An interesting piece from John Cruddas in the Indy this morning.The Labour deputy leader contender asks how his party has managed to become the party of the establishment.
It is a calrion call for the party to shift emphisis declaring that the New Labour experiment is over and that
New Labour has created a more individualised and wealthier society but not a freer or more equal one. In its neglect of its core working-class support it has lost its roots and ideological purpose. Despite its extraordinary electoral successes it has failed to build a lasting coalition for transformational change.and that during its transformation in the mid 90's
New Labour jettisoned the language of ethical socialism and so lost its capacity to match Mr Cameron's pro-social rhetoric and usurp his claim to value politics. In contrast, Mr Cameron's ethical language of social life has resonated amongst many who in the past would never have considered voting for the economic liberalism of Thatcherism.
The left he says
needs to recover its ethical socialism and commitment to equality. There has to be a renewed argument for constitutional and electoral reform and the protection and extension of individual civil liberties. The conditions for trade unionism have to be improved and a new internationalism established. Perhaps most of all, and most difficult, the left needs an ecologically sustainable, pro-social political economy capable of generating both wealth and equitable development. The future is for the left to lose
No comments:
Post a Comment