can cause confusion when new ideas are abounding, some truly visionary, others even more devious. Old & new ways are being challenged . Individually, to stay on a good path, we need to be able to recognise what’s actually good . I feel it can be achieved by self control and self awareness. All religions try to contain those messages. But as is our nature, there are confused individuals who have the tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water. Even atheists are good & have a moral code that govern them.
Self awareness and self control are the best way to keep the “devil” at bay. I feel I can make a difference if I act as I should, with true inner reflection and brutal honest assessment of myself.
Are you referring to the descendants of the Medieval Lizard Union?
As I recall it was dedicated to throwing the Teutonic Knights out of Poland.
I agree with your basic points (things are crumbling at a deep level, etc), but I was struck by your use of “Satan”. Do you mean that literally (as in, what’s going on is the result of his handiwork), or metaphorically?
I ask because I myself am entirely non-religious (somewhere between agnostic and atheist – as in, I suspect G-d does not exist, but cannot prove that He doesn’t), so to me, Satan exists only as a metaphor (albeit a very useful and valuable one).
Still, if you are, do be aware that you may have intellectual/ideological allies outside the boundary of ‘religious people’ – as I see that I may have such allies within (at least, those within who are prepared to accept me without insisting that they cannot accept me unless I conform).
OK, when I talk of the Lizard People running the Davos, and thus: WEF (and so influence: WHO, BIS, IMF, FED,MI-6,DHS, NIH, CDC, CCP, FDA, CIA, FBI, NHS, DOD, et al) I do not actually mean 5th dimension alien lizards disguised as humans like Davide Icke does (and 12 Million Americans believe it as well) I mean it as code for the secretive Elites who own the Deep States, the Education, Entertainment, Social Media, MSM, and all Government Parties, Corporatocracy, Biden, Boris and (the Uniparty) basically Lizard People being the code for: Elites.
Because if I wanted to be literal, to actually call the Elites as they are; and thus all the world’s ills, by name – to say what actually is in charge of so many things now days – I would say it is Satan. Lizard people is just code so I get less down votes, as people here cannot handle the truth.
The world is getting all F***ed Up! and it is Darkness which is spreading over the world. Evil is loose, it is worse than imaginary Lizard People….. Ethics, Morality, Honour, Charity, Family, Faith, Sacrifice, Duty, Decency, Courage, are dieing…… and replacing then is postmodernist Nihilism…..as belief in good and evil is lost….and so Evil may succeed. The Devil’s greatest strength lies in people not believing he exists….
Yeates,
”Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
Although Freddy would call that a conspiracy theory….. I wonder if Giles would……
I have no issue with being ruled by an elite, and I really don’t care much if they’re secretive. What bothers me is being ruled by an incompetent, corrupt elite.
There will always be a ruling elite, regardless of the political system. In a democracy, however, the elite are supposed to respect and reflect the will of the people. This isn’t happening now.
In fact, I don’t think the ruling elite have much connection any longer with the working class and large swaths of the middle class. That either changes or things could get ugly for everyone.
Not just incompetent and corrupt, but also insane (which I truly mean, in the sense of ‘detached from reality’ – this is not a randomly cast insult) – although that may be subsumed within “incompetent”.
I offer as proof – although this is but an example – the widely-held belief that one can change from a man to a woman (or vice versa) by simply wishing it so.
The list of others is so long it would take a book to express them all, but here’s another one, from a far-distant corner: the rush to ‘invest’ in crypto-currencies. That’s like saying one is going to ‘invest’ in Swiss francs. They’re both a medium of exchange, not an asset that will produce income and/or increase in value (although the francs may do the latter, if the underlying national economy does well).
Note that in both cases, an aspect of “1984” is upon us – Newspeak. The meaning of words is being modified, for other ends.
Don’t forget net zero. We know it will lead to economic calamity and they know it will lead to economic calamity. And yet we are here, racing toward economic calamity.
“I offer as proof – although this is but an example – the widely-held belief that one can change from a man to a woman (or vice versa) by simply wishing it so.”
YES! Exactly.
Don’t forget net zero. We know it will lead to economic calamity and they know it will lead to economic calamity. And yet we are here, racing toward economic calamity.
“I offer as proof – although this is but an example – the widely-held belief that one can change from a man to a woman (or vice versa) by simply wishing it so.”
YES! Exactly.
The problem is the elite aren’t our elected representatives but operate outside of democracy – UN, IMF, World Bank, EU. Then you get the billionaires and media moguls. The more I think of it the more I’m Inclined to think of Private Frazer’s catchphrase in Dad’s Army: “We’re Doomed”
Not just incompetent and corrupt, but also insane (which I truly mean, in the sense of ‘detached from reality’ – this is not a randomly cast insult) – although that may be subsumed within “incompetent”.
I offer as proof – although this is but an example – the widely-held belief that one can change from a man to a woman (or vice versa) by simply wishing it so.
The list of others is so long it would take a book to express them all, but here’s another one, from a far-distant corner: the rush to ‘invest’ in crypto-currencies. That’s like saying one is going to ‘invest’ in Swiss francs. They’re both a medium of exchange, not an asset that will produce income and/or increase in value (although the francs may do the latter, if the underlying national economy does well).
Note that in both cases, an aspect of “1984” is upon us – Newspeak. The meaning of words is being modified, for other ends.
The problem is the elite aren’t our elected representatives but operate outside of democracy – UN, IMF, World Bank, EU. Then you get the billionaires and media moguls. The more I think of it the more I’m Inclined to think of Private Frazer’s catchphrase in Dad’s Army: “We’re Doomed”
I have no issue with being ruled by an elite, and I really don’t care much if they’re secretive. What bothers me is being ruled by an incompetent, corrupt elite.
There will always be a ruling elite, regardless of the political system. In a democracy, however, the elite are supposed to respect and reflect the will of the people. This isn’t happening now.
In fact, I don’t think the ruling elite have much connection any longer with the working class and large swaths of the middle class. That either changes or things could get ugly for everyone.
For sure I don’t know who governs Britain.
Why and by whom was Johnson ejected?
Who torpedoed Truss?
Who decided that Sunak should be Prime Minister?
Are all these events organic, natural, expressing the will of the people? I don’t think so…
You guys want a plebiscite democracy. Not a representative one. You just haven’t quite worked that out yet, as most of you conspiracy theorists seemingly are unaware of the difference.
We don’t have a representative democracy. Didn’t you notice?
We don’t really have much of a democracy in the UK now. It has been leached away from the voters.
We don’t have a representative democracy. Didn’t you notice?
We don’t really have much of a democracy in the UK now. It has been leached away from the voters.
And who also quarterbacked the multi-pronged destruction of Corbyn?
Freddy’s sideswipe at Labour anti-semitism suggests he has some unlearning to do on that front. There is not an anti-semitic bone in Corbyn’s body.
Bo11ocks.
Seconded.
Please see above!
Please see above!
Please see above!
It is always hard for one’s assumptions and beliefs to be confounded especially when the counter narrative contradicts the prevailing and in this case manufactured mass consensus. But I humbly invite you to review the work of former Guardian dep foreign editor Jonathan Cook who was based until recently in Nazareth, at https://www.jonathan-cook.net/2022-02-17/uproar-smearing-starmer-corbyn/ among his other articles on the subject, and also https://www.mintpressnews.com/britains-labour-party-became-criminal-conspiracy-members/282071/ Israel was fully involved working with Labour right (and dear old 77th brigade working magic too)
Seconded.
Please see above!
It is always hard for one’s assumptions and beliefs to be confounded especially when the counter narrative contradicts the prevailing and in this case manufactured mass consensus. But I humbly invite you to review the work of former Guardian dep foreign editor Jonathan Cook who was based until recently in Nazareth, at https://www.jonathan-cook.net/2022-02-17/uproar-smearing-starmer-corbyn/ among his other articles on the subject, and also https://www.mintpressnews.com/britains-labour-party-became-criminal-conspiracy-members/282071/ Israel was fully involved working with Labour right (and dear old 77th brigade working magic too)
V
Bo11ocks.
V
You guys want a plebiscite democracy. Not a representative one. You just haven’t quite worked that out yet, as most of you conspiracy theorists seemingly are unaware of the difference.
And who also quarterbacked the multi-pronged destruction of Corbyn?
Freddy’s sideswipe at Labour anti-semitism suggests he has some unlearning to do on that front. There is not an anti-semitic bone in Corbyn’s body.
For sure I don’t know who governs Britain.
Why and by whom was Johnson ejected?
Who torpedoed Truss?
Who decided that Sunak should be Prime Minister?
Are all these events organic, natural, expressing the will of the people? I don’t think so…
With apologies to Philip Larkin …
They f**k things up, your Gates & Schwabs.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill the world with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were f****d up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t trust the globalists yourself.
That’s really good!
That’s really good!
With apologies to Philip Larkin …
They f**k things up, your Gates & Schwabs.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill the world with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were f****d up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t trust the globalists yourself.
I reckon I’m about as far from a conspiracy theorist as their is, but to me the observation that ‘there is an elite which tries to control things, often (usually?) in their own interests’ is about as novel as saying ‘gravity exists’.
A great article, filled to the brim with important insights, e.g. “It is when the “Overton Window” is too narrow, not too wide, that politics feels fake and conspiracies abound. The distrust that now cuts across society is not the fault of a few small-time cranks and bad-faith opportunists — it is overwhelmingly the creation of elites who consistently tried to deny the electorate real choices.” Ba-da-boom!
> “It is when the “Overton Window” is too narrow, not too wide, that politics feels fake and conspiracies abound.
As the great philosopher Sir Francis Bacon observed in the early 1600s:
“Tempests of state are commonly greatest when things grow to equality; as natural tempests are greatest about the equinox: and as there are certain hollow blasts of wind and secret swellings of seas before a tempest, so are there in states: “Ille etiam cæcos instare tumultus Sæpe monet, fraudesque et operta tumescere bella.”
(Not sure what the Latin quote means, or where it is from, but doubtless every other reader here will be familiar with it 🙂 )
Edit:
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Essays_of_Francis_Bacon_1908_Scott.djvu/170
He also often warns the blind that tumult is imminent, and frauds and wars are ripening undetected.
He also often warns the blind that tumult is imminent, and frauds and wars are ripening undetected.
> “It is when the “Overton Window” is too narrow, not too wide, that politics feels fake and conspiracies abound.
As the great philosopher Sir Francis Bacon observed in the early 1600s:
“Tempests of state are commonly greatest when things grow to equality; as natural tempests are greatest about the equinox: and as there are certain hollow blasts of wind and secret swellings of seas before a tempest, so are there in states: “Ille etiam cæcos instare tumultus Sæpe monet, fraudesque et operta tumescere bella.”
(Not sure what the Latin quote means, or where it is from, but doubtless every other reader here will be familiar with it 🙂 )
Edit:
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Essays_of_Francis_Bacon_1908_Scott.djvu/170
I reckon I’m about as far from a conspiracy theorist as their is, but to me the observation that ‘there is an elite which tries to control things, often (usually?) in their own interests’ is about as novel as saying ‘gravity exists’.
A great article, filled to the brim with important insights, e.g. “It is when the “Overton Window” is too narrow, not too wide, that politics feels fake and conspiracies abound. The distrust that now cuts across society is not the fault of a few small-time cranks and bad-faith opportunists — it is overwhelmingly the creation of elites who consistently tried to deny the electorate real choices.” Ba-da-boom!
I’m a bit worried about these UnHerd polls – I think the questions are wrong… or at least badly phrased.
This week its “The world is controlled by a secretive elite.”” Which leaves those who believe the world (or at least the UK) is run by an unelected cabal of elites in a difficult position – no I don’t agree with the exact wording but I do agree with the sentiment.
Last week’s question was equally loaded – using a form of double negative to confuse the subject – I suspect that there are large numbers who didn’t realise their answer would be interpreted as “we got Brexit wrong”
I don’t think we learn anything useful from opinion polls that ask one highly loaded question and have no room for nuance.
As Yes Minister accurately satirised opinion polls:
Are you worried about the number of young people without jobs?
Are you worried about the rise in crime among teenagers?
Do you think there is lack of discipline in our comprehensive schools?
Do you think young people welcome some authority and leadership in their lives?
Do you think they’ll respond to a challenge?
Would you be in favour of reintroducing National Service?”
Amen to this observation.
Would like to be privy to what assumptions they used in their MRP modelling as well.
However, 10/10 on the clickbait / number of comments measure !
As Yes Minister accurately satirised opinion polls:
Are you worried about the number of young people without jobs?
Are you worried about the rise in crime among teenagers?
Do you think there is lack of discipline in our comprehensive schools?
Do you think young people welcome some authority and leadership in their lives?
Do you think they’ll respond to a challenge?
Would you be in favour of reintroducing National Service?”
Amen to this observation.
Would like to be privy to what assumptions they used in their MRP modelling as well.
However, 10/10 on the clickbait / number of comments measure !
I’m a bit worried about these UnHerd polls – I think the questions are wrong… or at least badly phrased.
This week its “The world is controlled by a secretive elite.”” Which leaves those who believe the world (or at least the UK) is run by an unelected cabal of elites in a difficult position – no I don’t agree with the exact wording but I do agree with the sentiment.
Last week’s question was equally loaded – using a form of double negative to confuse the subject – I suspect that there are large numbers who didn’t realise their answer would be interpreted as “we got Brexit wrong”
I don’t think we learn anything useful from opinion polls that ask one highly loaded question and have no room for nuance.
Beware! Yesterday’s essay entitled “Will the Ukraine survive Russia’s spring offensive?” garnered 60 comments.
As of 0732GMT today only 16 have escaped the Censor’s knife.
I noticed. I don’t think they liked my facts. I was half way through toasting Billy Bob and poof, flagged off again I think.
I can see 69 now.
Said that, at UnHerd they try their best to sow distrust..
I don’t think so, I’ve been posting here a while, I replied to a poster, two minutes later the whole lot was flagged off, pretty late last night so I doubt it was unherd.
Ms Emery as Arkadian X has kindly noted, as of 10.00GMT ‘they’ are back!
Completely bonkers!
I suspect other users not so open to the different anti war arguments attempting shadow ban by persistent flagging. It happened on the last thread too. Lowest of the low. Its not a problem, they will undermine themselves eventually.
An obvious solution to that is for comment suspends to take effect only on those flagged by more than one person. Wisdom of the crowd and all that.
Heavily downvoted comments are removed too and that is almost certainly automated.
It’s a reason I rarely downvote as disagreeing (even strongly) with something is not reason for it to be removed.
These were not down voted, my last post late last night was only up for five minutes it didn’t have chance….
I had no idea that happened. I thought it was just expressing an opinion on the comment. I will desist downvoting forthwith
These were not down voted, my last post late last night was only up for five minutes it didn’t have chance….
I had no idea that happened. I thought it was just expressing an opinion on the comment. I will desist downvoting forthwith
An obvious solution to that is for comment suspends to take effect only on those flagged by more than one person. Wisdom of the crowd and all that.
Heavily downvoted comments are removed too and that is almost certainly automated.
It’s a reason I rarely downvote as disagreeing (even strongly) with something is not reason for it to be removed.
I suspect other users not so open to the different anti war arguments attempting shadow ban by persistent flagging. It happened on the last thread too. Lowest of the low. Its not a problem, they will undermine themselves eventually.
Ms Emery as Arkadian X has kindly noted, as of 10.00GMT ‘they’ are back!
Completely bonkers!
Thanks!
What on earth is going on?
I don’t think so, I’ve been posting here a while, I replied to a poster, two minutes later the whole lot was flagged off, pretty late last night so I doubt it was unherd.
Thanks!
What on earth is going on?
This is interesting. Your saying that Unheard removes comments on a regular bias? That would be truly ironic given their name.
Yes they ‘disappear’ for some hours, then reappear! By which time the discussion is usually dead!
So they are effectively unherd. Any particular kind of comments?
As far as I know I’m 0-3 getting comments about race and Wu H@n F1u past the censors or flaggers; though I haven’t checked to see if these ever resurfaced.
I began to suspect certain phrases, such as “Wu H@n F1u” or “bl@ck undercla55,” when properly spelled, tended to lead to Disappearing Comment Syndrome.
I locate my most hyperbolic tone when it comes to the War of the Sexes but somehow my chauvinistic commentary manages to survive unscathed for all to see.
As far as I can tell, the articles with the greatest number of comments in purgatory, presumably awaiting judgment, tend to be about Russia and Ukraine.
‘I began to suspect certain phrases, such as “Wu H@n F1u” or “bl@ck undercla55,” when properly spelled, tended to lead to Disappearing Comment Syndrome.’
Um just no. I have never posted anything with anything that bloody stupid in it. These are on the Ukraine war.
‘I began to suspect certain phrases, such as “Wu H@n F1u” or “bl@ck undercla55,” when properly spelled, tended to lead to Disappearing Comment Syndrome.’
Um just no. I have never posted anything with anything that bloody stupid in it. These are on the Ukraine war.
As far as I know I’m 0-3 getting comments about race and Wu H@n F1u past the censors or flaggers; though I haven’t checked to see if these ever resurfaced.
I began to suspect certain phrases, such as “Wu H@n F1u” or “bl@ck undercla55,” when properly spelled, tended to lead to Disappearing Comment Syndrome.
I locate my most hyperbolic tone when it comes to the War of the Sexes but somehow my chauvinistic commentary manages to survive unscathed for all to see.
As far as I can tell, the articles with the greatest number of comments in purgatory, presumably awaiting judgment, tend to be about Russia and Ukraine.
So they are effectively unherd. Any particular kind of comments?
Yes they ‘disappear’ for some hours, then reappear! By which time the discussion is usually dead!
I noticed. I don’t think they liked my facts. I was half way through toasting Billy Bob and poof, flagged off again I think.
I can see 69 now.
Said that, at UnHerd they try their best to sow distrust..
This is interesting. Your saying that Unheard removes comments on a regular bias? That would be truly ironic given their name.
Beware! Yesterday’s essay entitled “Will the Ukraine survive Russia’s spring offensive?” garnered 60 comments.
As of 0732GMT today only 16 have escaped the Censor’s knife.
The world is controlled by a secretive elite. Hmmm.
The world is controlled by an elite – most definitely. Can’t people see that our governments have always been elites? Maybe from 1945 – 1950 it was less so.
Only 100 years ago did we progress to universal suffrage. Before that, our wonderful system was run by (unelected) elites. When voting for all came along, only public school types had the confidence to stand up and speak and, thereby, get elected. WW2 evened things up for a while but then the voters became complacent and forgot to vote. So the elites took over again. Margaret Thatcher was a rare ray of sunshine but she was a loner.
Since then Blair, Brown, Cameron, Johnson et al have been in charge, all of them part of the elite. We do not have a democracy – we are ruled by intermediaries of both major parties.
The world is controlled by a secretive elite. Hmmm.
The world is controlled by an elite – most definitely. Can’t people see that our governments have always been elites? Maybe from 1945 – 1950 it was less so.
Only 100 years ago did we progress to universal suffrage. Before that, our wonderful system was run by (unelected) elites. When voting for all came along, only public school types had the confidence to stand up and speak and, thereby, get elected. WW2 evened things up for a while but then the voters became complacent and forgot to vote. So the elites took over again. Margaret Thatcher was a rare ray of sunshine but she was a loner.
Since then Blair, Brown, Cameron, Johnson et al have been in charge, all of them part of the elite. We do not have a democracy – we are ruled by intermediaries of both major parties.
I’ve already criticised the survey methodology for making assertions rather than asking questions. However in this instance “The world is controlled by a secretive elite.” seems to have touched a nerve.
I suspect that most ‘secret conspiracies’ are just self-interested people influencing events in their favour, and so by their nature becoming part of the ‘elite’. That doesn’t mean to say that this ‘unguided self-interest’ doesn’t affect the real world as if it were a real conspiracy. But in view of the ‘conspiracy or c**k-up’ test, most conspiracies are neither hidden or the result of competence. Just look around you…
I’ve already criticised the survey methodology for making assertions rather than asking questions. However in this instance “The world is controlled by a secretive elite.” seems to have touched a nerve.
I suspect that most ‘secret conspiracies’ are just self-interested people influencing events in their favour, and so by their nature becoming part of the ‘elite’. That doesn’t mean to say that this ‘unguided self-interest’ doesn’t affect the real world as if it were a real conspiracy. But in view of the ‘conspiracy or c**k-up’ test, most conspiracies are neither hidden or the result of competence. Just look around you…
“People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” (Adam Smith)
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting” (Sun Tzu)
The phrase ‘conspiracy theory’ is itself problematic. It can refer to false and bizarre beliefs about conspiracies, which at times have a paranoid aspect to them, and also seem akin to psychotic delusions. However, to dismiss anything that alleges or implies a conspiracy as being therefore such a ‘conspiracy theory’, is quite wrong. To believe that people, and in particular powerful and influential people, do not at times conspire together is very naive.
It has also become a useful term for those who do not want their activities scrutinised. In February 2020 there was published a letter in The Lancet, with many signatories. It stated that: “We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin.”
Those signatories stated that they had ‘no competing interests’. Except that one of them, who was mainly responsible for the letter, ran the EcoHealth Alliance, which channeled money to that laboratory in Wuhan for ‘gain of function’ research, which at times involves altering coronaviruses to make them more infectious or harmful.
The phrase used in the questionnaire, “The world is controlled by a secretive elite”, is itself problematic and ambiguous, because it seems to point to a more paranoid belief about an elite conspiracy. However, if one recognises that Western democracy has been seriously undermined, it is important to explore how this has happened and who has been involved.
“People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” (Adam Smith)
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting” (Sun Tzu)
The phrase ‘conspiracy theory’ is itself problematic. It can refer to false and bizarre beliefs about conspiracies, which at times have a paranoid aspect to them, and also seem akin to psychotic delusions. However, to dismiss anything that alleges or implies a conspiracy as being therefore such a ‘conspiracy theory’, is quite wrong. To believe that people, and in particular powerful and influential people, do not at times conspire together is very naive.
It has also become a useful term for those who do not want their activities scrutinised. In February 2020 there was published a letter in The Lancet, with many signatories. It stated that: “We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin.”
Those signatories stated that they had ‘no competing interests’. Except that one of them, who was mainly responsible for the letter, ran the EcoHealth Alliance, which channeled money to that laboratory in Wuhan for ‘gain of function’ research, which at times involves altering coronaviruses to make them more infectious or harmful.
The phrase used in the questionnaire, “The world is controlled by a secretive elite”, is itself problematic and ambiguous, because it seems to point to a more paranoid belief about an elite conspiracy. However, if one recognises that Western democracy has been seriously undermined, it is important to explore how this has happened and who has been involved.
“The world is controlled by a secretive elite.”
Completely inaccurate. There’s nothing secretive about them.
edit – beaten to the punch by Jeremy.
“The world is controlled by a secretive elite.”
Completely inaccurate. There’s nothing secretive about them.
edit – beaten to the punch by Jeremy.
It’s not the best-phrased question, but this is my interpretation of the results.
A common graph of political views has a vertical political axis of authoritarian vs libertarian and a horizontal left-right axis. What we currently see is a switch in political focus from the horizontal to the vertical.
The age of austerity polarised the horizontal axis as we watched the wealth transfer upwards, but then with Covid, we saw a switch of focus to the vertical axis, from our loosely libertarian western societies to authoritarian ones, and we have become aware that things have changed, and we’re looking over our shoulders because we are now concerned such things could happen again.
The billionaires got even richer and post-pandemic we see that wealth transfer is accelerating; we seem powerless to stop it. Some of these billionaires now look like Bond villains, and more people have become aware that they meet up with governments in various ways around the world, at Davos, COP, G20, B20 etc. and that their wealth is now heavily entwined with the IMF, UN, WHO and other transnational bodies.
They don’t in any way hide what they do. They advertise it; the WEF spams social media with it. There is no mastermind, not even the sinister Teutonic megalomaniac, nor the messiah from M$, but there is a generally shared ideology. None of this is a conspiracy theory.
Returning to the question. People at the bottom of the pile, wherever they are on that left-right axis, have had a rough deal in the age of austerity, and then when they were out working under Covid, whilst the laptop class were sat at home chiding them for not wearing masks or getting vaccinated.
They are more primed to see what is going on than those who are comfortable. I think that explains the 2019 voting figures chart. What we are seeing originates in 2008, which explained Brexit, and that is what explains the percentages in the answers.
This is populist dissent against technocracy.
100% correct.
100% correct.
It’s not the best-phrased question, but this is my interpretation of the results.
A common graph of political views has a vertical political axis of authoritarian vs libertarian and a horizontal left-right axis. What we currently see is a switch in political focus from the horizontal to the vertical.
The age of austerity polarised the horizontal axis as we watched the wealth transfer upwards, but then with Covid, we saw a switch of focus to the vertical axis, from our loosely libertarian western societies to authoritarian ones, and we have become aware that things have changed, and we’re looking over our shoulders because we are now concerned such things could happen again.
The billionaires got even richer and post-pandemic we see that wealth transfer is accelerating; we seem powerless to stop it. Some of these billionaires now look like Bond villains, and more people have become aware that they meet up with governments in various ways around the world, at Davos, COP, G20, B20 etc. and that their wealth is now heavily entwined with the IMF, UN, WHO and other transnational bodies.
They don’t in any way hide what they do. They advertise it; the WEF spams social media with it. There is no mastermind, not even the sinister Teutonic megalomaniac, nor the messiah from M$, but there is a generally shared ideology. None of this is a conspiracy theory.
Returning to the question. People at the bottom of the pile, wherever they are on that left-right axis, have had a rough deal in the age of austerity, and then when they were out working under Covid, whilst the laptop class were sat at home chiding them for not wearing masks or getting vaccinated.
They are more primed to see what is going on than those who are comfortable. I think that explains the 2019 voting figures chart. What we are seeing originates in 2008, which explained Brexit, and that is what explains the percentages in the answers.
This is populist dissent against technocracy.
The trouble with discounting conspiracy theories is that you are forced to conclude that our elites are staggeringly incapable.
I discount conspiracy, but each to his own.
The trouble with discounting conspiracy theories is that you are forced to conclude that our elites are staggeringly incapable.
I discount conspiracy, but each to his own.
Not often that you see a polling story that is genuinely illuminating. I think it’s genuinely amazing that the number of people who agree with the statement is now higher among Conservative voters than it was among Corbyn supporters as recently as 2015.
I’d also be interested in how the numbers might change if you tweaked the question by deleting the word “secretive”. Arguably, it’s only a conspiracy if you’re hiding it.
Very true (“a polling story that is genuinely illuminating”).
And good comments from everyone, mostly.
Very true (“a polling story that is genuinely illuminating”).
And good comments from everyone, mostly.
Not often that you see a polling story that is genuinely illuminating. I think it’s genuinely amazing that the number of people who agree with the statement is now higher among Conservative voters than it was among Corbyn supporters as recently as 2015.
I’d also be interested in how the numbers might change if you tweaked the question by deleting the word “secretive”. Arguably, it’s only a conspiracy if you’re hiding it.
Eat ze bugs!
Eat ze bugs!
I found the article interesting, but it seems that the article is framed by assuming the falsity of the very thing it asks about (the existence of an unaccountable elite controlling the world). Attributing the sentiment expressed by respondents to intuition, feelings, or disaffection, the article overlooks the prospect that a voter might cite what he/she/[they] considers to be actual evidence of elite action in key expression outlets and key institutions, as well as name actual individuals who might be readily recognized as among that elite. Many of whom would not be described as “faraway”, as the article states. By referring to electoral processes in normal terms (“how these voters should be viewed by the political parties”), the article assumes the existence of the very voter/politician accountability that the survey brings into doubt, and it takes for granted the proper health of the very systemic well being it asks about. In that respect I think the article raises a very important topic but in a way may miss the point.
Very good insight. I agree.
Very good insight. I agree.
I found the article interesting, but it seems that the article is framed by assuming the falsity of the very thing it asks about (the existence of an unaccountable elite controlling the world). Attributing the sentiment expressed by respondents to intuition, feelings, or disaffection, the article overlooks the prospect that a voter might cite what he/she/[they] considers to be actual evidence of elite action in key expression outlets and key institutions, as well as name actual individuals who might be readily recognized as among that elite. Many of whom would not be described as “faraway”, as the article states. By referring to electoral processes in normal terms (“how these voters should be viewed by the political parties”), the article assumes the existence of the very voter/politician accountability that the survey brings into doubt, and it takes for granted the proper health of the very systemic well being it asks about. In that respect I think the article raises a very important topic but in a way may miss the point.
John Redwood wrote an excellent short book a few years back called We Don’t Believe You. It is a great pity that he has been so successfully demonised by the political and media establishment and can therefore never mount a serious bid for front-line politics, because he sees all this stuff a good deal earlier than most other people. He predicted, too, the likely consequence of the Lisbon Treaty – Brexit – and the recessionary bias of the Euro if implemented according to the institutional rules it turned out to have.
The man is a hidden gem as far as I’m concerned, and it’s a tragedy he’s not making the important decisions.
John Redwood wrote an excellent short book a few years back called We Don’t Believe You. It is a great pity that he has been so successfully demonised by the political and media establishment and can therefore never mount a serious bid for front-line politics, because he sees all this stuff a good deal earlier than most other people. He predicted, too, the likely consequence of the Lisbon Treaty – Brexit – and the recessionary bias of the Euro if implemented according to the institutional rules it turned out to have.
The man is a hidden gem as far as I’m concerned, and it’s a tragedy he’s not making the important decisions.
I think the conspiracy is simply asking questions. There are a cabal of highly influential people and organisations through of the likes WEF, UN, WHO which receive large amounts of money to deliver a one world governance system which benefits the wealthiest corporations and individuals, and removes democracy by default. It believes this is the most efficient system for food / pharmaceutical / financial companies, but in doing so removes freedoms and local cultures. Also it removes the history or learning, India farmers and the monsanto Patent repeated failures of GMO, all have led to destruction of the soil, death of 100ks of people all for corporate greed. Tony Blair wanting to vaccinate everyone and make sure there is digital ID system, this huge push to repress people which all offers huge wealth to very few. This is not conspiracy it is all out in the public forums, they own the media so of course you don’t get a balanced view, but we can see from the greed of energy, and food how these companies would really operate under a full one world government. It would lead many dead, which most Layman can see, so clearly they would believe there is a depopulation plan in place. More people are dying than ever before, since Covid and vaccines, cause and effect was rudimentary when I was a young boy at school. Where are the questions instead of the blind acceptance. We should be fearing the worst, so we can react to it.
I think the conspiracy is simply asking questions. There are a cabal of highly influential people and organisations through of the likes WEF, UN, WHO which receive large amounts of money to deliver a one world governance system which benefits the wealthiest corporations and individuals, and removes democracy by default. It believes this is the most efficient system for food / pharmaceutical / financial companies, but in doing so removes freedoms and local cultures. Also it removes the history or learning, India farmers and the monsanto Patent repeated failures of GMO, all have led to destruction of the soil, death of 100ks of people all for corporate greed. Tony Blair wanting to vaccinate everyone and make sure there is digital ID system, this huge push to repress people which all offers huge wealth to very few. This is not conspiracy it is all out in the public forums, they own the media so of course you don’t get a balanced view, but we can see from the greed of energy, and food how these companies would really operate under a full one world government. It would lead many dead, which most Layman can see, so clearly they would believe there is a depopulation plan in place. More people are dying than ever before, since Covid and vaccines, cause and effect was rudimentary when I was a young boy at school. Where are the questions instead of the blind acceptance. We should be fearing the worst, so we can react to it.
But Britain IS controlled by a non secretive ” ‘ helite” of pointy shod, acetate cum poly draylon clad, Windsor tie knotted be- wedding ringed seething pit of incompetent super mediocrity called ” politicians” and their ” ‘hadvisors”, who as I have said before, would only have been allowed the front side of the green baize door to pour wine, bring food and decanters, answer the door, and take away the plates.
But Britain IS controlled by a non secretive ” ‘ helite” of pointy shod, acetate cum poly draylon clad, Windsor tie knotted be- wedding ringed seething pit of incompetent super mediocrity called ” politicians” and their ” ‘hadvisors”, who as I have said before, would only have been allowed the front side of the green baize door to pour wine, bring food and decanters, answer the door, and take away the plates.
NFI.
NFI.
.
May I put some historical perspective on this? I am ancient enough to recall Harold Wilson being more or less openly defied by the General Staff over Ireland and were quite clear that Protestants were to be supported in their opression of Catholics. They said any orders to arrest Protestant paramilitary members would be ignored. There was. more or less, open talk and moves behind the scenes to establish a military government that would overthrow the government.This centres around figures such as Cecil King and Lord Mountbatten.
I am heartily sick of the tired, overused, cliche the “grown ups” to refer to people who have no desire for any fundamental change in the way we are governed now. We have inequality of income that mirrors the 1880’s. Poverty in housing, job insecurity, lack of any financial savings or cushion, poor education access, also drives drug and alcohol addiction, mental breakdown, family breakdown, domestic violence, which creates enormous economic burdens.
We don’t need “grown-ups”, we need visonaries like Nye Bevan, Clem Attlee, Roy Jenkins, Barbara Castle, Shirley Williams and Harold Wilson. As the decades pass more and more academics are realising just how important Wilson’s administrations were in making Britain a more tolerable place to live.
This survey rightly points out that the areas with the greatest poverty contain people more likely to believe in nonsensical conspiracy theories. But the areas that are poorest also have the worst education provision, it becomes a self-fulfilling prphecy. They have the worst education because great teachers don’t want to live in poor areas; these are also lacking in amenities such as theatres, art galleries, good restaurants and decent pubs, or community hubs. The things that might attract teachers. Or doctors and dentists.
How is anything that Starmer is proposing, or Sunak, going to deal with these problems? I’ll give you 3 guesses.
labour has dominated eduction since the 1930s and all it has done is produce a low grade arts system. Over manning of the un and semi skilled in nationalised industries, strikes and the refusal to bring in modern technology resulted in massive debts. If Labour had copied Switzerland we would have an education system geared towards applied science, technology and and high value craftsmanship. The many strikes and power of the shop,stewards of the un and semi skilled unions resulted in craftsmen, foremen, technicians, applied scientists and engineers working over seas. The power of the un and semi skilled unions meant craftsmen foremen with vast responsibility and skill were only paid 15-20% more than someone who was sem-skilled. High taxation also persuaded people to work overseas – The Brain Drain.
In Germany they have the Fraunhofer Institutes undertaking applied research for industry; in Britain we have North London Poly where Corbyn read Trade Union Studies.
An aircraft industry run by B wallis and F Whittle would have resulted in the most advanced in the World, instead they produced Concorde.
In the mid 1960s the Japanese learnt to make transistors work and mass produce them so ushering in the modern electronic and computer age. Britain had strikes.
In 1967, the Six Day War closed the Suez Canal which had the which had the same impact on World Trade as the Turks conquering Constantinople. As the Japanese quickly worked out how to build 500,000 T tankers we had strikes by dockers, sailors, shipyard workers, miners, lorry drivers, car workers ,etc. When buying a ship, delivery on time, to a specified price with no snags is vital. Ship building was a major buyer of steel.
None of the people you mentioned had a clue about the massive changes caused by technology, war and world events. In short Britain needed to move from low and medium into high skilled worked.
I bet if you plot IQ against responses to the question you’d find a pretty close correlation. In my job I often overhear morons exchanging conspiracy theories. It makes them feel wise. They should watch the Coens’ Burn After Reading, except I doubt they’d get it.
Yes, yes, everyone who disagrees with little woke boy is a moron. We get it. Raise eyes to the heavens.
There’s also a correlation between level of education and the likelihood of a voter supporting EU membership. It proves nothing other than that there’s all kinds of stupid, and that if you train a dunce, you just get a fool.
Yes, yes, everyone who disagrees with little woke boy is a moron. We get it. Raise eyes to the heavens.
There’s also a correlation between level of education and the likelihood of a voter supporting EU membership. It proves nothing other than that there’s all kinds of stupid, and that if you train a dunce, you just get a fool.
I bet if you plot IQ against responses to the question you’d find a pretty close correlation. In my job I often overhear morons exchanging conspiracy theories. It makes them feel wise. They should watch the Coens’ Burn After Reading, except I doubt they’d get it.