It will all come round again if you wait a while. There is nothing new under the sun.
David Cameron (Michaela says she always finds herself shuddering when his name is mentioned) has this idea- and it goes something like this-
Lets stop all these public services, and suggest that people just get on with it for themselves.
The middle classes will come through.
An army of people dressed in sensible shoes will organise committees to clear slums, dig sewers, set up homes for the incurables and feed Tiny Tim till his little tum is fit to bust.
Cameron seems to have taken advice from Samuel Smiles.
And meanwhile, all around us, community groups who might give structure and organisation to all this community activity are all going to the wall as they lose their funding.
It is not as though I could ever be accused of being against community activity, or believe that the Big State can ever be the answer to all the issues that society throws up. But when a ‘big idea’ is used as a mask to do the same old confidence trick- cuts to services, and power and wealth to the already powerful and wealthy- then I start to feel the need to rant.
Now, rant over- have a laugh at this little clip…
this fragile tent 
Don’t get me started! The rich are getting richer, the poor will get poorer whilst those in the middle will have a decrease in their quality of living. We ain’t seen anything yet – there’s more to come.
I’m with michaela – the phrase “David Cameron, prime minister” makes me feel sick and angry in equal measure. I find it interesting that the people best placed to volunteer, those who have enough money to never have to work (George Osbourne anyone?), aren’t getting stuck in. If people in power put their money where their mouths are perhaps it might be easier to swallow…
Hi Rachel/Steve
Michaela and I were ruefully discussing how it is so much easier for us to have a strong political concsience now that the Tories are back in power!
Hey thanks for that David! Really cool graphics- and deals with the core material of a previous post I wrote here- https://thisfragiletent.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/in-which-i-find-myself-reacting-against-positive-thinking/
Cheers
Chris
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