The Ideology of Gruel
Bristol Conservatives have a big prominent link on their site to the party’s fuhrer, Michel Howard, and his statement of beliefs. It's hard not to let them support such rubbish without comment. The list of believes that Howard has concocted, consists of either stating the obvious about people wanting to be happy, hypocritical crap or totally ludicrous rubbish. I could (if I could stomach reading this churning-pap for long enough) dissect all of the statements he's made, but I'll stick to a few:

I BELIEVE: THAT THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE BIG. THAT THE STATE SHOULD BE SMALL.

This is always the conservative mantra, but they only believe in one aspect of the state being small - the bit that gets in the way of profit. They want to keep a big military to ensure that people in countries who’s resources they want are small. It's called 'Military Keynesianism' and it is essential to the maintenance of the global neo-liberal order, and it is why the conservative government (and New Labour) have always supported subsiding the arms trade and nuclear industries, while arguing that subsiding coal or public transport is wrong. In essence all conservatives bosses (not so much the foot soldiers who gullibly lap up this crap) are 'Cheep-Labour Conservatives' - which means they seek way to get you to do more work for less money: whether by cutting employment legislation or safety rules (aka 'red tape') or by helping tin-pot dictators to run sweatshops (Military Keynesianism).

I DO NOT BELIEVE: THAT ONE PERSON’S POVERTY IS CAUSED BY ANOTHER’S WEALTH.

Ha ha ha! Capitalist economics is a zero-sum system. It means that everything has to balance out. Wealth in resources (crops, labour, oil etc.) has to be balanced by money (which is nothing more that a form of debt, as in - 'I promise to pay the bearer goods to the demand of etc..'). Therefore for one person to own wealth, it has to be balanced by debt. That's how it works. Howard, I suspect, knows this but must push this myth else people will realise this system is a con-trick that DOES need poor people to ensure the rich stay rich. Again, this con-trick is part of the 'Cheep-Labour Conservative' agenda - by getting people to swallow the myth that, a rising tide floats all boats, while not telling you that most people don't have a boat and will drown.

I BELIEVE: THAT BRITAIN SHOULD DEFEND HER FREEDOM AT ANY TIME, AGAINST ALL COMERS, HOWEVER MIGHTY.

Would that include the US, mike? We are (and have been for some time now) a client state of the US empire. Denial only makes people look foolish.

I DO NOT BELIEVE: Where is the eco-stuff, mike?

Also really interesting to note that there is not one single mention of the environment? Not surprising from the Tories, who’ve always been blind to this area. It seems apparent to me, in the face of the evidence, that any group who do not strive to put sustainability at the heart of their thinking are simply heading, blindly, towards disaster. This lack of reality is the icing on the 19th century ideology that the Tories are serving up.

Gruel anyone?