Saturday 23rd of November 2024
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neoliberal necrophiliacs …..

neoliberal necrophiliacs …..

Week one (or should that be weak one?) of good government in Australia has gone well hasn’t it? After his near death experience in the party room meeting last Monday when 39 of his own colleagues out of 100 voted for none of the above in a leadership ballot – ah OK, it was a spill motion to declare Abbott’s position as Prime Minister vacant – it has been all up, up and away for the good government that Abbott then promised.

First, Truthful Tony lied to one of his South Australian senators and promised that the Australian Submarine Corporation in Adelaide would be part of the competitive tender process for building 12 submarines, worth at least $20 bn.  After he secured the good gullible Senator’s vote we find out he meant a competitive analysis, not tender. It seems pretty likely that the Abbott government have already given the nod to a Japanese group to build the subs.

Terrible Tony got hot under the collar when the Human Rights Commission issued a report with FACTS about the ill treatment of asylum seeker children in detention. (Detention is ill treatment itself). Commissioner Triggs condemned both Labor and the Liberals and called for a Royal Commission into children in detention.

Tony the Turd called the Report blatantly partisan and said the HRC, apart from acting disgracefully, should be thanking Scott Morrison for his actions. Would that be for the two dead in detention under his control? Or for the kids in detention in Indonesia and Malaysia with nowhere to go? Or just those still in our concentration camps here in Australia and on Manus Island and Nauru?

Tony the Terrifying also sacked Chief Government whip Philip Ruddock (cryonic Phil to his friend) for not letting him know most of his backbench would vote for a dead donkey rather than have the leader actually lead them or whatever it is that Abbott does.

Tony the Treasured released a report on bridging the gap between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal Australians. On most indicators it has worsened, and nothing the Liberals or Labor have done or will do will change that.

When Zinger Bill (the ‘Opposition’ ‘leader’), in his reply to Terrific Tony, condemned Abbott government cuts to Aboriginal services as worsening the problem, some of Abbott’s adult army walked out of Parliament.

Under Parliamentary privilege Tosspot Tony revealed the case against two alleged terrorists arrested during the week and in the eyes of many legal experts has raised real doubts about whether they could ever receive a fair trial.

Under Toxic Tony’s guidance unemployment went up to 6.4%, the highest it has been since 2002, when Toe-cutter Tony was (un) Employment Minister. What a coincidence eh?

Terrorising Tony threatened the Indonesians with unspecified retaliation if they execute two Australian drug smugglers. Maybe he’ll stop turning back the boats.

Tony’s troubles go beyond one man. They are the result of the political deadlock between politicians committed to neoliberalism and a population in the main imbued with social democratic ideals.

That is why, with Senators reflecting the strong mood against the unfair 2014 Budget, the majority have blocked significant elements of it. Fairfax cartoonist Moir captures it:

Replacing Tony with Malcom the Magnificent won’t change that. The problem is systemic, not the personality of the leader. (Having said that Abbott’s incompetence makes anger with his rotten program even greater.)

If Tricky Turnbull can’t save them the ruling class may turn to Barnacle Bill. The problem is that Bill the beguiling isn’t. Bullshit Bill doesn’t have the charisma of a Hawke or the braggadocio of a Keating to hoodwink workers and their union leaders into accepting Labor’s more subtle and hence effective wealth shifting from workers to bosses.

What a choice at the next election: Tzetze Tony or Belly-laugh Bill.  Both are neoliberal necrophiliacs.

Our task remains to build an alternative to these conjoined neoliberal twins.

‘Weak’ one of good government in Australia

 

greed is the problem...

How did economists displace scientists as the crucial policy advisors and the architects of public debate, setting the criteria for policy decisions?

 

From Dr Kerryn Higgs

 

How did economic growth become accepted as the only solution to virtually all social problems—unemployment, debt and even the environmental damage growth was causing?

 And how did ever-increasing income and consumption become the meaning of life, at least for us in the rich world? It was not the meaning of life when I was young.

Answering these questions took me back through human history. A few developments were especially decisive.

----------------

From Gus:

The simple answer here is greed. Greed is the major motivator for growth — not understanding nor sharing. Cancer is an "unregulated" growth in a finely balanced structure. Economic growth is driven by the vision of improving on the structure. Without "growth" we would still be dangling for trees. But science tells us that the structure from a human point of view — homo sapiens relationship to its creative environment — is more neglected than what it should be. We have invented criteria for success which have nothing to do with survival of the species, but designed to inflict upon ourselves a cancerous greed — mostly profiting a minority of people with limited benefits for the rest of us. 

The talk of limits to growth has long been on the table. Science can tell us with some clarity where we going but we still "have room to move" thus greed still rule the development.

There is of course what is called "sustainable growth" in which we can improve the (human condition) system without destroying the planet — which we are doing at present in ways which are obvious and other ways which are hidden. Our leading rich are still trying to milk as much as possible out of the finite resources, but the dangers come not from running out of material but through the material transforms.

The science of global warming is clear: burn carbon (oil, coal, gas) and you raise the temperature of the surface of this planet. Taking all factors into considerations, we know within bracketed limits, the extend of the damage. At present we're only considering events till the end of this century (in 85 years). But the input of CO2 in the atmosphere will create far more damage by say 2150 and beyond (for another 5,000 years at least). 

As well "economic growth" relies on growing population. The equations of all the relationship between population growth, damage to the planet surface and greed shows we've learnt nothing. Well I mean our leaders have learnt nothing in this economic Mexican stand off... No-one is allowed to slack off on growth and the system gets stretched more and more as we pawn our future with greed on credit — including gamble on derivatives and other tricks designed to siphon moneys from the average punters into the pockets of the rich... Advertising, religion, politics, taxation, irresponsible science... Meanwhile our planet suffers. Nature is under attack.

I wish to say peace, human intelligence and a responsible science are the only providers of "responsible sustainable growth". For example, in my book, GM (genetically modified) crops are IRRESPONSIBLE, as they easily contaminate nature — including contaminate our own genetically-selected crops. GM technologies enforces an adaptation to environmental factors through cross-species engineering THAT CANNOT HAPPEN IN NATURE. It is a "forbidden" ("impossible") relationship in nature. Greed is the MAJOR motivator of GM crop in which the developers are mostly in it with Patent seeds. The GM scientific process will bite us in the bum soon or later.

How to stop or control greed? First we need the will. Pigs will fly... Pigs have flown away, long ago.