Meet me in the middle

Luke

I did a politics degree. One of the things we spent hours writing essays about is the slow, meandering death of ideology in politics. Unless you’re a dweeb, it’s all really boring.

It has happened though. Political parties this side of the pond still argue all the time… not due to any massive ideological differences, but just to score points.

It’s a ridiculous system. When debate becomes more about point-scoring than affecting any real change, you have to wonder whether it’s for our good that they’re talking, or if it's simply to sustain their own position...perish the thought.

Since the Thatcher-Reagan axis, the Left just sort of gave up and accepted the new economic world order. As the 1980s progressed, markets were deregulated and government intervention in the economy ebbed away.

Not such a bad thing you might think, given the consecutive years of economic growth in the UK from the mid-nineties right up until about a year ago.

BUT....




Yesterday was a poignant reminder of the effects of putting all your political eggs in one Neo-liberal basket.

This cross-party consensus that they’re seeking in America, to overcome the latest troubles, is irrevocable proof that economics really is the new politics.

You could imagine Dubya clenching his fists under the table at the thought of such overarching government intervention in the economy. A move that flies in the face of the American political culture.

Just as the left linked hands with the right nearly 30 years ago, now the right has come back and said 'We tried it our way, what have you got?'

It'd be difficult basing a vote on management of the economy, now. People most certainly will, but it's a tough decision.

Both parties are responsible for getting America in to the mess, and now they've got to get the country out of it, regardless of who's in charge.