My Politics Phase Begins

Having spent a year figuring out my opinion on religion, I'm now moving on to my politics phase. (My engrossment in politics in the run up to the General Election was like a 'Coming Soon' sneak preview.) I'll write some posts about politics and economics to organize my thoughts as I go. I still consider myself a politics newbie, so please point out errors and misunderstandings. For news, I follow The Guardian, The Economist, The Canary, The Independent, Another Angry Voice, BBC News, MainlyMacro, and Boris Johnson, and have subscribed to Private Eye. Any other sources I should follow? (I only have Boris on the right so far.) Good books to read? (I have a few titles floating around in my mind, but recommendations are always welcome.)

I've been reading about corruption in Britain ('How Corrupt is Britain?' edited by David Whyte), and there is rather a lot. Since 1979, Britain has undergone a 'neoliberal revolution', beginning with the Thatcher government and continuing to the present day. Neoliberalism is an economic doctrine that sees market exchange as the ethical basis for human action. Inspired by Ayn Rand's 'Selfishness Is A Virtue' pseudo-philosophy, neoliberalism promotes the individualist values of hedonism and wealth accumulation, while undermining more collectivist values, such as concern for other people and the wider society. Self-interest is good for society; self-interested politicians are better than well-meaning zealots who think they know what's best for others. Businesses boosting their profits are good, because market exchange is the core of society: governments shouldn't interfere with businesses boosting their profits.

So from 1979 to the present we had state assets sold into private hands, with government money being used as a convenient cash-cow for private profit; 'a revolving door' between government and the private sector, with politicians becoming lobbyists and businessmen becoming policy advisers; and a global financial crisis caused by an under-regulated financial sector. The causes of the economic crash were then retconned by the politicians and media: it was caused by government overspending: time to cut government spending, sell assets into private hands, while our politicians and their mates make a lot of money in the process!