Off-Topic Posts From: Lesbian Marriage vs. Elderly, Interrac...

[Obvious Leo]

Australia is an emerging plutocracy, sometimes called a "Murdochracy"

Or even a "Gina Rinehart-ocracy" or a "Twiggy Forrest-ocracy". However we retain our passion for absurdity because our current government is a "Clive Palmer-ocracy" and Clive is a brainless dingbat of lofty calibre. I think the government would be equally dysfunctional without him but it would lack the comedic frisson of the spontaneous clown. From what I read of UK politics things are not so different in "the old dart" and the US are the natural world leaders in the art of dysfunctional government. The less said of the EU the better.

Regards Leo

[Steve3007]

I'd never heard the expression "The Old Dart" and had to look it up!

The main feature of the current UK governing class is that, after a few experiments with the classless society, they seem to have gone back to the old tradition of all having been educated at Eton. And, of course, the rise of UKIP, isolationism and the general feeling that "all my problems are someone else's fault, and that someone is probably an immigrant."

[Sy Borg]

It's the evolution of systems. In 100 years it will be very different, in 1,000 years either unrecognisable or a variation of an equity/inequity cycle. I don't think it even makes sense to endorse a single system and believe it to be the right system for every changing circumstance.

History is littered with dysfunctional, incompetent and corrupt regimes. I suppose that, as the art of leadership becomes more refined, its tasks become more complex, so it's always a losing battle. Maybe AI in the future will solve that problem?

Still, most of the current crop don't sleep with their horses so perhaps the baselines expectations have raised somewhat.

[Obvious Leo]

And, of course, the rise of UKIP, isolationism and the general feeling that "all my problems are someone else's fault, and that someone is probably an immigrant."

We get a bit of that here too but at the moment it doesn't seem to penetrate too deeply into the political mainstream. The lunatic right remain on the fringes mainly because our nation has been the lucky beneficiary of a 20 year mining boom. Now that it's stopped raining gold bars things will start to get a bit more difficult for the panderers who seek to be all things to all men. No doubt the bigots and troglodytes will crawl back out from under their rocks and find a few of "them" to blame.

Still, most of the current crop don't sleep with their horses so perhaps the baselines expectations have raised somewhat.

Are you having a crack at my mate Gaius, the great geo-political strategist himself. Caligula didn't just sleep with horses you know. He screwed nearly every man, woman and child in Rome, both literally and figuratively. However there's nothing to be gained by being nostalgic about the good old days.

Regards Leo

[Steve3007]

Still, most of the current crop don't sleep with their horses

With some members of the British Tory party I really wouldn't bet on that.

We have a general election in May and, for the first time since I was 18, I'm thinking I may not vote.

[Sy Borg]

Still, most of the current crop don't sleep with their horses

With some members of the British Tory party I really wouldn't bet on that.

We have a general election in May and, for the first time since I was 18, I'm thinking I may not vote.

Steve, I did hesitate before writing that comment but I do think we have improved somewhat, although it would seem that the morality of leaders has progressed much more slowly than other areas of society.