Standards my boy, satandards

Who sets the boundaries on behaviour.

Why is behaviour so important to some sections of society and not to others.

How is it that society which in many ways is an artificial construct, why is it important or perhaps the question  should be, is it important ?

Mrs Thatcher is reported to have argued in her neoliberal mind-set that there was no such thing as Society only individuals struggling to be recognised.

The Neoliberal concept which sprung as an antidote to the classical Liberal concept, which was an inclusive philosophy,recognising that people needed to be supported, the weak by the strong. It had at its heart, Strong Governance which one of its main concerns was the condition of the people it governed.

Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman are the economists who advocated a turning away from centralised overarching Governance with its strong Public Sector serving the people's needs,  towards 'privatisation', 'fiscal austerity', 'deregulation' and 'free trade'. 

Politically, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were its political standard bearers with the transition from "consensus" politics to "neoliberal" politics. It was the acceptance of its financial philosophy, "financialisation" which led to the financial banking crash of 2008.

Continental Europe is a mixed bag so to speak with its many nations, it has had many historical journeys to get  to where it is today. 

Generally speaking the Europeans are heavily committed to "society" and one of the most attractive aspects of this conglomeration of people's is their willingness to recognise each other "as people" with very similar needs and aspirations.  So remote from the "nationalistic block mentality" of a century ago.

Unlike the Americans and their cousins the Brits, much of their regulation and law is turned towards consensus building through fairness and equality, not through a "winner takes all" philosophy.

Why do you think the Tories are so anti E U. They rage on about the imposition of rules and regulations from the EU but it is these very regulations and laws which are designed with the common man in mind that are an anathema to a Tory Squire.  Only the Market and an unwritten-constitutional set of laws dating in their roots to Feudal times have relevance to his mindset.

Historically the British Class System prevents the efforts of the European to provide a homogeneous balanced society since it runs against the fundamental divisions in our society which the educational arrangement, private and public schooling sets in place from an early age.

The cry for our own legal and parliamentary establishment to be unhindered by the "inferior" Europeans is a perfect example of our Establishment wishing to cling to its Feudal past. 

We still tug at our forelocks at the sight of Royalty, we accept the crazy notion of ennobling people and calling them My Lord, as he taps them on the shoulder with a sword dating back centuries and with it, customs, which are equally antiquated. We make a fetish of worshiping our early history as if it has relevance to today. One can be proud of ones past without wishing to see it invested in the proceedings of today.

And yet recently the Europeans seem to have taken a step back from their ideals in the saga which is Greece. The struggle between France and its democratic instincts rooted in "The Revolution" and Germany the Teutonic powerhouse with its own strict set of rules is being enacted today. The French wishing to make a path for the Greeks and the Germans resolute like a Victorian Father - "standards my boy, standards"  no matter that the boy is crushed under these very standards !!!