Obama’s dreadful
error about the
‘Polish death camps’
Callum, born 100 years ago this week, stood for no half-measures
Tessa Ransford’s anniversary tribute
to her husband
In good times we
want the arts
In bad times we
need the arts
Richard Wilson, a delegate at the Young Scotland Programme, writes for SR
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We need to start
thinking about
the second chapter
Fraser Matheson
We need politicians with the moral courage to turn to those whom our society has enriched, and demand that they play their part in protecting and developing that society for the benefit of us all.
Our society today is one of rampant inequality. On the one hand, there are the rich. There are individuals in this country whose wealth, when contrasted with the means of ordinary folk, is nothing less than obscene. On the other hand, there are the poor. There are people in our 21st-century society who struggle to feed their children. That is shocking. Our society is rich enough that none should struggle. The problem is not one of resources, but of distribution. When the present incumbents of Westminster’s halls of power glibly whine that we don’t have the money to pay for social welfare, they are mistaken. We – and by ‘we’ I mean our society – have plenty of money to spend. It is simply a case of distribution. The money is there, but too much of it remains in the hands of too few.
We need to see a new generation of politicians – we need people who are willing to develop and articulate alternatives to the destructive capitalism which has held us in its grip for too long. That is not to say that capitalism is necessarily an evil. The distribution problem is not a simple capitalism/ socialism dichotomy. If capitalism can be made to distribute wealth in a way that is fair then I will have no quarrel with it. We need politicians with the moral courage to turn to those whom our society has enriched, and demand that they play their part in protecting and developing that society for the benefit of us all. After all, the rich do not become rich in a vacuum. They become rich because society has enabled them to become rich.
At present, there is a lamentable lack of real alternatives in politics, particularly in Westminster politics. There are no longer any substantial differences between any of the major London-based parties. The Lib Dem’s have capitulated, and Labour has largely abandoned the principles which it once held dear. In Scotland, we at least have the SNP, who represent aims which are radically different from the alternatives of recent years. But a post-independence Scotland will need more radical alternatives. If Scotland were to achieve independence within the next decade, what choices would it be presented with? Would the Scottish electorate be presented once again with an uninspiring catalogue of beige choices? I do hope not.
Independence is now a real possibility. But it is only the beginning. We need to start thinking about the second chapter.
Fraser Matheson was born in Dingwall and is currently a final year law student in Aberdeen. He intends to practise law in Scotland
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