In 1963, the assassination of President Kennedy was followed by a raft of conspiracy theories.
These arose fundamentally because the human mind can’t compute that someone as marginal and irrelevant as Oswald could have such a major say on global politics.
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These arose fundamentally because the human mind can’t compute that someone as marginal and irrelevant as Oswald could have such a major say on global politics.
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The idea the President of the United States can simply be shot by a loner is something we do not wish to comprehend.
We feel much more secure with the pretence that there is some great power controlling things. Kennedy’s assassination was an unwelcome reminder this isn’t so.
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We feel much more secure with the pretence that there is some great power controlling things. Kennedy’s assassination was an unwelcome reminder this isn’t so.
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Ireland went through a similar realisation during the crash of 2007/8. Even though it was obvious instinctively that the economy was overheating ludicrously, people assured themselves that some genius who knew better was in control.
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Confidence remained despite all the alarm bells, property prices continued to rise despite the big blinking warning lights, insane risks were taken despite the big red caution marks... and the result was a catastrophic crash.
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What we are now seeing in the UK, fundamentally, is a *government failure*.
The Government - the whole institution - is simply incapable of carrying out the task before it.
That task is just too complex to be managed in any way effectively.
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The Government - the whole institution - is simply incapable of carrying out the task before it.
That task is just too complex to be managed in any way effectively.
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Still, I suspect most people still think someone somewhere must know what’s going on. Surely some bureaucrat is in control ultimately?
Well, no.
That’s the problem. People have not yet really grasped this government failure.
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Well, no.
That’s the problem. People have not yet really grasped this government failure.
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The vacuum is filled by politicians who are confident (thus look like the “person in control” we want) but in fact utterly clueless.
Few can even grasp what the EU is. None understands the logistics of medical supply lines etc. Yet they don’t even know what they don’t know.
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Few can even grasp what the EU is. None understands the logistics of medical supply lines etc. Yet they don’t even know what they don’t know.
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Because by definition politicians are where they are because they are always confident and often outright egotistical, even those who have worked out they are in over their heads (which all of them are) daren’t admit it.
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But we are also seeing the problem of young “advisers” brought in with no real-life experience; generalist civil servants with no real grasp of how trade, regulation or even negotiation work; and a media which regard politics and government primarily as entertainment.
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I am struggling for ideas here, beyond the need to grasp the scale of the problem.
But I would again put forward what I suggested immediately post-referendum. A *UK Citizens’ Convention*, with facilitated discussion and expert guidance, is surely worth a try?
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But I would again put forward what I suggested immediately post-referendum. A *UK Citizens’ Convention*, with facilitated discussion and expert guidance, is surely worth a try?
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