Karl Popper said, "the aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory but progress", and how I wish someone would tell our politicians that.
Our politicians have turned the political process into theatre, third-rate pantomime; the same disingenuous story-line they've been telling since god was a boy. A thin and tawdry tale worn so thin we see right through it, and since the revelations of the Epstein class, the wealthy, and their political enablers have been revealed as the real disruptors - collusion between business, technology, and politics, to manipulate world policy to their own end and fuck the rest. We have been well and truly played, as I'm sure we have always suspected.
The bulk of global wealth is in the hands of only twelve people. Twelve people who between them, have more than the bottom four billion, more than half the worlds population, and that is shameless enough. Since the second coming of Trump, though, most of these immoral bastards have increased their wealth six times over.
In the UK, one in three children live in poverty, while our wealthiest have increased their net worth by 9% annually. People are locked into ever decreasing circles, and set at each others throats by false prophets who create vague threats to our safety and security. They demonise and de-humanise minorities and sow hate and division when in reality the criminal is them. They are the scandalous, the shady and the disingenuous. They are the tax evaders, the fraudsters and the incompetent, who sell us to the highest bidder for their own ends and despite the fact we know this, still they live on. This is a system in crisis, a broken country adrift in a broken world and for the sake of us all, from the billionaires to the battered and bruised, the system needs to change.
There are no norms, all people are exceptions to a rule that doesn't exist but that doesn't stop party politics from creating one. So they can easier identify their kind of people, full stop. They sell a vision of fairness and equality that immediately marginalizes whole sections of society. Swathes of people unrepresented and negatively portrayed to maintain the lie. That one size fits all when it doesn't and never will when the system, by its very nature, fosters disconnect. The party line is in reality, a wall they build to hide behind and that is where Rational Democracy offers a real alternative.
All the current system of party politics does is break stuff, the economy and promises mainly, but it is the partisan, inflexibility of the party line that has ultimately led to the division and dysfunction we suffer. The levels of social and economic depravation is a moral failure that has caused crime and anti-social behaviour to soar and a crumbling infrastructure, underfunded services, and a threadbare welfare state, are demoralising. More alarmingly though, is after twenty years of austerity, it is clear that not one single political party has the first idea what to do. They are unable to see beyond the same flawed thinking that caused the problems in the first place. They tinker round the edges and impose short-term fixes, botched policies that only guarantee one thing: they will break it all again and we will be reduced further.
Rationalism would begin the process of renewal by imposing a small wealth tax to fund grass-roots community regeneration, and a Universal Living Dividend to ensure a baseline level of financial security, adequate and available to all, to relieve the stress of everyday living and increase opportunity. Allied with tax reform, and new income streams, the wealth tax would also directly fund local councils to improve community outlooks, reduce crime, and provide low-cost, social housing, quickly and efficiently.
It is not the intention of the Rational Party to act as a government. Rational Democratic Progression, or Rationalism, is a social reform movement committed to creating a safe, stable society by empowering the individual. Beyond representing those principles, our aims and fresh policy ideas, the everyday processes of government would be reformed to create a parliament based on dialogue, cooperation and a commitment to the mandate of the people.
To ensure the interests of the UK over any incumbent, Rationalism would restructure the current system of governance by devolving real power to the regions, and the reform of parliament. The role of Prime Minister would be replaced by the head of the civil service who would represent the UK government at home and abroad, while senior civil servants, with real knowledge and experience, would replace ministers. Cross-party select committees would ensure fairness and transparency with all candidates subject to rigorous criteria, such as skill-set, suitability, and character.
Reform of financial and market systems, to protect ordinary people from geopolitical shocks, has never been more crucial. We are not the ones who break things, yet we suffer the most. New technologies should be funded by either business, government, or both, and not in the form of higher domestic bills and personal taxation. And by removing current, regressive taxes on business, commerce, and agriculture, we can stimulate growth and increase employment opportunities. Incentives would be provided to invest in technology, and greater autonomy given to form new, free-trade alliances, and create a high level of food, and energy independence.
Because Rationalism is not confined by a political structure, it has no need to play politics. There are no donors, or stakeholders to satisfy, no rhetoric designed to further the ambitions of the few and deny the rest, and unlike all existing parties, Rationalism would seek consensus, and enter into meaningful dialogue with all contrasting views. From the very extremes, to the soft centre, if we give ourselves the opportunity to explain our anger, instead of expressing it, we have a better chance of creating the kind of economically, and socially stable communities that work for all. And if all we do is agree on a truce, just long enough to fix what is broken, that's a start, and who knows where we go from there...
Rationalism believes in dialogue with all views, but not with the intention of changing minds, and although we reject all forms of discrimination, in recent times, the darker elements have reasserted themselves. With all the best intentions, to continue to think we can ever fully eradicate racism, or fascism, or misogyny, is fanciful, and when all most people want is to live in a country that functions, if we find a way to put those differences aside for long enough, we can at least begin to move forward.
Nationalism, allied to religion, and the dubious intentions of dubious people, are bricks in a wall that is centuries old. Every time the economy fails, whether that is here in the UK, or anywhere else for that matter, Fascism rears up and sets us at each others throats. It tells us the criminals and rapists wash in on the tide when in reality, they are already here, hiding in plain sight while at the same time, setting the world on fire and blaming everyone and anything but themselves. Our lives in tatters as they slip away in the fog of scandal and frankly, that applies to them all.
Whether it is the mean spirited Tories, or fake Labour, or the UK-MAGA Reform party, they exist only to serve the interests of Big Business; the new elite, the new aristocracy. That is why, despite all the promises, and assurances our lives are safe in their hands, nothing ever changes. They have nothing new to offer, and because of that, we get the same narrow thinking that messed us up in the first place. They tell us Sovereignty means solitary but that is entirely wrong. It means pride, and strength, and a place in the world where we can truly influence outcomes in our favour.
Cooperation through communication can mend our broken outlook, and improve the view if we let it. The system will never work for the majority so let's have us a Revolution. Rip off the plaster and believe in ourselves and create our own destiny. The time to lecture is gone and this is the time to listen, to give the people the chance to shape their own future and prospects of the nation...
