Some harsh words have been said over at the Devil's Kitchen about party politics.
Given that the Devil is a libertarian, and therefore one assumes an adherent to the non-aggression principle, it is odd that he has such violent designs on people who belong to political parties.
I should say I know Chris, the author, and he is a very nice chap. Clearly, he is angry about the world we have created. You don't have to support everything he writes to see his point and why he is prone to bouts of fury. That doesn't justify violence.
I have already discussed the state of party politics.
I am told that in the Times David Aaronovitch has also written that our political parties are failing people. I missed the piece and can't see it on line or link to it due to their pay wall.
All of this does raise the question of what you do if you would like people to control their lives. Should you engage in party politics in order to give people more power or at least try and hold back the tide of an ever increasing State?
Jock Coats has some thoughts on the matter. He recommends various ways to achieve greater freedom. Jock is a member of a political party so presumably would be on the Devil's list.
Of course, for those who are quite happy with our political parties and the way things are done all of this is irrelevant. For others, it is a continuing dilemma.
What riled the Devil were the proposals over surveillance. While they may well infringe on an individuals' liberty there are many instances where government frames how we live our lives. No one tends to complain about them except people like the Devil. Only recently, there was a proposal that when home owners put in new boilers they must make sure their properties are insulated to a standard that the government approves of. For some that is the most depressing thing about our political parties: they never think that it is a touch odd that they should be responsible for managing so many aspects of how we live.
