What difficulties does the ruling order in this country have?
1. Debt? Perhaps. Perhaps not. The media tell us that the debt is enormous but then the government seems to be able to command the Bank of England to 'print' (or arrange to circulate) unlimited amounts of cash. Is there a limit? What happens if they reach it?
2. Covid. They are far off solving this and seem very unwilling to take the precautionary and mitigating methods to keep it under control. The NHS is full. They have a death and damage toll of hundreds of thousands. At present, very few people seem to be angry about this. What happens if they do get angry? Will an enquiry confirm what we know anyway that they have repeatedly gambled with thousands of lives, sometimes in order - as they thought - to save the rest?
3. Boris Johnson. Clearly some of the old school Tories think he's a liability. Perhaps they know that things will unravel with him and their hold on power will be weakened.
4. Brexit. I confess that I thought that if Brexit happened they would stay in some kind of close trading relationship with the EU - single market or something similar. How wrong could I have been! But given that we're not in that relationship, have they miscalculated? Are they in trouble?
5. Sleaze - this can be a symbol or lightning rod for something bigger to do with class, privilege and a feeling that the 'high-ups' are getting perks while millions of people are struggling. In that sense, sleaze is about inequality.
Meanwhile people in government press ahead with attacks on migrants and the 'woke'. They are choosing to open up 'culture wars'. At one level this is peripheral to their major problems with the economy but then that's what it's about. Culture wars are a great way to recruit people who want to scapegoat and blame those who are not responsible for the crises. They gather in racists and people who fear that their identity is being threatened even as their lives and livelihoods are threatened by this government (Covid, poverty etc.)
