Tony Benn - 10 min History Lesson for Neoliberals

Bank Bonuses Buy "Talent"?

I was wondering about an argument I've just had. It seems that bankers, financiers and corporate CEOs get paid huge amounts of money, plus ridiculous "bonuses" and financial "incentives", for their "talents". So I've been thinking about those very same "talents" that seem to be worth millions of pounds. What could possibly be worth more money that it would take three generations of the same family to spend? And why should the amount make such a difference to their capacity to perform?

Nigel Farage, UKIP's mouthpiece, keeps arguing that if we tax the rich at a higher rate, they'd simply "up-sticks" and leave the country! Why? Couldn't they live on millions of pounds then? I'm fairly certain I could! And which one's would go, if they were "unfairly taxed"? Would we really miss them? 

All this talk of "investment in jobs", and being "business friendly" is anathema to me! How about being "people friendly"? How about genuinely investing in people? If the rich elite want to go, let'em! There are more than 60 million people in this country. Does anyone think we'd all starve to death without them? Does anyone really believe that their "generosity" and "business accumen" are the only things keeping us "safe"?  And besides, most of their money is already registered "overseas"! (I know it's hidden in the Bank of Englad's vaults tax-free, but to get that tax-free status, they have to declare themselves 'non-domicile'!) So let them go and spend some quality time with their cash - and don't let them back until they've paid all they owe. 

The type of "talent" that some of these "quality" financiers have is more a mental disorder, as far as I can tell. If all one thinks about is "how much is this worth to me?", or "I couldn't work for less than a million quid!", then I feel that the "talent" they're displaying is either psychopathy, or sociopathy! No empathy, no thoughts about consequences, no regard for anyone else in society and blind to the pain caused to others. There are drugs for this sort of behaviour, aren't there?

With the size of Britain's population, I'm certain that there are economists, mathematicians, managers, entrepreneurs, and genuine hard working business people aplenty, who would have empathy and a care for others, who'd replace them for less than half the price!

Stockholm Syndrome and Abusive Relationships.

I've been searching for an appropriate metaphor or analogy to explain what's happening in this country with our corporate, political 'masters' and I suddenly experienced a eureka moment! Abusive relationships and the Stockholm Syndrome! Let me explain......

During the early days of my counselling career I used to counsel women from a nearby women's refuge. The idea being that they were able to see that not all men were 'equal'. Now, I'm aware that many men suffer abuse from their partners but for the purposes of this little essay I'm going to rely on the stereotype.

Here's one scenario: You (being female) find yourself 'pestered' by an extremely attentive guy. He treats you like a queen. He buys you gifts, chocolates, flowers and seems totally taken by you. He's attentive and listens to your every utterance. He's overly flattering and seems to admire every choice you make and does his best to help you solve every problem you encounter. His boyish charm, with a hint of vulnerability finally gets through and you find yourself taken by his persistence. Six months of bliss is suddenly broken as he slaps you! The moment comes as such a shock, seemingly for both of you. This uncharacteristic behaviour throws him into a grovelling, immature wreck. He's so apologetic you find yourself, (equally uncharacteristically), forgiving him. All goes well for another seven, or eight weeks. Then he slaps you again. He's just as apologetic, but this time the “reasons” for his behaviour become more emotionally charged. He did it because he's insanely in love with you. And if you hadn't done “x”, or spoken to “y”, this wouldn't have happened. You're now somewhat confused. “Was it my fault?” you begin to ask. The benefit of the doubt ensures you still let this one pass. As the weeks turn into months, you're finding that he's beginning to criticise little things. The dress you're wearing. Your hair could look better tied up, perhaps a bit less make-up, maybe you've spent a little too long talking to the bloke at the bar, etc. He only says all these things because he gets jealous, and he only gets jealous because he “loves” you. Gradually, your only social life is centred around him. By now he's made the threat that if you should leave him, he'll kill himself! His life is now your responsibility. You, in the meantime, have become confused and fearful. His mood-swings have become unpredictable. One minute he's so deeply in love with you, the next, you've done something to enrage him and he's punched you for it! His 'minor' criticisms have become major insults; “Your hair's a mess! You look like a prostitute! You're ugly and fat! You're unlovable and an embarrassment!” Interspersed with “I couldn't imagine life without you! You're my rock. I'm the only one who could love you.” Then the threats of; “If you're thinking of leaving me, I'll find you and kill you!” (And/or the kids if you've had any!)

One day, you're looking at yourself in the mirror, after innumerable visits to A&E thinking, “It's my fault. I am ugly. I can't do anything right. I'll never get anyone else.” Or, “He needs me, I'm the only one who can help him.” You yearn for those moments of intimacy and compassion, even if it only amounts to sexual intercourse for him. You imagine them to be more than they actually are. Your self-worth has been crushed. You live in abject fear of “doing the wrong thing” and “upsetting” him again. But you can't see a way out.

As a counsellor, I heard many stories of seriously abused women who had repeatedly visited casualty departments and had covered their tracks by visiting hospitals in different parts of the country, all believing that they were in some way to blame! All of my clients would say, at some very early point: “You wouldn't understand!” Usually followed by: “You don't know him, he can be wonderful.”

I was never allowed to let my feelings show in sessions but often, after a session, I would find myself weeping at the tragedy which had unfolded. The scenario would be repeated on many occasions and I felt helpless. But the biggest tragedy was the fact that the refuge workers had told me that if they were able to keep a client for longer than six weeks, they had a chance of saving them. However, within days, and sometimes hours, they would return to their abusive partners! Sadly, the frustrating truth was that the 'recovery' rate was exceedingly small.

An anecdote I'd like to share, just to hammer home the point concerns a friend and neighbour who'd telephoned me one evening to inform me that one of her friends had come to her house to escape her husband's fury. She had brought her young son with her. They both were, apparently, terrified. It took me less than ten minutes to reach my fiend's house where I was greeted by a painfully thin woman who was visibly shaking as I entered the room. We sat and talked for a few minutes when she gave me “that look”! One I'd seen so many times. A mixture of suspicion and contempt. The immortal words: “You wouldn't understand,” followed by; “he's not always like this, he can be lovely.” were offered. I gave her the number of the refuge and the name of the person I knew who would be taking the calls. I tried, as gently as I could to advise her that it was in her and her son's best interest to go to the refuge and spend just a couple of nights. She assured me that she would. However, as I left, I knew that nothing I'd said had made the slightest impression on her. As I arrived home, less than ten minutes later, my phone was ringing. It was my neighbour telling me that she'd left seconds after I and had returned to the enraged husband.

I don't know what happened to her but I do know of many women who have been killed by their “loving” partners. And that not many of these stories make the national press, especially those from the 'lower' working classes!

Why do these women stay? Fear is one good reason. But the Stockholm Syndrome, reinforced by fear, seems a much more tangible adhesive! Coming to sympathise with and believe their captors closes all avenues of rational thought. In an oblique way, they return for reasons of survival! Despite the obvious threat to life on one level, on another is, due to the complete destruction of self-worth, this is the only life they know! TINA – there is no alternative!

Now to use this tragic level of existence as a metaphor for the degree of brutality imposed by our neoliberal corporate masters.

To completely destroy our welfare system, to give away our right to free healthcare, to give away our possessions (e.g. Royal Mail, etc.), to sell our infrastructure, our energy supplies, to send our troops into resource wars, ill-equipped, to impose fracking and nuclear energy for profit and deny any green alternatives, to take our money and give it to super-rich individuals and corporate bodies – tax-free, to watch, heartlessly, as more and more people have to resort to foodbanks to feed their families, more and more people are rendered homeless, more and more sick and disabled punished, growing unemployment and under-employment, lower wages, less security, less democratic rights to complain or protest, ignoring the wishes of the majority, crushing small businesses, snubbing any UN cries of human rights violations, criticising EU “interference” in our judicial system, signing away our democratic rights to aggressive secret international trade agreements, cutting public spending to the bone and threatening us with heavy-handed policing. All of which sounds pretty abusive to me.

They can beat us at will. They can take our money at will. They can lock us up at will. And we take it. We believe TINA - there is no alternative. We're to believe they're doing it for our own good. We're to accept that other people's views (UN, EU, and the church) are to be ignored because “they don't understand us”! And we are too afraid to fight back!

Many people have died at the hands of these corporate controlled politicians and their deaths are not making the news! Many more will die prematurely. We will allow our own home ecology to be destroyed, let alone the global ecology, before we put an end to this abuse!

I'm not sure I even saved one of those women in my early years of counselling. I was only allowed to offer six one-to-one sessions. Beyond which was the support services of the refuge and social services – if they stayed. What I have learned along the way was the value of group therapy. Groups break the sense of isolation. It reveals the truth behind the lies and manipulation we've all fallen for! It also reveals the fact that we can achieve so much more if we work together! We are NOT idiots! If we work collectively, it is my conviction, that we can end this abuse and find a real and sustainable alternative.

From Save Lewisham Hospital campaign: fight Clause 118 and potential hospital closures | Blog | False Economy

From Save Lewisham Hospital campaign: fight Clause 118 and potential hospital closures | Blog | False Economy