The common thread which has led to the many social and economic crises which have seemingly all at once hit the British people (and other nations in the West) is Corporatism, that combination of right wing corporate power, socialist totalitarianism and State hegemony which marginalises the true democratic forces in society – individuals, families, communities, personal enterprise, the nation state and parliament itself.
Corporatism arises as the right moves left (as it did in Britain under Major, Cameron and May) and the left moves right (as it did under Blair) to meet in that system which and the past has been the foundation of Nazi and Fascist systems of Government.
Mass immigration is encouraged by ideological leftists seeking voters and corporations seeking cheaper labour; alienating globalisation benefits multinational corporations; the woke values of what some call the “liberal” urban minority manipulate the State from their own corporate institutions in academe, civil service and the media. Even wars (launched without public consultation of course) are profitable for armament corporations and politically for grandstanding politicians – who on leaving office miraculously acquire sudden wealth from the corporatist class.
The large corporations have easy access to the savings of the people in the City (where individual and family investors have virtually disappeared) and the State has easy access to the earnings of the people through oppressive taxation (and inflation). Corporatist power unlike market responsibility is easily manipulated by a few individuals and minority political ideologies – like cancel culture, the racist “critical race theory” and transgender notions.
In 1990 my Bow Group paper “Conservatism in danger” I warned that the Tory party was becoming corporatist and this would mean their long term defeat. They later limped to their worst defeat since 1906 and 13 years in opposition followed. From 2010 another 13 years in government has not corrected this deviation but instead ensconced Corporatism in a society which is now on the brink – led by a party similarly positioned!
The journalist Harry Phibbs attended the Bournemouth conference of the recently established Conservative Democratic Organisation. He wisely noted that
Bournemouth was a profoundly symbolic venue (for the CDO conference). Seaside venues were chosen for Party Conferences when the membership was valued. For several years it alternated between Brighton and Blackpool. There were smart hotels for the high-ups – but also plenty of cheaper hotels and guest houses to ensure it was affordable for those members on more modest means.
Then it turned into a trade fair, a lobbying fest. Manchester and Birmingham were more suitable with expensive but characterless hotels for those with corporate expense accounts. Party members were priced out.
Organisationally members had long been “priced out”. The Conservative Democratic Organisation seeks to return power to party members and reduce that corporatist power exercised by functionaries at the party centre. Many years ago a well known journalist went for an interview at Conservative Central Office. Having said she was not sure if she was a Conservative and had some left wing ideas the interviewer said “Oh that is not a barrier to making a career in politics”. A neat summary of corporatist politics!
The people have lost their two sources of power – their choices in the market place (as monopolies of State and corporate power coalesce) and the meaning of their vote (as choice is denied them by ideologically merging parties).
THE CORONATION SCANDAL
No ceremony is supposed to better encapsulate the spirit of the people in a constitutional monarchy than those invited to a Coronation. To the coronation of Charles III were invited the Chinese politician responsible for the democracy crackdown in Hong Kong and a Sinn Fein leader from a prominent IRA family. Not invited was the late Queen’s bridesmaid whose father was murdered by the IRA. Those are the values of corporatism and Statism.
The loss of democracy in Britain and the dominant role of collectives of capital and State have arisen not because the people have a loss of votes – only a complete loss of choice. Corporatism has conspired on left, right and centre to make their voters powerless.
