Saturday, July 30, 2016

Agreement and Theft


One of my concerns with oppositional politics is that you have to, by definition, have things to argue about with the other side. I have recently read about Republicans feeling like Democrats are stealing their arguments by talking about family values, emphasising community and togetherness. Trump isn't a 'by the script' Republican, which opens space for Democrats in the middle. Theresa May has also said she wants to 'make Britain a country that works not for the privileged few by for every one of us'. This has been seen by some as stealing Labour's Rhetoric. If the structure is such that you have to find something to argue aggressively about, that is a problem. It can make us fight each other and miss the real issues that need working out. Agreement is not theft. Democracy should be about building consensus and community, and encouraging creativity, not about winning arguments and elections.

Fight Mode

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