Hell Hath No Fury...

...like a left-winger scorned. 

Penny Red has an interesting post up today. It reads like a howl of impotent - and slightly petulant - rage at the sudden realisation that the world doesn't owe her or her friends a living. It is a heartbreaking read, and you would have to have a hard heart to mock the post. Which, to be honest, was my original intention. It is so ripe with naivete and a surly disappointment in a world that hasn't matched a hopelessly utopian ideal that it is just crying out for a good verbal kicking. 

Yet it actually isn't the fault of the likes of Penny Red for their strangely needy relationships with the state. It actually comes down to the political class. They make the promises that everything will be ok, but they don't have the power nor the impetus to actually do what they promise to do. The classic is Brown claiming that he has ended boom and bust. He hadn't and he can't, but still he promised it. And when the recession hits, everyone is disappointed in him. Because he created an expectation that he couldn't possibly live up to. 

The Welfare State is another great example. DK would describe it as a massive ponzi scheme and I'd agree. You put in money - under duress and the threat of prison - and might expect something back when you get old/are made unemployed. Fat fucking chance, but the expectation is there. Politicians of all different creeds and colours make the promise that the Welfare State will look after you from cradle to grave, so is it really a surprise that people expect so much from it? And is it really a surprise that so many people become dependent on it? 

Likewise, a university degree has become the pinnacle of educational achievement, and a sure-fire way of getting both a job and a career. Politicians made the promise, and ended up pushing unsuitable people into unsuitable courses. And, of course, it doesn't end up with a happy ending. Three years done, and nothing to show for it other than the dole queue and some hefty debts. By all means, go to university, study what you want and have a great time. But don't expect a job at the end of it. Because that isn't the way the real world works. A degree doesn't mean you're owed a job. Pretty much nothing means you're owed a job...

If you go just about anywhere outside of politics, you learn pretty quickly that life isn't fair. In the workplace, at school, even on the street - things aren't fair. Yet the government propagates this myth that it will create a utopian world where, no matter what happens, it will be ok. The government will come through. It will create a utopia where you're not going to lose your home, and where you'll still have an income even if you aren't in employment. They are the used car salesman with the cheesy grin - they're selling you an old banger that is going to be much more trouble than it is worth. It is down to you to see through it. 

We have generations raised on the idea that the government is a benign creation that will help you in your hour of need. And the government has consistently let people down. Perhaps we do get what we deserve from our politicians. However, we need to be more cynical about the claims made by our politicians. I'd argue that the politician you can trust is the one who stands up and says "no, sorry, there's nothing we can do about that." And that is probably the one you should vote for.

Penny Red's article is sadly typical of yet another wasted generation of people who venerate government as the answer to every problem they face, and then get disappointed when government let's them down. It is time for everyone to grow up, and see the government for what it is - a limited concept with limited power, a necessary evil. And if you get your head round this and actually understand it, then guess what? You've freed yourself from the expectation of a happy ending from the government, and can get on living real life. Where you are dependent on yourself, rather the supposedly benign but utterly unrealistic and unfulfillable promises of the Welfare State.