In the coming weeks the United Kingdom is going to slip chaotically into the deepest political and social crisis it has experienced since the outbreak of the Second World War. The very existence of the British state, given the conditions of an “Apocalypse scenario” Brexit crash out, will be on the line. Civil disorder caused by food shortages and lack of essential medicines will bring matters to a head in England, Scotland, Wales, and those parts of Ireland still under British occupation.
La Violència: Violent Political Policing in a Democracy
Our problem with such violent political policing is not the violence per se. We are used to violence. Western civilisation was built on violence, and is perhaps the greatest purveyor and consumer of warfare and state sponsored violence in the history of the human race. Rather, our problem with this sacrilege is that it shatters our illusions pertaining to the nature and power of democracy. It reminds us that democracy is a pacifier; a ritual that sedates people with the tranquiliser of the mere impression of control while the state qua the ruling establishment is free to get on with the business of power.
Barcelona Standoff: Spain is Not Getting its Way
Under such conditions the Spanish government had hoped Barcelona would capitulate. This has not happened. Carles Puigdemont, while acknowledging that due to Spanish countermeasures many may not have the chance to vote, has stated emphatically that the vote will happen on Sunday. He has said he is willing to face arrest and imprisonment to ensure this, and – in the event of a Yes vote – he or a delegated representative will declare independence before Wednesday 4 October.
Spain’s Crackdown on Democracy Begins
With today’s arrests and the furtherance of the Spanish programme of the seizure of finances and communications Catalan autonomy has been effectively suspended, forcing a serious and volatile constitutional crisis. These are the conditions that have led to open revolt and violence in many part of the world before, and nothing – other than the remarkable sense of calm thus far – makes Catalunya any different.
Catalunya Responds to the Spanish Crackdown
Democracy – and it is difficult to accept that in 2017 we still find ourselves having to explain this – is all about the will of the people over the ambitions of those in and behind government. The Partido Popular, the ruling party in Madrid, is a minority government that now no longer has the support of Congress for the actions it is carrying out against Catalunya. In reality what we have is a western government using military-style measures with a military police force against an apparently “illegal” act of democracy without the consent of its own parliament.
The Executive of the Modern State
Marx’s razor-sharp observation on the state as a mutual help society for the powerful decision-makers is echoed beautifully in the description of the Town Council in The Brigand’s Cave chapter of Tressell’s The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.
Deliver us, Lord, from Every Evil and Grant us Peace
Follow @UrFhasaidh It seems almost instinctual that when we consider the might and complexity of harmful social and political power structures we turn to our mythologies for succour and guidance. Time weathered tales provide for us a narrative of symbols by which we can begin to make sense of the apparently unfathomable realities of our … Continue reading Deliver us, Lord, from Every Evil and Grant us Peace
Why the Language of ‘Mansplaining’ Isn’t Helpful
Follow @UrFhasaidh At some point we all have to acknowledge that we are all racist, we are all misogynist, all classist; we are all prejudiced at some level because we are all real human beings conditioned by the reality in which we live. Disturbing as this is to admit, it merely demonstrates the powerful social … Continue reading Why the Language of ‘Mansplaining’ Isn’t Helpful
Random Public Journal 