Author Topic: Illiberalism, Journalism needs to See Differently  (Read 907 times)

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Offline Ken Gigliotti

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Illiberalism, Journalism needs to See Differently
« on: April 09, 2017, 01:08 PM »
Illiberalism vs Liberalism Rant; Journalism Could See Politics Differently

Illiberalism in the present definition would take the form of disillusioned liberals. Interestingly this group is not far right but just right of liberal and right of center. This is the mis-characterized group that is confusing mainstream media. It also includes more right leaning ,shinier fringe support that would attract visually media. The larger group could only be seen analytically. Liberal and conservative parties could capture parts of this demographic by moving toward the right with action plans and plans of action. Parties in power have the advantage.

This is a big deal change, where the mainstream party voters cancel each other out and niche groups can push a majority. Promises won't count with illiberals. 

George Orwell's Book 1984 describes three types groups of people. The “High” group that wants to stay in a leadership roll. The “Middle' group that wants to move into the “High” groups position , and the “Low”the bottom  group that is “too much crushed by drudgery ...is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal.” (written in 1948)

Recent votes in Britain to leave the European Union and the 2016 US election that made Donald Trump president and the so called (mis-read) rise of the right in up coming national elections point to a blowing off steam by the Low groups. The Low groups have reclaimed  minority leverage in polarized political environments.
The power of the vote stands true although purity of the vote is being tested by powerful , disruptive outside influences.

The “Low” are standing up and want recognition. Scientific math forces are enabling political parties  to use advanced data  to harness these niche groups ,influencing  outcomes and move the political opposing forces of the “High” and “Middle” to SEE them.

Politics makes people mad and unpredictable. Unpredictable has to be redefined when high stakes politics are concerned. Unpredictable predictable. Orwell's “doublespeak”.

The “low” in Europe and the United States were mis-charaterized by media as “right wing ,and populous”,but it may be a group of people that had it's hopes raised too many times and it's arm twisted even more times. Certainly Europe's people are in the later, giving up too much for freedom of movement and self defense. Currency and sovereignty are history based cornerstones to individual culture and control. And then there is some getting too much from others in various ways with no end in sight. Bail outs and illiberalism go hand in hand. One hand may be clapping uncontrollably.

Illiberal-ism rises, and it is not fueled by the far right ,the far right may be a small visible and loud evidence that something different is going on. To be on the far right automatically makes the group small.

 
Remarkably ,Paul Ryan ,Republican Leader of the House of Representatives believes that the Republican Party could be a “workers party” in the next five years. This is illiberalism empowered by Trumps win by finding  significant tide turning niche voters in a close election. The next time will be different as competing parties would have made moves to the right of center instead of the left. Republicans would have to deliver. This would entail supporting safety nets for low income earners starting with health-care. This could morph and coincide with the beginning of massive job losses caused by the effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and massive automation.

Workers , spurred on by owners will be looking for serious help. Canada to.

An outside the box idea could make a political party a friend of the worker and of business. Workers and companies are  already partners, they may be desperate partners in an automated ,fast moving , globalized environment that pressures work forces and governments in developed countries. These groups are experiencing this second wave of job loss already but media has not noticed. The last election must have picked up an ambient pattern analytic to support such a bold move. The first time was a gamble, the math is getting an upgrade.

Trump group is morphing and media may be wrong again. Media for sure could invert sending eyes to custom news web sites of ideas and aspirations. Not newspapers or cable news. It is important that media get it right.

Checks, balances and conservative thinking may hinder the Trumps new family business. Instability in the world favours the Boss of everything.

Illiberal-isms anger and protest, it seems is  caused by the repeated over-promising of liberalism to desperate people then not delivering. Delivering liberalism unequally would be another trigger. Not having a job is motivation for change. The unintended unpredictable result may be an angry unpredictable electoral result. BREXIT,Trump.

This goal could embrace a (Canada) or USA first process to save American manufacturing jobs and companies while expanding and globalizing to new markets. There was a commentator who made the distinction between out-sourcing and globalization that sounded odd at the time ,I wish I could remember the name. I see now there could be distinction.

This is about timing and tipping points and what side workers want to be on. A political party that would deal with inevitable job loss without typically socialized welfare could be interesting. A made in America idea.

Canadians believe in taxation and  welfare, it has a powerful infrastructure within government that the “Low” sees only in the mere trickle down from the two higher groups.
The “Low” can still use their secret weapon once in every four years but the present choices  are indistinguishable.

What if desperate workers unite with desperate company managers and owners of small and medium sized business for mutual protection. In Canada the NDP may have a play with it's history with workers but not owners. Conservatives,business owners  and workers it is an interesting option. It is thinking differently.

Workers, managers and owners cannot be working against each other in this economic climate.

Illiberal-ism could drive it with a 30% Conservative base and a normally 20% undecided  or never voted before turnout. 

It hinges on a high profile Donald Trump's  ability  to create local jobs in the next four years. This should be just a head of the negatives effects of automation and a later the  AI contraction. In Canada with a devalued currency ,it may just be a matter of a decreased the business tax or just giving away money as a guaranteed annual income to be successful.

Inflation and interest rates and carbon tax  may be issues.

Since Donald Trump was elected president there has been a lot of talk about the rise of illiberal-ism. I had not heard that term before but my mind flashed back to the third high pay job I had when I was in my twenties. High pay jobs were abundant. I worked as a painter, paper mill labor , and terminal grain elevator labourer. The last two jobs have closed for good  in the last ten years.

I guess everyone starts out liberal, it is the affliction of the young as conservatism is the affliction of the old. A little known law of political physics states that anger cannot be consumed only transferred. Opportunity plays a big roll.

It may appear to some that government program employment initiatives cause bureaucracies to thrive and survive , but disappoint workers when the program ends.

The real failure of liberalism is not good intentions, but lack of tax dollars because there are so few working to support such costly systems. It has a good cover story.  A system that pays itself first.

Tax the robots?

In the mid 1970's I worked for a time  on the scale floor of Saskatchewan Pool 4 terminal elevator in Thunder Bay. The job was weighing and shipping grain to ships destined for eastern Canadian ports and the world. I just moved a spout from one bin to another. But, I worked with a crew of men that gave me my first glimpse into the minds of the illiberal's. Being a kid with a red hardhat, I was in awe of the practical clarity of thought I would experience . My next stop would involve a big pay cut to join the local  newspaper. At that time it held freedom of thought pretty dear but that would soon change. I would have to learn indirect ways of thinking in gradual stages over the next 40 years in the news business.

The day at the terminal elevator always started the same. A couple of newspapers  would show up and the scale operator and the government inspector would start going through the stories. The outrage would predictably  start over a court story, city hall , the provincial, federal bugling as well as international and sports stories. I would learn ,news makes people mad.

The narrative would usually outline a disagreeable action fallowed by an unsatisfactory response. The argument would continue until a solution was found and agreed upon. Unanimously  workers  agreed on a point that was always aspiration and surprisingly simple. The whole crew would agree and decide, “the bastards should be  shot” or “just shoot the ba*ta#ds.” They saw problems with clarity. It was always pretty funny ,the simplicity of it. By noon everyday the ba*t#rds were happily stacked like cord wood. They actually solved one of the world problems one day,but I forgot the solution. Cell phones had not been invented so I couldn't text the United Nations. Another big joke on the scale floor.

The guys at the elevator would love these modern classics.

Police are warning the public that a dangerous sexual offender is being released and is likely to re-offend. Good luck to all .

Or,  Fentanyl users, your product is in the mail ,we have paramedics standing by.

Then there was this. Orwell-ian , “telescreen”  screeching  out “newspeak” in terms of “doublethink.”

Form Washington D.C.,“Is there an is,” and, “there is no there,there.” Heads spin.

The Liberal feminist wife was criticized for displaying a photo on social media of her holding hands with her feminist husband and prime minister of Canada (who created a gender balanced  cabinet because it was 2016) on International Woman's Day 2017. The insult was further supported by a feminist, and reporter on the “telescreen,” news network by saying it ought not to have occurred on that day. That implied it would be OK on another day. Even the most illiberal would be left speechless by this entanglement. Except it is an illiberal expression of distrust. Cool, eh.

The person who designed terminal grain elevators had a castle in mind. They were big ,imposing , damp,dark, cement stone structures with 100ft bins and 150 ft. work houses and had a water mote on three sides. Sask Pool 4 was one of the most efficient operations on the harbor unloading 80 cars of grain a shift and shipping 100,000 bushels an hour to the boat. Everything and everyone born before political correctness are dinosaurs.

I was beginning to see that segments of the population do not always  “get” or buy-in to what was written in newspapers or heard on TV.

Il-liberalism can happen in Canada with the percent of overall taxation is 50%.  Those still working full and part time haven't had a raise in a decade. House prices rise, rental housing next. Workers see no cost of living increment and no hope for a raise while facing down sizing  or layoff in every quarter of every year while also being on the cusp of being replaced by a robot. The hollow middle class  with education debt are  working and sinking below the poverty line with their kids still in school.   

The beaten down newspaper industry has just joined the long drab line of people standing outside the parliament buildings with their hands out for tax dollars. It seems that the horse may be leaving the barn.

Large budgets for failing ministries and more taxation is on the way... yet the same problems do not get fixed and only get worse. Illiberal-ism rises . Illiberal-ism is not a new thing but the scale of it is increasing. Some may think it is new, or new to media or ignored by correctness rules of engagement  ,or now large enough  in scale that  media will misdiagnose, simplifying and call it racism, or hate  and find 2 experts  to quote  supporting the premise. More “cylindrical” political reporting.(another 1984 ,Orwell quote)

The next four years will put a spotlight national leadership. Traditional approaches may prevail. Crisis or not ,it all could be very interesting.

The deplorables may be winning as more and more attention is being paid to the next elections in Europe. They do not need to win ,they just demand to be noticed.
Opinion/rant by ken Gigliotti April 2017

« Last Edit: April 09, 2017, 11:06 PM by Ken Gigliotti »