~ T-E-INU-AIHAB-O-PG-TNTPTPIADIWATEAPHTRTV-TE-RAAOBOTGT-‘M’-D-TMSTIDNTTOI ~ Today’s – Establishment – Is Made Up – As It Has Always Been – Of – Powerful Groups – That Need To Protect Their Position In A Democracy In Which Almost The Entire Adult Population Has The Right To Vote – The Establishment – Represents An Attempt On Behalf Of These Groups To – “Manage” – Democracy – To Make Sure That It Does Not Threaten Their Own Interests

~ TSIOTME-ASOITHITRAJIPAB-ODA-‘N-L’-TDBOAFOCOTMCTSQ-TIIORA-‘F’-P-‘EF’-A-WIITLOI ~ The Shared Ideology Of The Modern Establishment – A Set Of Ideas That Helps It To Rationalize And Justify Its Position And Behavior – Often Described As – “Neo-Liberalism” – The Driving Back Of Any Form Of Collective Organization That Might Challenge The Status Quo – This Ideology Is Often Rationalized As – “Freedom” – Particularly – “Economic Freedom” – And – Wraps Itself In The Language Of Individualism

~ AWASM-TEICB-FL-A-A-‘RD’-C:TI-PI-GB-P/C/M-W-O-WMTITVWATST ~ As Well As Shared Mentality – The Establishment Is Cemented By – Financial Links – And – A – “Revolving Door” – Culture: That Is – Powerful Individuals – Gliding Between – Political / Corporate / Media – Worlds – Or – Who Manage To Inhabit These Various Worlds At The Same Time

~ YTIALFATHOET-IMATS-B-IICDOTSTF-BOB-S-FI-POP-RAD-AWEAGPE-TTUOWTLTLO-NS-AEOWCBDA-‘SFTR’

~ Yet There Is A Logical Flaw At The Heart Of Establishment Thinking – It May Abhor The State – But – It Is Completely Dependent On The State To Flourish – Bailed Out Banks – State-Funded Infrastructure – Protection Of Property – Research And Development – A Workforce Educated At Great Public Expense – The Topping Up Of Wages Too Low To Live On – Numerous Subsidies – All Examples Of What Could Be Described As – “Socialism For The Rich”

~ TEDNRTSID-AA-IITJOTMTSLOTBOTWP-I-JAPA-OCAATBOTATBOS ~ The Establishment Does Not Receive The Scrutiny It Deserves – After All – It Is The Job Of The Media To Shed Light On The Behaviour Of Those With Power – Instead – Journalists And Politicians Alike – Obsessively Critique And Attack The Behaviour Of Those At The Bottom Of Society

~ EAAWREIHBLDOOTIM ~ Economists And Academics Who Reject Establishment Ideology Have Been Largely Driven Out Of The Intellectual Mainstream

~ A-IR-C-HTDAAF-TP ~ Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric – Conveniently – Helps To Deflect Attention Away From – The Powerful

~ T-‘BIWI’-I-TPTE-AEMUDOWLTWPFTTHERTEGSOI ~ The – “Because I’m Worth It” – Ideology – That Permeates The Establishment – An Ever More Unequal Distribution Of Wealth Leaves Those With Power Feeling That They Have Every Right To Ever Greater Slices Of It

~ TEHR-UAU-FTL ~ The Establishment Has Remained – Unaccountable And Unchallenged – For Too Long

~ TO ~ The Outriders

~ GM-I-F-MG-TJ-RTWOTE ~ Government Minsters – Invoke – Free-Market Globalization – To Justify – Resisting The Will Of The Electorate

~ PHBACSFTP ~ Politics Has Become A Closed Shop For The Privileged

~ TMPACR-B-FTFATATB-OWCBO-D/M/OL-T-DS-FT-WAP-E-ATTOS-HAS-GT-TOATPOTE ~ The Media Play A Crucial Role – By – Focusing Their Fire At Those At The Bottom – Often With Coverage Based On – Distortions / Myths / Outright Lies – They – Deflect Scrutiny – From The – Wealthy And Powerful – Elite – At The Top Of Society – Hardly A Surprise – Given That ~ Their Owners Are Themselves Part Of That Elite

~ BOHABWTAR-MOTMTSAAHPDOTIOTWWAP ~ Because Of How And By Whom They Are Run – Much Of The Media Today Serves As A Highly Partisan Defender Of The Interests Of Those With Wealth And Power

~ TWHBI-C-MTETHAFAAW-TWSOOLFBTAWBAMT ~ The Workforce Has Become Increasingly – Causalized – Making Them Easy To Hire And Fire At A Whim – Those Who Step Out Of Line Face Being Tossed Aside With Barely A Moment’s Thought

~ TUOTPAAPFBTPGBALW ~ The Use Of The Police As A Partisan Force By The Powerful Goes Back A Long Way

~ TPHBTTT-W-CP-AT-‘EW’ ~ The Police Had Been Trained To Treat – Working-Class People – As The – “Enemy Within”

~ TNEPT-STIF-AY-IHBEMA-HMAMPTTP-LWSLI-W-MTCDOD ~ The New Establishment Promised To – Set The Individual Free – And Yet – It Has Become Ever More Authoritarian – Handing More And More Power To The Police – Laws With Seemingly Laudable Intentions – Were – Manipulated To Crack Down On Dissent

~ PA-BTECTHRBTFOTS-IAF-TSTUTE-P-OC-TIAOTEB ~ Police Authoritarianism – Belied The Establishment’s Claims To Have Rolled Back The Frontiers Of The State – In Actual Fact – The State Thrives Under The Establishment – Providing – Of Course – That It Acts On The Establishment’s Behalf

~ TE-F-MI-IOLMTAFF-PPAIPHATEOS ~ The Establishment’s – Free-Market Ideology – Is Often Little More Than A Front For – Placing Public Assets In Private Hands At The Expense Of Society

~ S-BW-TSPOPR-EB-AEPALS ~ Statism – Begins With – The State’s Protection Of Property Rights – Enforced By – An Expensive Police And Legal System

~ OA-TTSTR-W-TPWP-TGSAH-TTIETPUTT ~ Once Again – The Taxpayer Shouldered The Risk – While – The Profit Was Privatized – These Government Subsidies Are Huge – The Taxpayer Is Expected To Pick Up The Tab

~ TMOAS:BOOTB-AFSOAS-FL-SM-TSITTST-TRTINB ~ The Mother Of All Subsidies: Bailing Out Of The Banks – A Financial System On A State-Fuelled Life-Support Machine – The State Is There To Support Them – To Rescue Them If Needs Be

~ RAD-HB-N-A-CBTP-WTPEAP ~ Risk And Debt – Have Been – Nationalized – And – Carried By The Population – While The Profitable Elements Are Privatized

~ W-TS-IP-IIBAMFSFPC-APSR-WTR-‘S’-ATBF-N-ATBOS-B-ATT ~ With – The State – Increasingly Privatized – It Is Becoming A Mere Funding Stream For Private Companies – A Publicly Subsidized Racket – Were The Real – “Scroungers” – Are To Be Found – Not – At The Bottom Of Society – But – At The Top

~ TAT-D ~ Tycoons And Tax-Dogers

~ RCBCSAFTW ~ Rights Can Be Casually Striped Away From The Workforce

~ IWBT-WP-W-PUTTFTC-N-TRFI-A-WLCTA ~ It Would Be The – Working People – Who – Picked Up The Tab For The Crisis – Not – Those Responsible For It – And – With Little Calling To Account

~ HTTAIR:TCSBBOATCM ~ Here’s The Thing About Ideological Rationales: They Can Sometimes Be Based On All Too Convenient Mirages

~ TMEHB-F-TAUD-RDMGWTPOTF ~ The Modern Establishment Has Been – Financialized – To An Unprecedented Degree – Restoring Democracy Means Grappling With The Power Of The Financiers

~ ABRFSTISSTBDDBFC ~ A Badly Regulated Financial Sector That Is So Susceptible To Being Dragged Down By Foreign Crises

~ ‘GI’-CJ-CT-PET-O-CC-A-ETATF ~ “Green Industries” – Creating Jobs – Confront The – Potentially Existential Threat – Of – Climate Change – And – End The Addiction To Finance

~ A-DRW-DTPO-BM-FP-T ~ A – Democratic Revolution Would – Drive The Power Of – Big Money – From Politics – Too

~ PISAEW-CPWEOTSOITGASDNTT-SA-FW-UB-CC-A-SO ~ Politics Increasingly Sidelines And Excludes Working-Class People With Experience Of The Sorts Of Issues That Government And Society Desperately Need To Tackle – Such As – Falling Wages – Unpaid Bills – Childcare Costs – And – So On

~ AT-WW-LSAF-PAABFTPI-ATMABEATEOS-A-TH-WGO-WP-SS-RITW-A-SO-AB-SA ~ Across The – Western World – Living Standards Are Falling – Public Assets Are Being Flogged To Private Interest – A Tiny Minority Are Being Enriched At The Expense Of Society – And – The Hard-Won Gains Of – Working People – Social Security – Rights In The Workplace – And – So On – Are Being – Stripped Away

~ TMO-‘TINA’-I-P-TWADKOS-WB-I-M-A-BAINB ~ The Mantra Of – “There Is No Alternative” – Is – Pervasive – Those Wanting A Different Kind Of Society – Will Be – Ignored – Marginalized – And – Bitterly Attacked If Needs Be

~ TIOEEITIIP ~ The Illusion Of Every Era Is That It Is Permanent