I have noticed a considerable amount of distress and anger in some ‘Left’ quarters that Kier Starmer has been elected Labour Party leader. Having been expelled from that party for reasons that I have discussed extensively and am willing, if asked, to discuss again I see it for what it is – a part of the establishment. For a brief moment, under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn it seemed that it would become something more and aspire to change the system fundamentally rather than simply attempt to ameliorate the most predatory aspects of that system. But the Party’s own ‘immune system’ treated Corbyn and ‘Corbynism’ like a virus and produced antibodies to eradicate it. All of the leader candidates took positions indistinguishable from each other on many positions and in particular all accepted that the charges of widespread antisemitism within the party were justified and they publicly agreed to the propositions that:
1. To describe Israeli policies that have a ‘discriminatory impact’ as ‘racist’ is antisemitic.
and
2. It was a disgrace for Corbyn to suggest that it is not antisemitic to describe discriminatory Israeli policies as racist.
Once these and other propositions that are clearly contrary to both empirical and logical truth have been accepted by particular individuals then nothing of what those individuals say can be trusted. It is not just that they are wrong it is that having abandoned a commonsensical use of language it is no longer possible to engage with them in a discussion regarding whether and why they are wrong or right.
Corbyn’s leadership might be called a ‘system error’. That error has been corrected. The relationship between Power and Truth has returned to that which pertained during Blair’s era and his lead up to the Iraq atrocity.
I feel no personal stake in the outcome of the Labour Partyelections and offer these observations from a perspective of puzzlement that anyone really cares. I may of course be mistaken in my observation and I am happy to be corrected but somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen.
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