Cameron: Riot hit UK must reverse "moral collapse"

[socialshockwave]

Source: CTV News

LONDON — Britain must confront a culture of laziness, irresponsibility and selfishness that fueled four days of riots which left five people dead, thousands facing criminal charges and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, Prime Minister David Cameron said.

As rival political leaders staked out their response to England's unrest Monday, Cameron pledged to deliver a raft of new policies by October aimed at reversing the "slow-motion moral collapse" which he blames for fostering the disorder.

Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110815/david-cameron-riots-britain-moral-collapse-110815/

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When he makes statements like: "Children without fathers. Schools without discipline. Reward without effort. Crime without punishment. Rights without responsibilities. Communities without control. Some of the worst aspects of human nature tolerated, indulged -- sometimes even incentivized -- by a state and its agencies that in parts have become literally demoralized," - it just seems like another way for the extreme right to blame the poor again.

[CJCRANE]

1. "Reward without effort. Crime without punishment. Rights without responsibilities" just reminds

me of the banking crisis and bankers' bonuses and the Murdoch phonehacking scandal.

[socialshockwave]

3. Yeah.

Though now Cameron and the Cons are just turning the blame onto the working poor. I agree with Ed Millbant or whatever his name was when he says that the best way to stop gangs is to put an end to youth problems such as massive youth unemployment; don't just pull the "Lazyness and dependency" card.

They want to cut welfare payments to those in the riots and such. Which sounds good in theory until you realize some of those people have families.

[liberalhistorian]

12. Wow, he just described the useless

royal family perfectly. Idiot.

[rfranklin]

2. You got that right...

This writer said these are the "grandchildren of Margaret Thatcher" which I agree with wholeheartedly--

More importantly, Thatcher abandoned the idea of full employment — a precondition of the welfare state. She did not stop at defanging trade unions and reducing labor’s bargaining power. With one eye on her friend and ideological ally President Ronald Reagan, she ushered in policies that reduced hiring costs for employers, giving workers the dubious gift of endless mobility and a downward race for wages.

The enduring effects of this radical socioeconomic engineering are now visible in Britain, not least in some of the world’s highest levels of inequality. As more contract and part-time work appeared, the old bourgeois ideal of a stable career — one still alive in European countries that have not wholeheartedly embraced Anglo-American capitalism — disappeared. An underclass consisting of the unemployed and unemployable grew and grew, even as the old working class fragmented.

More policing and imprisonment become the easiest way to deal with rising social problems; Britain now has more people in prison per capita than any major Western country apart from the U.S. During and after Thatcher’s years in power, state expenditure on law enforcement rose exponentially.



Read more: http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/article_f9346ef8-1a49-5b29-aa97-6cd0e6885dec.html#ixzz1VC5jlZ00

[izquierdista]

5. Thatcher and Reagan

Two mental puddings with not enough sauce.

[blank space]

10. Yes Thatcher and Reagan introduced

trickle down economics, deregulation, removed tariffs and subsidies and opened up economies - however - every single left leaning, progressive liberal ever since has embraced those policies with great big wide open arms.

Now that the shit is hitting the fan you can't simply ignore everything that has gone on since then and simply blame the person who started it - how childish.

I hate Margret and Ronald more than the next person, trust me, but this side shifting of blame is horse crap.

The wall came down - the people standing there when it came down had a moral responsibility to respond in a proper manner - that was Obama.

He could have used the opportunity for prosecution, he could have used the opportunity to stand up and lead - so too could have Cameron and Brown, they did not do that - instead they let the bankers go, worse, they rewarded them - and did nothing.

And since we can not bear to take any responsibility for our failures, just like Republicans can't - we seek to blame and old lady who implemented and economic theory 35 years ago along with a senile old man who is now dead.

I am fairly sure Thatcher and Reagan did not cause these riots.

Fuck me - now i've heard everything.

[No Elephants]

4. Reverse the economic collapse, you neocon.

[rosesaylavee]

6. Sure. Crush them. That will work well going forward.

Fail.

[Bragi]

7. Gee, what might cause all that social malaise?

You don't suppose growing social and economic inequality has produced a no-hope generation that knows it has been written off by society?

Naw, not possible. It's all about bad parenting and the moral collapse of the family, for sure, with no relevant social or economic context needed.

[ananda]

8. Ermm... that reverse needs to start at the top, Cameron baby.

nt

[bemildred]

9. Resign, Dimwit. nt

[beac]

11. The man who's been rolling around in bed with the Murdochs DARES to lecture others about

"moral collapse"???

[Nihil]

13. Well said. Now start fixing the problems in the *correct* place rather than the easiest.

> "Children without fathers. Schools without discipline. Reward without effort.
> Crime without punishment. Rights without responsibilities. Communities without
> control. Some of the worst aspects of human nature tolerated, indulged --
> sometimes even incentivized -- by a state and its agencies ..."

True. Very true. All of the above contribute to a failing culture. All of the
above need to be addressed if we are to have any genuine recovery.

However the truest statement of all is this one:
> Britain must confront a culture of laziness, irresponsibility and selfishness

Now start the confrontation where it belongs: at the top of the heap.

MPs who are blatantly corrupt.

Peers appointed thanks to the size of the bribe they "donate".

CEOs and board members who are on the back-patting merry-go-round where they
agree "director compensation" for each other whilst insisting that the mere
workers have to maintain a "pay freeze".

Privatised "trusts" to run schools & health authorities where the details of
profit & paper-pushing is treated with oh so much more respect than the core
concepts of education & health.

Bankers & traders who make more money in a single day than a nurse does in
a month.


Let's see some of *this* "culture of laziness, irresponsibility and selfishness"
being addressed before talking about "a raft of new policies".

:grr:

[alp227]

14. that fathers thing is pretty sexist. Tell that to kids whose fathers are drug addicts/criminals

and since when does man = good person? And I agree with everyone who's saying that this is a dog whistle poor-bashing right here.

[eridani]

15. "Communities"? Your pal Maggie said that there was no such thing

Only individuals and their families. You don't like amoral individualism? Then stop calling for it.