Who remembers the Ronco advertisements from the nineteen
seventies and beyond? Miracle gadgets at giveway prices that invariably didn’t
work anything like as claimed and were quickly relegated to the shed or the
loft, icons of an age of innocence and naivety. You can almost imagine future archaeologists
trying to decode these symbols from a time of false hope, just as they have
done with the totems of ancient religious beliefs.
If Ronco were to return today the denizens of the
internet would be taken for rides every bit as precarious as those of
yesteryear. Social media would be awash with tales of disaster visited on the
gullible, swiftly followed by merciless mockery. “Who would fall for that?” would
go the cry, only to fall silent when the mocker was, in turn, taken in by
another, different-yet-still-the-same scam. YouTube would have a ball.
Even when you knew that the chances were your Ronco all-in-one
jar-opener, dishwasher and personal groomer was bound to fail you still parted with
your hard-earned in an act of faith that this time it would be different. And
much like the holy church of Ronco, religions require the wilful abandonment of
rational thought; logic and learned experience go out of the window as, with
beatific smiles, we open the packaging to reveal the next disappointment, yet
keep the fixed smile beaming as we vigorously defend our choice against all the
evidence.
Perhaps a moment of quiet reflection before hitting the ‘buy’
button would be prudent, a short examination of reality. Why do I want this,
and will it really do what it says it will do? Much better in the long run to stick
with what you know, but the promise of something better, more miraculous, more
satisfying urges you to suspend your critical thinking skills and buy yet
another potato peeler that just doesn’t peel potatoes.
So, what makes more sense; a belief that government
should have as little impact on your everyday life as possible, should leave
you to make your own decisions while protecting you from the worst excesses of
egregious humanity, or a government which will intervene in every nook and
cranny of your existence in return for fanciful promises of riches in the afterlife?
Because to believe in capitalism requires only to accept that the world does not
owe you a living, while to believe in socialism requires an enormous act of
blind faith.
Just as with all religions, with all cults, with all
outlandish fictions, in order to accept socialism as a viable system you have
to suspend disbelief and reject the evidence to embrace a narrative so
convoluted, so contradictory, so hypocritical that it would require the
abandonment of all reason to adopt. Were the current Labour Party a Netflix box
set most viewers would have ditched it after season one. Those who continued to watch, who bought the
tee shirts, who dressed up to attend conventions would be labelled as dangerous
extremists and placed on various lists.
What seems most likely?
Once again, William of Ockham comes to the rescue. Ask
yourself what seems most likely; that government is powerless to oversee every
aspect of your life and it is up to you to make the best of it. Or that there is
an all-seeing, omnipotent, Magic Granddad in the sky who can make the heavens
rain money and bring freedom and happiness and prosperity to all… if only you
will bend your knee at his altar. Marx said that religion was the opiate of the
people. Between you and me, I reckon he was on drugs.
Yea all you have to do is vote for old man Steptoe and he will give you the world on a stick. Every election I stand amazed at just how many supposedly sensible people are prepared to believe the big lie.
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