SPL : Built to Last: Revolutionary Conservatism?
And just in case we missed it, Cameron repeats the word four times in the subsequent four paragraphs: A revolution in personal responsibility – giving every individual the skills, the resources, and the confidence to take control of their life. A revolution in professional responsibility – giving all those whowork in our public services the freedom to fulfil their vocation. A revolution in civic responsibility – giving our neighbourhoods and communities the power to shape their destinies, fight crime and improve the quality of life. A revolution in corporate responsibility – giving business the encouragement and the incentive to help enhance our environment and improve well-being. That is the mission of the modern Conservative Party: a responsibility revolution to create an opportunity society – a society in which everybody is a somebody, a doer not a done-for. 
As one would expect from Cameron's loose rhetoric since he was elected last December, there's nothing particularly remarkable about this text, save the fact that Cameron has bettered his own paradox of "compassionate conservatism". He's now saying that "this country needs a responsibility revolution".
What could this possibly mean? Surely conservatism is premised on a will to conserve? Revolution is anathema to any conservative worth the name, and has been since Reflections on the Revolution in France.
This is further evidence of political euphemism. This time the subject is not immigration, but collectivism. Talk of "shared responsibility", and a notion of us all being "in this together", belongs very much to the language of socialism. A week ago I wrote that "Cameron accuses the government of 'ineffective authoritarianism'. Perhaps he thinks he's the one to provide effective authoritarianism." With this document, Dave has tumbled yet further down the slippery slope of conservative-paternalism, typified in June by his infamous "rapping sanction".To fight social injustice and help the most disadvantaged by building a strong society. The test of a strong and just society is how it looks after the least advantaged – but this duty is not reserved for the state alone. It is a shared responsibility: we are all in this together.
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5 Comments:
"And just in case we missed it, Cameron repeats the word four times in the subsequent four paragraphs"
Tut tut, every good spin doctor knows repeat things thrice and only thrice..
education, education, education. etc etc.
He actually repeats it five times.
You have identified very clearly the problem with many political statements, ie that they are woolly worded so as to provide superficial appeal to any reader without any specific commitment against which the person or the party may be measured a failure in the future. This tendency is exacerbated in the present media hungry times as there is a real or perceived 'requirement' to launch or re-launch at frequent intervals simply to stay in the public eye.
You can have revolutionary conservatism- a revolution is a sudden change, and if you're a conservative it means a sudden change to the past.
Like the iranian revolution was a revolution. But the past they go back to is usually a mythical one, one where there were no problems. Of course, If there really were no problems or maladjustment between the society and environment in the past, it makes you wonder how the golden age ever came to an end - in other words, there must have been problems enough to get to whatever state we're in now.
Revolutionary conservatism would more properly be called 'reaction'. But it's all nonsense anyway because cameron has to capture the only voter whose votes count, and at the moment he's with Blair. Whatever policy is making him like blair is the same polivy cameron will end up adopting.
By the way, S, I wasn't expecting this level of intellect, I'll struggle to keep up!
Social justice... ha ha!
Surely that photo is doctored?
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