United Left

Lazy journalism from right-wing libertarian

"Left-wing activists’ treatment of disabled people as objects of pity is far more disgusting than anything the government has done..." Brendan O'Neill

Brendan O'Neill's article in the Telegraph of 6 May is yet another example of the lazy journalism to which we're exposed all too frequently these days. Here we have another ex-Leftie turned right-wing libertarian attempting to paint the Left as a politically moribund entity bereft of ideas and direction; while portraying the Right as the true champions of the working classes and disabled with their 'work is the only solution' message.

From beginning to end this piece is a gross insult to the very group O'Neill purports to defend - disabled people. He begins the article by speaking as though the "...Left-wing observers..." (the villains of this piece) are the spokespersons for disabled people; when the reality is that it is disabled people who are speaking up for themselves on a variety of social media sites, in Blogs, on Facebook, on Twitter, in newspapers and out on the streets via direct action.

Living in the world of neo-liberalism

From 1979 onwards successive governments have been dismantling the institutions of the welfare state and replacing them with those of a no-rights, deregulated market economy – what has become known as neo-liberalism.

On any indices – workers’ rights, the gulf between rich and poor, we are increasingly living with the consequences of the rise of the neo-liberal state. For example child poverty:

3.6 million children living in poverty in the UK .
This is 27% of children - more than one in four.
Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of children growing up in poverty live in a household where at least one member works.

Contrast this with the obscene profits and greed epitomised by the bankers. Rather than an aberration, poverty and greed are the foundation stones of the neo-liberals’ creed. When the likes of Johnson or Osborne defend bankers’ bonuses they are then defending a principle on which the society they wish to rule is organised. Such people are out to privatise the world and they are winning.

Exposing government lies on welfare

The pie chart on the right gives a breakdown of every type of welfare expenditure that accounts for over 1% of the welfare bill for 2011/12. This government would have it that benefit payments are spiralling out of control; and in its attempts to do this focuses its propaganda onto groups such as disabled people as culprits for the overspend.

Of course as with all propaganda the government is targeting groups like disabled people in order to draw people's attentions away from the real problems within the country, namely unemployment, underemployment and a flat-lining economy.

The deficit this government promised it would eradicate within a single government term is growing. Its growing because of the slash and burn policies adopted by the ConDems. The fact that is high unemployment means millions of people are not contributing to the Treasury coffers; but instead dependent on benefit (meagre as this is).