Stuck with the Blob

Something which has become fairly obvious over the years is that developed countries such as the UK, rarely have a political government as promoted by political parties looking for votes. We don’t have a Parliament providing, on behalf of voters, pragmatic political oversight of the bureaucracy and all its associated pressure groups – the Blob as we sometimes call it.

The Blob directs political theatre, but is not entirely human and only partly based in the UK. It has impersonal aspects where situations evolve from both human and impersonal roots, from decisions, laws, markets, language, fashions, rules, transactions, aspects of human behaviour which don’t change much and aspects of reality which don’t change at all.

The Blob both responds to and influences what is published by the media, but not in the sense of applying political principles, promises or by consulting manifestos. The last general election didn’t introduce new political principles, ambitions, policies or whatever. The last general election is over, in the past, done with, buried and forgotten.

Fumbling along in a fog of complexity, it is a mistake to think we are able to change the Blob by casting one vote every five years. It is certainly a sound idea to call for change, to criticise absurdities, absurd people, absurd fashions, absurd failures and corruption. Of course it is, but like throwing pebbles from the beach into the sea, it doesn’t change anything – the tide doesn’t change, the waves don’t adjust their waving.

Not that voting is a waste of time, but it is more opinion poll than a route to change. In itself, an election it isn’t likely to change anything voters thought they were voting for. It might possibly make the work of the Blob more difficult for a while, but this isn’t likely to be a positive development and isn’t likely to be permanent. We know it too – for decades we’ve seen how it all works, or rather doesn’t work.

What we can say is that here in the UK, many things are not done well and much is done badly, especially when the Blob has a role to play. Yet it is a mistake to think this can be corrected by voting. It has rarely worked in the past and shows no signs of working in the future.