Remnants of culture

Speaking to an audience at the Palace of Westminster on policing in the 21st Century, Baroness James of Holland Park (better known as the crime novelist P D James) said that Britons are increasingly living in segregated ghettoes and bedevilled by political correctness. Society, as she sees it, has become fractured beyond belief with a strong commitment to the immanent community yet with little for those beyond it. She also adds that, "mutual respect and understanding and recognition of our common humanity cannot be nurtured in isolation."

The UK’s 21st Century society is one that has been largely moulded by government, all the more so in urban areas. The idea of community has been taken from us by successive governments who, convinced that they "know best", have transferred power from the proverbial coalface to their own towers in the sky. Government weapons such as political correctness and multiculturalism have reduced 'communities' to small pockets of familiarity. Man has a predilection to comfort and trust though immediate relationships, which cannot be replaced by central government and the dictats of multiculturalism. It has to evolve through the interactions of those on the ground. Once this ever-changing and adapting civil society has been supplanted by the state, people retreat into atomised safety. We are now seeing across Britain with the breakdown of society.

The ties that once bound are now in Whitehall, as the government is attempting, through language and education, to take control of every aspect of our lives. As Baroness James stated, political correctness is "a pernicious if risible authoritarian attempt at linguistic and social control". The government backs this further with legislation that criminalises us all and silently celebrates the death of community and the atomisation of society. They seek for us all to be reliant upon them.

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written by John of Enfield, May 08, 2008

"Newspeak" is designed to remove from the populace the very power to even think for themselves. Orwell's nightmare has appropriately arrived with "Newlabour". So this article is a very timely reminder of what this government in particular is trying to do to us. I can't help feeling that untrammelled immigration is being used as another tool to break down society - it meets all the objectives set out by the author. I have often wondered why it has become such a shibboleth for government when, at the rate it is being carried out, it is so upsetting to the incumbent population. Why risk power in a democracy with such an unpopular policy? Why is the reaction to even mild criticism so vicious? Why have we threatened people with prosecution for suspected thought crimes (e.g Christianity)?

I was also amazed to hear John Battle the other day insisting that government must get even closer to its clients so that it could fully understand their needs and help them to improve (all my words).

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written by Arthur, May 08, 2008

Well said. Most people reading these pages agree with you that as the state gains in influence the individual and by extension society diminishes, but can you explain whether you think it is simply the ideology of multiculturalism or immigration itslef that contributes to the atomisation of society. Many would think that to concentrate on the ideology alone misses the point.

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written by John of Enfield, May 08, 2008

Arthur, I apologise. My emotions got the better of me and I concentrated solely on immigration. To answer your question: I suggest we all agree that atomisation of society is the basic objective of a socialist government - it allows them to create a vital role for the state. Multiculturalism is a fully compatible ideology (as it requires the state to mediate between cultures and religions) and it is especially seductive and difficult to argue against in the early stages Once these two concepts are well entrenched mass immigration can commence, which then interacts strongly with them to provide ever more justification for the idea of a large and intrusive state. This makes immigration on the scale that is now happening in the UK attractive to a certain type of government. Especially if some of them can in some way be made clients of the state. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? It doesn't matter, they are now all part of a fully operational positive feedback loop and it is very difficult to break it by tackling the symptoms alone. This argument implies no value judgement on immigration per se but it suggests that multiculturalism needs careful handling.

However, as I indicated, immigration is only one issue in this new society we live in. P D James has made an excellent point.

Written by Steve Bettison
Thursday, 08 May 2008
Speaking to an audience at the Palace of Westminster on policing in the 21st Century, Baroness James of Holland Park (better known as the crime novelist P D James) said that Britons are increasingly living in segregated ghettoes and bedevilled by political correctness. Society, as she sees it, has become fractured beyond belief with a strong commitment to the immanent community yet with little for those beyond it. She also adds that, "mutual respect and understanding and recognition of our common humanity cannot be nurtured in isolation." The UK’s 21st Century society is one that has been largely moulded by government, all the more so in urban areas. The idea of community has been taken from us by successive governments who, convinced that they "know best", have transferred power from the proverbial coalface to their own towers in the sky. Government weapons such as political correctness and multiculturalism have reduced 'communities' to small pockets of familiarity. Man has a predilection to comfort and trust though immediate relationships, which cannot be replaced by central government and the dictats of multiculturalism. It has to evolve through the interactions of those on the ground. Once this ever-changing and adapting civil society has been supplanted by the state, people retreat into atomised safety. We are now seeing across Britain with the breakdown of society. The ties that once bound are now in Whitehall, as the government is attempting, through language and education, to take control of every aspect of our lives. As Baroness James stated, political correctness is "a pernicious if risible authoritarian attempt at linguistic and social control". The government backs this further with legislation that criminalises us all and silently celebrates the death of community and the atomisation of society. They seek for us all to be reliant upon them. Bookmark Comments (3) Subscribe to this comment's feed ... written by John of Enfield, May 08, 2008 "Newspeak" is designed to remove from the populace the very power to even think for themselves. Orwell's nightmare has appropriately arrived with "Newlabour". So this article is a very timely reminder of what this government in particular is trying to do to us. I can't help feeling that untrammelled immigration is being used as another tool to break down society - it meets all the objectives set out by the author. I have often wondered why it has become such a shibboleth for government when, at the rate it is being carried out, it is so upsetting to the incumbent population. Why risk power in a democracy with such an unpopular policy? Why is the reaction to even mild criticism so vicious? Why have we threatened people with prosecution for suspected thought crimes (e.g Christianity)? I was also amazed to hear John Battle the other day insisting that government must get even closer to its clients so that it could fully understand their needs and help them to improve (all my words). ... written by Arthur, May 08, 2008 Well said. Most people reading these pages agree with you that as the state gains in influence the individual and by extension society diminishes, but can you explain whether you think it is simply the ideology of multiculturalism or immigration itslef that contributes to the atomisation of society. Many would think that to concentrate on the ideology alone misses the point. ... written by John of Enfield, May 08, 2008 Arthur, I apologise. My emotions got the better of me and I concentrated solely on immigration. To answer your question: I suggest we all agree that atomisation of society is the basic objective of a socialist government - it allows them to create a vital role for the state. Multiculturalism is a fully compatible ideology (as it requires the state to mediate between cultures and religions) and it is especially seductive and difficult to argue against in the early stages Once these two concepts are well entrenched mass immigration can commence, which then interacts strongly with them to provide ever more justification for the idea of a large and intrusive state. This makes immigration on the scale that is now happening in the UK attractive to a certain type of government. Especially if some of them can in some way be made clients of the state. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? It doesn't matter, they are now all part of a fully operational positive feedback loop and it is very difficult to break it by tackling the symptoms alone. This argument implies no value judgement on immigration per se but it suggests that multiculturalism needs careful handling. However, as I indicated, immigration is only one issue in this new society we live in. P D James has made an excellent point. Write comment Name Email Website Title Comment smaller \| bigger Powered by Azrul's Jom Comment for Joomla!