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The Common Good Party - where will I find it?

(85 Posts)
PippaZ Sat 08-May-21 10:08:08

I do like reading Richard Murphy's blogs and often find them challenging my views. This one that caught my imagination

Let’s do it instead - turning our work, our communities, our finances, our government, our taxes, to common purpose. To deliver what we all need. Together, that is, because none of us are unaffected by this.

Let’s build the place we have to be.

That is a vision.

You need to read the article to get the details of his thinking but then can anyone tell me - Is there any chance of a Common Good Party and if so where will it come from?

PippaZ Sun 09-May-21 11:57:01

Thanks for that growstuff. I am sure you are right and it made very interesting reading - who wants to do real jobs on a Sunday morning grin.

PippaZ Sun 09-May-21 11:35:27

He may yet take to levelling us all Whitewave. Does he still have the water cannon?

Whitewavemark2 Sun 09-May-21 09:44:44

That should be “levelling up” ?.

Sounds as if he is driving a roller over them?

Whitewavemark2 Sun 09-May-21 09:41:42

Both the big political parties has addressed the issue recently with varying degrees of success. So during the last decade we had Blair’s New Labour vowing to address child poverty, education and the NHS, as well as during this decade you have the more amorphous ideas of Cameron’s “big society” and Johnson’s “levelling people”

Whitewavemark2 Sun 09-May-21 09:25:59

I see the term “the common good”:as meaning that which is shared and common to all members of society. It can be material, cultural or institutional and should benefit all.

So examples of the common good would be a good health service, a good educational system, a good and fair legal system, an Unpolluted and safe environment etc.

The idea has a long history.

The example of the polar opposite to this argument is the excessive individualism in the Thatcher and Reagan years.

growstuff Sun 09-May-21 09:19:27

M0nica

PippaZ. do stop your unreasoned prejudices get in the way of calm judgement.

Err? I didn't see Pippa's unreasoned prejudices.

Whitewavemark2 Sun 09-May-21 09:11:43

M0nica

PippaZ. do stop your unreasoned prejudices get in the way of calm judgement.

Wow!

growstuff Sun 09-May-21 09:08:35

JenniferEccles Why do you have to be a hippy to care about the common good (ie society)?

Murphy is a Quaker and my guess is that he's picked up the idea of the "common good" from Quaker teachings.

www.friendsjournal.org/quaker-peace-testimony-economics-common-good/

love0c Sun 09-May-21 09:02:16

'aiming to go high and be in control'. That is the breaking line.

PippaZ Sun 09-May-21 09:00:49

Galaxy, Maizie, I agree. There are many good people, working for the best for all, who become MPs. Johnson is the most extreme case of someone who only seems to work for himself we have seen for a very long time but let's not paint them all with the same brush. Just because your neighbour is found to be a thief wouldn't be thought to mean that all who live in that street are thieves or all who do the same job.

There seems to be a great lack of critical thinking and analytical skills in some voters. It's because of this people like Johnson are allowed to flourish.

JenniferEccles Sun 09-May-21 08:54:27

The Common Good Party?
It sounds a bit too much like a hippy commune to me !

Galaxy Sun 09-May-21 08:48:40

Yes I agree I think of the likes of Jo Cox who was obviously a decent person, whose family continue to act to further the causes she cared about. I think many decent people are interested in politics.

MaizieD Sun 09-May-21 08:45:48

love0c

I don't think we will get a party 'for the common good'. Politics and someone aiming to go high and be in control of us does not attract a person whose goal is to help others. It only attracts those wishing to benefit themselves. Decent people are too busy living their own lives than to become involved in trying to run everyone else's lives.

I think this is deeply insulting to the many people who go into politics with a real desire to help to make the country a better place for its citizens. They're not all like Johnson you know.

love0c Sun 09-May-21 08:33:54

I don't think we will get a party 'for the common good'. Politics and someone aiming to go high and be in control of us does not attract a person whose goal is to help others. It only attracts those wishing to benefit themselves. Decent people are too busy living their own lives than to become involved in trying to run everyone else's lives.

PippaZ Sat 08-May-21 22:24:49

You could well be right Callistemon but we do still have to elect a government.

Callistemon Sat 08-May-21 20:50:21

The Common Good Party - where will I find it?

Throughout the UK amongst ordinary people who may vote differently from each other and would probably never want to enter politics anyway.

PippaZ Sat 08-May-21 20:42:00

Well they are not just my "prejudices" as you call my opinion just because it does chime your. There have been acres of articles about the culture wars outstriping policy disussions and the culture wars have been encouraged by Trump and Johnson. Not much else to say when you don't seem to have read much about it.

M0nica Sat 08-May-21 19:55:31

PippaZ. do stop your unreasoned prejudices get in the way of calm judgement.

PippaZ Sat 08-May-21 19:53:32

Ah - that was what you were saying. I don't agree. Political policy and playing cultures of against each other are very different. The culture wars seem to contain very little policy and a lot of name calling. All encouraged by Trump/Johnson.

PippaZ Sat 08-May-21 19:48:07

Thank you M0nica. Where did I say "it is exactly the same thing"? I cant see what it relates to.

M0nica Sat 08-May-21 17:35:13

*PippaZ8, On reading it back it is confusing, my apologies. The first line was a response to a couple of lines I wrote and then your response to them. The first response was my response to what was written below. In para terms read 2,3,1.

PippaZ Sat 08-May-21 17:25:19

M0nica Sat 08-May-21 15:14:33
I'm sorry, M0nica, but I can't make any sense of that post. Have the quotes moved or something?

M0nica Sat 08-May-21 15:14:33

PippaZ*, it is exactly the same thing.

M0nica:
Our current system is based on different parties having strong beliefs about what is best (common good) for the country and how to implement it.

I don't think that is true. The two main parties are based on culture, not good for all. They both only represent a part of our country.

silverlining48 Sat 08-May-21 15:10:47

Granny gravy that’s markets for you grin

silverlining48 Sat 08-May-21 15:09:02

I have visited family and friends regularly over the past 60 odd years and have always been surprised they think we are such wonderful, good people, yet there is still such negativity from us. Obviously there are good and bad everywhere but we have experienced above and beyond kindness more than a few times over the years.